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 …
Yazlovets Castle — a Fortress for 3,000 Soldiers, and a Convent Still Active in Its Palace
Ternopil Oblast
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 …
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 …
The Badeni Palace in Koropets — an Aristocratic Dream Above the Dniester
Koropets is a small village above the Dniester. Quiet, hills, slow-moving water below. And then, suddenly — a palace. It appears out of nowhere, as …
Berezhany Castle — Built on Oak Piles in a Marsh, Looted Twice by the NKVD
Most castles were built on hills or cliffs — wherever nature offered an advantage. Mikołaj Sieniawski, in 1534, chose a marsh. Thousands of oak piles …
Ternopil Castle — the Castle That Founded a Town, and Lost All Its Towers to One Owner
On April 15, 1540, Polish king Sigismund I granted Grand Crown Hetman Jan Amor Tarnowski permission to found a town and build a castle in …
Kremenets Castle — Mount Bona, Named for a Queen Who Was Never Here
The mountain the castle stands on is called “Mount Bona” — after Queen Bona Sforza, wife of Polish king Sigismund I. Queen Bona never once …
Terebovlia Castle — the Fourth Fortress on the Same Site, and the Woman Who Refused to Surrender
1675. An Ottoman army under Ibrahim Shishman Pasha approached Terebovlia. The fortress commander, Jan Samuel Chrzanowski, decided to surrender. The castle was exhausted. The garrison …
Zbarazh Castle — Built From a Book by an Architect Who Never Set Foot Here
Between 1602 and 1605, Krzysztof Zbaraski, while in Venice, commissioned architect Vincenzo Scamozzi to design a new castle. Scamozzi took the job. He published the …
Yaniv Castle — the Founder Named the Town After Himself, and the Castle Walls Became a Church Fence
Jan Golski founded a town and named it Yaniv — after himself. He then built a castle. The name survived even after Soviet authorities renamed …