Stare Selo is a village with a population of about 2,100 people located in Lviv Oblast, about 27 km southeast of the center of Lviv. Stare Selo was first mentioned in 1442. In 1498, it was destroyed by the Ottomans, in 1648 – by the Crimean Tatars.

The main attraction of this place is its gradually crumbling castle – an architectural monument of national importance, the largest castle in Lviv Oblast and one of the largest castles in Ukraine. The Stare Selo Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

picturesque abandoned castle

Tags: fortress · Lviv oblast

Ostroh, first mentioned in 1100, is a town with a population of about 14 thousand people located in the south of Rivne Oblast. The main attraction of this town is its old castle located on the top of a 20-meter hill above the valley of the Viliy River. It was built on the site of a wooden fortification destroyed by the Mongols in 1241.

In the 14th-16th centuries, it was the residence of the House of Ostrogski – one of the most prominent families in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Ostroh Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

fly over the Ostroh Castle

Tags: fortress · Rivne oblast

Potelych is a village with a population of about 800 people located in the Zholkovsky district of Lviv Oblast.

The main attraction of the village is the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit – an Orthodox wooden church built in 1502. It is the oldest surviving wooden church in the Lviv region. Potelych on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

one of the oldest wooden churches in Ukraine

Tags: church · Lviv oblast

Piddubtsi is a village with a population of about 1,000 people located in the Lutsk district of Volyn Oblast, about 16 km east of Lutsk.

The main architectural attraction of this village is the nine-headed Orthodox Church of the Intercession, originally – the Uniate Church, built in 1745. Piddubtsi on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

beautiful multi-headed church

Tags: Lutsk city · Volyn oblast

Mytky is a small village located in the Barskiy district of Vinnytsia Oblast. The main attraction of the village is the former estate of Nikolai Chikhachev – a picturesque palace built of yellow bricks in a mixed Gothic and Romanesque style.

Nikolai Chikhachev (1830-1917), an admiral of the Russian Imperial Navy, acquired this estate in the 1860s. In 1904-1905, he built a palace for the construction of which materials were imported from England. Around the palace he planted a park (10 hectares) for his daughter Sophia.

beautiful palace-school

Tags: Vinnitsa oblast

Kozelets is a large village with a population of about 8,000 people located in the southwestern part of Chernihiv Oblast, on the banks of the Oster River, about 67 km south of Chernihiv. The highway from Kyiv to Chernihiv passes through this village.

Here you can find several interesting architectural monuments belonging to Ukrainian cultural heritage – beautiful churches, built in the 18th-19th centuries. Photos by: camrador.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin (1762-1763). It is a unique monument, which combines elements of Ukrainian and Rastrelli baroque.

beautiful churches

Tags: Chernigov oblast · Chernihiv city · church

Lutsk Upper Castle also known as Lubart’s Castle is one of the largest, oldest and best-preserved castles in Ukraine, a monument of architecture and history of national importance.

It is the main object of the historical and cultural reserve “Old Lutsk”, it is the oldest building in Lutsk. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

beautiful Medieval castle

Tags: fortress · Lutsk city · Volyn oblast

The following watercolors were included in the fourth album of the artist Zbigniew Szczepanek “Zamki na Kresach”. It shows the 59 most famous fortresses in Kresach (the Polish name of the territory of today’s Western Ukraine).

About 40% of the castles show the author’s reconstruction, the remaining 60% – their current state. The images of some fortifications have been reconstructed for the first time and can therefore be considered unique in a way.

Berezhany Castle in Berezhany, Ternopil Oblast.

picturesque Ukrainian castles

Tags: fortress · Ivano-Frankivsk oblast · Khmelnitsky oblast · Rivne oblast · Ternopil oblast

This architectural monument is unique for Ukraine. The Holy Protection Fortress Church is located in the village of Sutkivtsi in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, about 47 km south of Khmelnytskyi.

It was built as a defensive church at the expense of the nobleman and owner of these lands, Fyodor Sutkovetsky, in 1476. It combines features of the Gothic and Baroque styles. The thickness of its walls is about 1.5 meters.

amazing fortified church

Tags: church · Khmelnitsky oblast

Pushcha-Vodytsya is a historical place and a climatic resort located mainly in pine forests in the north-western part of Kyiv. This locality got its name from the word “pushcha” (a dense, impenetrable forest) and the Vodytsya River, which no longer exists.

Today, it is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the capital of Ukraine. You can find a cascade of lakes with sandy beaches, boat and catamaran rental stations, as well as shops and ATMs here. Pushcha-Vodytsya is connected to Kyiv by a unique historical tram line running through the forest, which makes it probably the most scenic tram line in Ukraine. Pushcha-Vodytsya on Google Maps. Photos by: Igor Golovach.

unique forest tram

Tags: Kiev city