Zolochiv Castle - Castles on Waymarking.com

Zolochiv Fortress

A Kyiv-Rus wooden fortress once existed on this territory and was burnt down during a Tatar attack. The earliest historical mention of Zolochiv was in 1442 and it received Magdeburg Law in 1523. Stanislav Seninski owned the fortress and the town that had a very large Armenian community. Seninski sold the town in 1532 to Poznan nobleman Andriy Gurkov.

Gurkov in turn sold it all to Yakub Sobieski, the father of future Polish king Jan III Sobieski, who built the Large Palace and current fortifications in 1634-1636. It was meant as both residence and fortress simultaneously. It was captured by the Turks in 1672 and damaged greatly.

As Grand Hetman of the Crown, Jan III led the Polish forces against the Turks and defeated them at the Battle of Khotyn in 1673. Because of his many victories against the Turks he was elected King of Poland the following year. As king he had Zolochiv Fortress restored as a royal residence using captured Turks as slave laborers in a twist of irony. The fortress repelled several attacks by the Tatar Khan Selim III Giray.

Later in the 17th Century Jan III built the Chinese Palace, the only Eastern palace in Ukraine and one of only three in all Europe, as a gift to his wife Marysienka. In 1737 Yakub Ludwig, the son of Jan III, died and the estate was purchased by the wealthy Radzivill family.

In 1802, the Radzivills sold the fortress to the Komarnytskyi family who restored it as their residence. In 1840 they sold it to the Austrian government who used it as an army barracks. In 1872 it was turned into a prison. Its darkest hour came in 1939 the Soviets turned it into an NKVD torture chamber. Within two years hundreds of people were tortured to death within its walls. Starting in 1979 the fortress was turned into an art gallery and museum.

Accessibility: Full access Condition: Intact Admission Charge?: yes Website: Not listed

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