Zbarazh Castle - Castles on Waymarking.com

The last two brothers of the Zbaraski family moved their residence from nearby Stary (Old) Zbarazh to the hill overlooking the new town of Zbarazh in the early 17th century. Krzysztof was the older brother and was Master of the Stables of the Crown within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He also served as the Commonwealth ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1622-1624. His brother, Jerzy, served first as the Crown Carver and later became the Crown Cupbearer. Both died without an heir and when Jerzy died in 1631, the Zbaraski estate was passed to their closest male relative Jeremi Wisniowiecki who was Crown Equerry. Jeremi would build an empire that would encompass 38,000 homesteads inhabited by 230,000 of his subjects. He would be the Prince of Ruthenia and the father of the future Polish King Michal I.

Zbarazh Castle became famous during the Cossack rebellion led by Bogdan Khmelnitsky from 1648-1654. A Cossack detachment led by Maksym Kryvonis captured the Zbarazh Castle without much of a fight in 1648 when Jeremi Wisniowiecki was away on another campaign. The Cossacks sacked the castle and left. The Cossack troops returned a year later, but this time Jeremi Wisniowiecki was home and a one-month siege began. Sixteen battles were fought and several prominent Cossacks were killed. Eventually Bogdan Khmelnitsky had to lift the siege because his Tatar allies had deserted him and the Polish army was approaching. Henryk Sienkiewicz immortalized the siege in his novel “With Fire And Sword”. The Polish director Jerzy Hoffman later turned the novel into a film.

The Turks captured the castle in their invasion of 1675. Later Russian Czar Peter the Great and the Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa met together in the castle in 1707 during the Great Northern War between Russia and Sweden. The castle belonged briefly to the wealthy Potocki family in the 18th century until it was taken by Russia. The Russians took it again in 1914 and it sustained much damage. It is currently being renovated and parts of it serve as an ethnographic and national art museum.

The castle is open every day from 09:00 - 18:00. Admission is 15 UAH for adults, 8 UAH for students and 5 UAH for children. There is an additional charge of 5 UAH for cameras and 10 UAH for video cameras. Excursions are available for 30 UAH and 50 UAH per group.

Accessibility: Full access Condition: Intact Admission Charge?: yes Website: [Web Link]

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