Berezhany Castle - Castles on Waymarking.com

The Polish magnate Mykola Sieniawski, who would become commander-in-chief of the Polish army, built this castle in 1554, not on an acropolis like most castles, but on a swampy island in the Zolota Lypa River (Golden Lime Tree). Many oak sticks were pounded into the ground to build a firm foundation. The river and swamp served as a defense bolstered by man-made embankments and towers.

A small chapel was built that would serve as a burial vault for the Sieniawski dynasty that lasted for 176 years. Because of the family prominence, many important historical personages visited this castle – Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Ivan Mazepa (1707), Transylvanian Prince Ferenc Rakoczi, Saxton Elector August II (1702), and Russian Czar Peter the Great (twice – 1707 & 1711). The latter almost lost his life here.

In 1630 the fortress was expanded and considered impregnable until the Cossack Leader Bogdan Khmelnitsky took it in 1648. The uprising of Khmelnitsky plunged the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania into an anarchy called the Deluge. During this time (1648-1667), Sweden invaded and occupied much of the territory. The castle was surrendered to the Swedes in 1655 voluntarily, thus allowing it to stay in hands of the Sieniawski family. But the castle did manage to survive a Turkish onslaught in 1675 that destroyed the town.

Mykola Adam Sieniawski died in 1726 without a male heir. The castle passed to the Czartoryski family when Mykola Adam’s only daughter, Maria Zofia married Polish-Lithuanian Prince August Alexander Czartoryski.

In 1772 Austria, Prussia and Russia invaded Poland and took one-third of its territory. Berezhany became part of the Austrian Empire. In 1778 Polish Prince Antoni Lubomirski was allowed to purchase the castle when be became the governor of Lublin.

Finally the castle passed into the hands of the Potocki family when Alfred Wojciech Potocki purchased it in 1816 upon the death of his father. Because it was not the main residence of these later owners, the castle gradually fell into disrepair.

During World War I the Russian army captured the castle, but it was soon recaptured by the Austro-Hungarian forces and turned into a military barracks. The soldiers on both sides had pillaged the castle, but luckily much of the artwork had previously been evacuated. At the end of the war the internationally unrecognized West Ukrainian People’s Republic claimed the region as part of their territory. A brief war with Poland in 1919 ended their aspirations and Berezhany was again in the hands of Poland. During the Polish-Bolshevik War in 1919, Berezhany was briefly occupied by the Red Army but was soon recaptured by Polish forces. Needless to say, the castle was greatly damaged during this period.

World War II brought the final destruction upon the castle. The German Nazis briefly occupied the castle in 1939 but immediately turned it over to their Soviet allies during their joint invasion of Poland. The Germans returned in 1941 after betraying their Soviet allies and invading Mother Russia. The Polish resistance briefly liberated the town in 1944 while the Germans were retreating, but the Red Army soon arrived. The Soviets placed a bomb in the castle and deliberately destroyed it. Berezhany officially became part of the Soviet Union in 1945 and then independent Ukraine in 1991.

Accessibility: Partial access Condition: Partly ruined Admission Charge?: yes Website: Not listed

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