Various buildings from ancient times can be found in almost every corner of Ukraine. We know about some of them, long ago or recently, and we have even been lucky enough to visit some of them. And there are those that we have heard about, but we can’t see them so often - they seem to be hiding from human prying eyes. It is they who arouse our most pronounced interest. Today we will catch up and tell you about little-known buildings, palaces and other fortifications of the country that you definitely want to visit.
Psari Palace
Location: village of Priozerne, Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The palace is hidden from the whole world in a dense forest thicket, full of twilight, and the road to it is confusing and difficult. Once it was large and luxurious, today only half-ruined labyrinths remain from the building, reminiscent of its former luxury. Once upon a time, all this wealth was in the hands of the Potocki dynasty. Those with a rich imagination, even today it will not be difficult to see in the dense thickets surrounding the lands, an estate that preserves the memory of the past days of greatness.
Red Castle
Location: between the villages of Nagoryany and Nyrkiv, Ternopil region.
It is called the most mysterious castle in Ukraine, and not without reason. Today, only two crenellated round towers remain from it, and once the castle was very majestic. It is a pity that our contemporaries will no longer be able to admire its beauty. The castle is ancient, it was built in the 9th century, later it was repeatedly reconstructed, rebuilt, and today it only reminds of a settlement located in the forests, and has long disappeared. Its remoteness from civilization gives it even more mystery, and when the weather is bad, then the only road that connects the castle with the surrounding civilized world becomes impassable.
Tavria Manor
Location: Vasylivka, Zaporizhia region.
In Eastern Ukraine, this estate is considered one of the most interesting architectural monuments, and the only example of palace and castle architecture of the 19th century, especially among those that have survived to this day. The construction of the castle took almost 30 years. Its battlements, towers with spires supporting the sky, are visible from afar. Legend has it that once during a fair, a gypsy woman made a fortune to the local owner of the estate that he would only live until the time the castle was built. The superstitious landowner tried to postpone the day of the completion of construction as much as possible, repeatedly reworking and reconstructing it. But you can't escape fate, and now the day has come when the construction was finally completed - and the prophecy came true as inevitably as this final day came.
Moorish pearl
Location: village of Petrivka, Odessa region.
Once a river flowed here - this is evidenced by the supports of the bridge that was destroyed. The ruins of the old building are now covered with a field of reeds, a small stream flows here. If you walk a little further, you will see a view of the local village, quite unremarkable. And if you do not know about the secrets of the local fields, you can walk past and not notice that the spire, which is barely visible in the landscape and looks like the top of a church dome, will actually lead to an amazing Moorish castle.
Fortress "By the River"
Location: Zhvanets village, Kamianets-Podilskyi district, Khmelnytskyi region.
Once it was a mighty fortress, today - the remains in the form of a pentagonal tower, proudly towering on a rock near the river. It is surprising that even local residents who live in nearby villages do not know that there was once a castle here, which played a significant role in the historical life of the country. The castle was built in the 17th century, then it included six towers and was surrounded by a deep moat. For the lords of these places, it was a good defense. With the loss of its strategic role, the castle gradually became unusable, and its territory was empty. But this does not prevent lovers of antiquity and its monuments from visiting local places and admiring the beautiful views that open from here.
Nadzbruchanska Fortress
Location: Chernokozintsy village, Kamianets-Podilskyi district, Khmelnytskyi region.
The bank of the Zbruch River hides a thick stone line, this is one of the forgotten Podolsk fortresses today. Today, only ruins remain of it, and in the second half of the 14th century it was built to defend these places. The walls were so thick that they served as a strong defense even during the First World War. This fortress became an unusual muse for many writers and made, one might say, a literary career. Its name was mentioned in many works.
Strip Palace
Location: Buchach, Ternopil region.
It was built in the 14th century, on a hill near the River Stryp, completely covered with rocks. The slopes of one of the small mountains abruptly fell away from all three sides, heading towards the water. Once it was a majestic palace, having an oval shape, with a drawbridge across the river. Later, the castle began to gradually lose its strategic purpose. Residents of the surrounding villages slowly dismantled its fireplace and wood for their own economic needs. And so after some time, only one skeleton remained from the mighty structure, which today is visited by curious tourists.
Arched Castle and its ruins
Location: Zaliztsi village, Zboriv district, Ternopil region.
In the territory surrounded by large ponds, near a small village, a castle lurks. Today it can only be seen in the form of ruins that remain and are now found here and there. And once it also played a role in the history of our country, and an important one at that. From its walls, False Dmitry set off on a campaign against Moscow. The First World War caused it significant losses from Russian artillery shells. Most of what remains is the southwestern walls, but even they do not constitute a quarter of the buildings in their original beauty and scale.
Sluch-Ikopot Fortress
Location: Starokostyantyniv, Khmelnytskyi region
This fortress is at least five hundred years old, and it should be borne in mind that this is not the oldest fortress in these parts. The building was built on the "black" path, which means - on one of those roads with a bad reputation that the Tatars followed. Although despite this, it has been perfectly preserved to this day. Restoration and archaeological work is underway in these places. Many buildings adjacent to this castle have been restored and can be admired now.
Castle ruins on the Sluch River
Location : village of Hubkiv, Rivne region.
The banks of the Sluch River carried a mighty castle built in the 15th century. The outlines of this structure today do not allow us to clearly understand what task the structure performed, we can only hypothesize and make guesses. Historians speak of this fortification as an impregnable fortress. However, 1708 showed that it can be broken, and the Swedes managed to do it. And this was the beginning of the end - the castle was never able to recover and rise from the ruins. Today, there are quite a few ruins left, and another dozen years may throw them into oblivion.
Saken Estate
Location: on the border of the villages of Nemishaevo and Myrotskoye, Kyiv region.
The history of this castle, unfortunately, has not survived to this day. It was first mentioned in the 19th century, when its owner was Count Saken. After that, the estate changed hands many times, the Soviet authorities placed a biochemical plant on its territory. It was at this time that a fire broke out, which practically destroyed the entire building. Today, the once majestic palace has turned into an exclusion zone - solid ruins, the interior has been completely destroyed. It is quite likely that someday this place will still be restored, but now we have nothing left but to admire the ruins, albeit picturesque, but without life.
Gerburt Fortification Castle
Location: Kudrintsy village, Ternopil region
On Mount Strelka there are ruins of a defensive castle, which has been surprisingly well preserved to this day. Long ago it was built to protect against repeated attacks by the Tatars, its creators were Poles. There are rumors that a tangled network of underground passages and tunnels branches out under its walls, but whether this is true or not is impossible to verify, because today they are all tightly covered with earth. But legends say, and many believe that in these passages whole piles of treasures that once belonged to the owners of the castle are securely hidden. In addition to this legend, there is another one that tells of a ghost - it can be seen in the vicinity of the castle. This is the spirit of a young girl - she was walled up by the Turks in one of the walls of the castle dungeon.
Castle ruins on Slipiy Gora
Location: Dobromyl, Lviv region.
This fortress was first mentioned in 1450. At that time it was completely wooden, but after another attack by the Tatars it was burned down along with all the inhabitants. A legend was even created about this. When in one of the bloody battles the enemies had almost gained the upper hand, a young princess came out into the castle courtyard. She was dressed in a beautiful wedding dress, and her appearance surprised everyone present, so much so that the battle even stopped. Meanwhile, the princess herself, with her head proudly raised, walked past the frozen enemies and defenders of the fortress and "married death" - she rushed to the local well, just so as not to become a war trophy of the enemies. Rumor has it that the spirit of the princess still guards these beautiful places today.
Castle of the Wicked Maidens
Location: Nevytske village, Uzhhorod district, Transcarpathian region.
This castle has a very peculiar history. It is amazing and confusing, and even more so for those people who do not particularly like and understand history. And its name also has an unusual history of its origin. Researchers associate the name of the castle with the name of Elizabeth Bathory, who was also called the Bloody Countess (or the Chakhtytsky Monster). She was famous for her sad fame - being very cruel and inventive in her tortures, she introduced the tradition of arranging bath days when she bathed in the fresh blood of young girls. The time of reckoning came, and her persecution began, and she tried to hide from them within the walls of the castle. Local residents say that her spirit wanders among the remaining ruins today, and closer to nightfall, sad female screams are heard in these places.
Kanko Castle
Location: Vynohradiv, Transcarpathian region
On a terrace among the rocks of the Black Mountain is Kanko Castle. Originally a wooden structure, it was later transformed into a stone knight's fortress. It protected the salt road that runs near the Tisza River. It served in this role for over 300 years, and then began to be used as a monastery.
If we talk about its name, then there are two versions explaining it. According to one version, the owner of the castle for some time was the robber Kanko. The second version is more similar to the truth and talks about the monks who dressed in special outerwear made of sheep's wool. This wool was called "kanko".
Fortress Satan
Location: Sataniv village, Horodotskyi district, Khmelnytskyi region
This is a very valuable and amazing monument of antiquity, despite the fact that today only ruins remain from it, freely blowing in the wind. Unfortunately, there is no solid data that says why and how exactly this fortress arose, so its origin is largely guessed by legends and versions. A difficult and difficult path leads to the fortress, passing through a sugar factory, now abandoned. It ends with a high gate made of iron. We will not be able to appreciate the grandeur of the castle today, because only thick walls and the ruins of a few surviving towers remain from it. But if you climb these walls, a beautiful view of the surroundings will open from them.
Citadel of the Galician Princes
Location: Halych, Ivano-Frankivsk region
The right bank of the Dniester River bears the ruins of an old preserved fortress. No source or chronicler mentions how its construction began. There are versions that it was built in the middle of the 14th century, but on the other hand, written evidence has been preserved that says that it already existed in 1114.
One thing is certain - it is the largest fortress in Galicia. It is a pity that by the middle of the 18th century only ruins remained of it. Nowadays it is one of the significant monuments of Ukraine and restoration work is being carried out here.
Castle-fortress in the Borzhava Valley
Location: Dovhy village, Irshavsky district, Transcarpathian region.
This building is the only example of medieval rural manor architecture in Europe. Some researchers believe that the fortress was originally built entirely of wood, but no written evidence of this has been found. In the 15th century, construction began on a new castle, this time built of stone.
Today, the castle is surprisingly well preserved, with all of its main structures fully intact. There is currently active discussion about the possibility of restoring the fortress.
Zamoyski Fortress
Location: Busha village, Yampil district, Vinnytsia region
This fortress has its own legend, and it tells about its siege by Polish troops at that time. The Poles, despite long and bloody battles, still managed to get into the territory of this castle. But the widow of the Cossack centurion Mariana entered the powder cellars and set them on fire, thereby destroying the castle and the enemies inside. Only a part of the underground tunnels and passages remained from the fortress itself, as well as one surviving tower. Later it was rebuilt into a bell tower. Now the remains of this tower symbolize the courage, pride and will of the Ukrainian people, who defend their native lands even at the cost of their own lives.
Berislavsky outpost
Location: Beryslav, Kherson region
The fortress was built in the 15th century by the Turks to replace a captured Lithuanian customs house. Its remains today clearly testify to the struggle of Turkish troops against Ukrainian Cossacks.
The fortress was used by enemy troops to counter Cossack campaigns along the Dnieper River, as well as to carry out raids on the lands of the Ukrainian Cossacks. As early as 1689, there were attempts to besiege the fortress by Golitsyn's troops, but then they were still unsuccessful. And only in 1695 did Hetman Mazepa manage to do this. Today we see only individual fragments of the ruins, which remind us of the military events of those years.
Ghost town
Location: Tarakaniv, Rivne region.
It is difficult to call this huge fortress a castle or a fortress. The building is completely unlike similar structures familiar to us and is a unique monument of history and architecture. In addition to these advantages, it has also been perfectly preserved to this day. At one time, the fort was used for the purpose of confrontation between Russia and Austria-Hungary. The structure was built to protect the Lviv railway tracks.
During World War II, there were rumors that secret weapons, including nuclear weapons, were tested within these walls. Today, the fort is abandoned and has been given the name Ghost Town.
Zvyagel
Location: Novgorod-Volynskyi
During the construction of this castle, the first stone was laid by Prince Ostrohsky himself. He found the left bank of the Sluch River the best place to start a new construction of the castle. And this happened in the 16th century. Later, during the War of Liberation, this castle was destroyed, and by the Ukrainian people's own forces. For a long time, the ruins remained untouched, but time passed, and people again remembered that this fortress was once powerful and full of grandeur. Therefore, in memory of the historical events of the past, it was decided to restore the fortress, but many elements of modernity are not at all similar to how it looked in the original.
Oblique caponier
Location: Kyiv
This earthen fortress is considered the second largest in the world. The construction of the fortress took more than two centuries, and its size is so large that the inhabitants of an entire area were evicted when its construction began.
In fact, the Oblique Caponir is only part of the fortress, one of the most numerous. Various firearms and loopholes were located here. The specific placement of the loophole at a special angle made it possible to conduct effective artillery fire. After the middle of the 19th century, the caponir began to play the role of a prison for political prisoners. Today it is the largest museum. You can see the dungeons in it, there is a "death carriage", as well as various weapons and many other no less valuable exhibits of those years.
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