May/24

Museum of Miniatures “Castles of Ukraine” in Kamianets-Podilskyi

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Entertainment, Photos, Travel

There is a number of old castles and fortified palaces all over Ukraine, especially in its western part, and you will need a lot of time to see them all. Since 2017, in the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi located in Khmelnytsky Oblast, you can do it in half an hour.

“Castles of Ukraine” is an open air museum with beautiful replicas (1:20) of the 16 most famous castles of Ukraine recreated to the smallest detail. The official site of the museum. “Castles of Ukraine” on Google Maps. Photos by: Sergey Zaglinskiy.

Svirzh Castle in Svirzh (Lviv Oblast), about 45 km southeast of Lviv – a unique monument of defense architecture built in the 15th-17th centuries. It was originally built as a fortress, but after reconstruction in the 17th century it lost its original appearance.

Leskiv Castle (Dakhovsky Palace) – an architectural monument of regional importance located in the village of Leskove (Cherkasy Oblast), about 241 km southwest of Cherkasy. This neo-Gothic palace resembling a castle was built by the brothers Karl and Kazimierz Dachowski on the site of the old residence of their grandfather Kazimierz Dachowski in the 1850s.

Kuris Castle – the former estate of the Kuris nobles in the village of Kurisove (Odesa Oblast), about 65 km northeast of Odesa. It is one of the first examples of romanticism architecture in Ukraine.

Pidhoretsi Castle – an architectural monument of the late Renaissance and Baroque eras located in the village of Pidhirtsi (Lviv Oblast), about 89 km east of Lviv. The castle was built on the site of the previous estate of the Podhorecki nobles by the order of the Crown Hetman Stanislaw Koniecpolski in 1635-1640. It acquired its current palace appearance after the reconstruction of the 1720s.

Zolochiv Castle – a monument of history and culture of national significance located in the town of Zolochiv (Lviv Oblast), about 68 km east of Lviv. Zolochiv Castle Museum-Reserve is a department of the Lviv Art Gallery. The castle is included in the “Golden Horseshoe of Lviv Oblast” tourist route.

Palace of Counts Schönborn – the former residence and hunting house of the Counts of Schönborn – an architectural monument of national importance located in the village of Karpaty (Zakarpattia Oblast), about 56 east of Uzhhorod.

Uzhhorod Castle – the historical heart of the city of Uzhhorod (Zakarpattia Oblast). The castle was built in the Middle Ages by the noble Hungarian family of Drugeth. Today, it is open as a local history museum.

Lutsk Castle or Lubart’s Castle – the upper castle of the city of Lutsk (Volyn Oblast), an architectural and historical monument of national significance, one of the largest, oldest and best preserved castles in Ukraine.

Medzhybizh Castle (1362-1540) – a monument of architecture located in the village of Medzhybizh (Khmelnytskyi Oblast), about 40 km east of Khmelnytskyi.

Khotyn Fortress – a medieval fortress located in the town of Khotyn (Chernivtsi Oblast), about 62 km northeast of Chernivtsi. This stronghold on the right bank of the Dniester River was one of the most powerful fortresses in Eastern Europe.

Popov’s Castle – the family estate of the Popov nobles, built in the neo-Gothic style in 1864-1884. It is located in the town of Vasylivka (Zaporizhzhia Oblast), about 65 south of Zaporizhzhia.

Akkerman Fortress or Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Fortress – a historical and architectural monument, the largest fortress of Ukraine built during the Late Middle Ages (13th-15th centuries) on the site of the ruins of the ancient town of Tire. It is located in the city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (Odesa Oblast), about 94 southwest of Odesa.

Olesko Castle – a monument of architecture and history of the 13th-18th centuries located in the village of Olesko (Lviv Oblast), about 75 km east of Lviv. It is one of the oldest castles in Ukraine probably built by one of the sons of the Galician-Volyn prince Yuri I of Galicia.

Ostroh Castle – a monument of architecture of the 14th-16th centuries located in the town of Ostroh (Rivne Oblast), about 47 km southeast of Rivne. Throughout the 14th-16th centuries, it was the family castle of the Ostrogski nobles – the richest magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of those times.

Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle – a fortress in the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi (Khmelnytskyi Oblast). It has been known since the 14th century as an important fortress of Eastern Europe and part of the defense system of the town of Kamianets, the former capital of the Duchy of Podolia in the 14th–15th centuries.