Wyshnivets Castle - Castles on Waymarking.com

Wyshnivets Castle

Wyshnivets Castle was the home of one of the most prominent families of the Volyn Kingdom – The Wisniowieckis. The family traces their beginnings to Dmytro Korybut, son of the great Lithuanian prince Algirdas. It is believed that Korybut built the first castle here overlooking the Horyn River in 1395. It was his descendant Myhailo, the Count of Bratslav and Castellan of Kyiv, who first took the surname Wisniowiecki. He was a great warrior who won many battles against the Tatar hordes.

But his son, Dmytro Wisniowiecki, who founded the Zaporozhian Sich, the stronghold of the famous Ukrainian Cossacks, superseded his reputation. Ironically another famous member of this clan was Jeremi Wisniowiecki who was a bloodthirsty military commander known for his skirmishes against these Cossack fighters. His son, Michal I Korybut, would become famous as the worst king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Wyshnivets Castle suffered constantly from invasions, the worst occurring in 1672 by the Tatar hordes. The last of the Wisniowieckis, Michal Serwacy, built the grand palace that stand today. The palace was enlarged when it came under the possession of the Mniszech family.

Just below the castle overlooking the pond below is the Ascension Church, where members of the Wisniowiecki family are buried. It was in the church that Marina Mniszech married Dmitri the False who would ascend to become the Tsar of Russia in 1605 for one year. He was an imposter that claimed to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. The real Dmitri Ivanovich was assassinated in 1591. The Wisniowiecki family was prominent in this attempt to usurp the throne.

Many famous visitors have found shelter in this castle including the Polish King Stanislaw August, Russian tsarevitch Pavlo, French writer Honore de Balzac, and Ukrainian writer Taras Shevchenko. Over the years careless owners and wars have taken their toll on the castle. Nothing remains of the home décor.

As of February 2012 the palace buildings are closed to the public. I was told that three rooms of the palace will be opened by the Spring of 2012 for tourists. You can peruse the grounds and surrounding park though at no charge (although the security guards may try to charge you).

Accessibility: Partial access Condition: Intact Admission Charge?: no Website: Not listed

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