A town once stood here: Chervonohorod. Then the town disappeared. The Dzhuryn River, which had almost fully looped around the hill holding the castle, shifted …
Chervonohorod Castle — a Vanished Palace of a Vanished Town, in a Bend of the River
Yazlovets Castle — a Fortress for 3,000 Soldiers, and a Convent Still Active in Its Palace
The French traveler Dalairac visited in the 17th century and wrote that the castle could hold up to three thousand troops and had “every mark …
Mykulyntsi Castle — a Woman Built It, the Ottomans Destroyed the Town, Chrzanowski Defended It
Mykulyntsi Castle is considered the only medieval castle in Ukraine that has retained its function as a residential dwelling. Not a fortress where people lived …
Skalat Castle — Destroyed Three Times, Rebuilt Three Times, Given Away to the Town Council
The Cossacks destroyed it. The Tatars destroyed it. The Ottomans destroyed it. Every time, it was rebuilt. Three destructions and three rebuildings — Skalat Castle …
Rakovets Castle — Three Differently Shaped Towers on a Travertine Cliff Above the Dniester
Rakovets Castle’s three towers are triangular, square, and hexagonal. That combination wasn’t an architect’s whim. Each shape gave an optimal angle of observation and fire …
Starozaslav Castle — the Oldest Bureaucratic Archive, and a Treasury No One Has Found
The castle records of Starozaslav Castle were kept starting in 1512. Not every castle in this series can claim that kind of bureaucratic pedigree. The …
Nyalab Castle in Korolevo — It Survived the Mongols and the Ottomans, But Not Its Own King
1661. A Turkish army laid siege to Nyalab Castle. They failed to take it. 1672. The Austrian king Leopold I ordered his own castle destroyed. …
Bar Castle — Bona Sforza Renamed “Riv” After Bari, and Here Began the End of Poland
The town of Bar was once called “Riv,” after the Riv River that flowed past it. In 1537, Queen Bona Sforza bought this land and …
Pidzamochok Castle — “Endure and Restrain Yourself,” and the Castle That Named a Village
Above the entrance gate is a Latin inscription. “Sustine et abstine” — “Endure and restrain yourself.” Jan Krzysztof Buczacki-Tworowski, 1600. The man who commissioned the …
Mariiampil Castle — a Hetman Named His Fortress After His Battle Icon
1683. The Polish army under Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław Jabłonowski took part in the Battle of Vienna. They won. Jabłonowski returned home with an icon …
Chemehiv Canyon — a Wild Gorge Near Mykulychyn Where “Dovbush” Was Filmed
Everyone comes to Mykulychyn for the mountains, the waterfalls, the peaks. Almost no one comes for the canyon. Because it doesn’t announce itself with signposts. …