The Tarakaniv Fort is one of the most mystical sites of Ukraine. It is not included in the routes of organised tourists, and you will not read about it in the magazine-catalogues for travellers. It is not like other fortresses and castles, but its history has preserved no fewer secrets and riddles than the popular places of tourist pilgrimage.
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort. The barracks and the side casemates |
The name of this monument of history and architecture of the 19th century is not connected with the repulsive insects; it is called so because it is located near the village of Tarakaniv, which until the 19th century was known as Torokaniv.
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort. The barracks in the centre of the fort |
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| The entrance to the underground labyrinths |
The citadel is also called the Dubno Fort, but do not confuse the defensive structure near Tarakaniv with the citadel founded in the 10th century in chronicled Dubno.
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| The moat and the wall reinforcing the rampart |
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| The barracks in the centre of the fort, the moat and the wall reinforcing the rampart |
On the Kyiv-Chop highway, 4 kilometres from Dubno, there is a signpost to the location of the Tarakaniv stronghold. Turning south-east in the southern part of Tarakaniv, you need to drive 650 metres along a dirt road, whose verge is occupied by hogweed. The road is so narrow that you will barely manage to pass an oncoming car.
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort. Thickets of hogweed on the grounds of the outpost |
Still, there is a small area for parking cars, and there is even a toilet of the outhouse type on it. Here, too, the local guides sell souvenir goods, unobtrusively offer guide services, and conduct a brief safety briefing for the visit to the fortress.
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| Green lianas cover the fortification structure |
Right on the eve of my arrival, a misfortune happened. A local lad fell into a deep well. The blows and injuries proved incompatible with life. And afterwards I saw huge pools of blood at the place of his death.
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| The vaults of the labyrinths |
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| The fortress grottoes |
Yes, this place is not for a solo hike, and, setting out here, you need to be as careful as possible, to have comfortable footwear and torches for lighting in the half-darkness of the galleries.
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| The countless corridors of the fort |
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| The entrance to the corridors of the fort |
You must move only along the paths, away from the ruined buildings, to avoid injury from falling bricks.
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| The path between the barracks and the wall |
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| The brick architecture of the fort |
Having entered the grounds of the outpost, you find yourself in an atmosphere of the dominance of steadfastness and inviolability.
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| The entrance to the corridor labyrinth |
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| The entrance to the fortress tunnel |
The first impression is of impregnability and neglect.
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| The vaults of the corridors |
Despite the desolation, the place is simply steeped in the spirit of grandeur and fundamentality.
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| The entrance to the underground bunker |
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort. A gallery of the fort |
Stories, legends, myths — much is held within this former fortification structure, and now an emptied military site, which is extraordinarily interesting to daring researchers, chance travellers, ubiquitous treasure-hunters and scrap-metal collectors.
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort. The light at the end of the tunnel |
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| The exit from the tunnel |
It is known from history that, after the third partition of Poland, the border between the Russian and Austrian empires ran along the line Zbarazh-Brody-Berestechko-Sokal. By the order of the tsarist government, to protect the Lviv-Kyiv railway and other strategic sites, defensive structures were built.
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| The stone corridors, the ventilation passages |
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| The brickwork has survived well |
The erection of the fort near Dubno, by the Ikva river, began with the heaping-up of a huge hill in the 1860s. The facts speak of the importance of the special project. An astronomical sum of 66 million roubles was allocated for the construction of the fortified area. For comparison: a cow cost 8-10 roubles.
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| The entrance to the underground tunnel |
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| The windows of the casemates |
For the first time here, together with stone and brick, concrete was used for maximum impregnability.
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort |
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| A green sheet has covered the fortress |
The renowned fortification engineer, General Eduard Totleben, was appointed head of the construction of the fortification. The visit of the tsar's family in 1890 testified to the fortress's commissioning. On the eve of the First World War, the fort was inspected by the renowned military engineer D. M. Karbyshev.
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| Wild lianas and hogweed have penetrated all the floors of the structure |
The creation of ingenious engineering thought occupies an area of 5.8 hectares. In the centre of the concrete-and-earth fortification, in the shape of a rhombus with sides up to 240 metres, is a two-level barracks, which in plan resembles a trapezoid with rounded edges. Four underground passages lead to it.
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort. The plan of the fort |
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort. The plan of the casemates. The upper tier |
The garrison could accommodate up to 800 people. Here there was everything needed for the army's life support: storehouses, an arsenal, a medical unit, heating, an electrical network, a water supply, wells, a bakery, telephone communication.
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| The Tarakaniv (Dubno) Fort |
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| The structures of the fort |
From the outside, the citadel is surrounded by a moat and earthen ramparts, which in turn are reinforced with walls two metres wide and six metres high.
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| The wall is decorated with a brick ornament |
But the Tarakaniv bastille was not destined to become a true defender of the fatherland's frontiers. In 1915 the Russian army left the fort without bloodshed, having first blown up part of the casemates and bunkers. The Austrians took up combat positions and were driven out in 1916 by the enemy. Two hundred soldiers of the Habsburg army are buried by the fortress.
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| The stairs to the second tier |
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| Stairs as in palaces |
In 1920 neither aviation nor the armoured train "Khorobryi" (Brave) helped S. M. Budyonny's Red cavalry to recapture the stronghold. The Polish garrison fought bravely as long as the artillery supplies lasted, and afterwards broke through the Red Army's encirclement.
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| The inner premises of the barracks |
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| A passage in the barracks |
During the fighting, the fort suffered considerable destruction.
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| Tarakaniv. The fort. An architectural monument |
During the Second World War, the fortress once again did not fulfil its defensive purpose.
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| Tarakaniv. The fort. A monument of engineering art |
The Hitlerites placed ammunition depots in the numerous branchings and corridors of the casemates. There is a version that a research unit of the most secret Nazi organisation, the Ahnenerbe, was located here. The fascists tested new secret weapons in the soundly built structures. And before retreating at the beginning of 1944, they mined and concreted over the equipment in the tunnels so that it still cannot be found.
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| These walls remember many events |
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| The stairs in the casemates |
In 1946-1960 a detachment of NKVD officers was stationed here. What the Chekists did in the casemate is a mystery under seven seals. Perhaps patriotically minded Ukrainians were shot in the lockup. It is known from rumours that many NKVD men got lost and died in the underground labyrinths.
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| Corridors in the barracks |
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| Tarakaniv. The fort. Premises in the barracks |
The riddles of the fort give adventure-seekers no peace. Every year, careless adventurers and searchers go missing on the grounds of the fort. The depth of the pits and chasms in the unexplored underground passages reaches 20 metres.
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| Tarakaniv. The fort. A well |
The stone walls and ceilings, which seem sturdy, have without proper care become shaky and treacherous, and the fort, as it were, has not forgiven that it was underestimated and not used for its intended purpose.
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| The fortress wall |
For many decades, tales of ghosts have been passed from mouth to mouth. There are witnesses to the sighting of phantoms and the spirits of Polish and Austrian soldiers. Local residents claim that they have heard a foreign language and the clicking of rifle bolts on the grounds of the fort.
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| Every fortress is home to ghosts |
In the 1960s there were unsuccessful attempts to set up a warehouse of tinned produce in the defensive structure. For this, special work was carried out to clear the casemates, install shelving and set up doors. No, it was not for this that the masterpiece of engineering art was erected. Storing produce, and afterwards the spare parts for the military unit's fleet of vehicles, turned out to be impossible.
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| Tarakaniv. The fort. An abandoned fortification site |
Adapted for nothing and neglected, the architectural monument continues to fall into ruin, and there is no hope at all of its restoration. To view the historic landmark of the 19th century, you should choose a time that is not in rainy weather. Bear in mind that from June, hogweed covers all the approaches with a green mass. This harmful allergen plant burns exposed areas of skin.
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| Hogweed blooms luxuriantly everywhere |
The fort is located, as stated above, in the southern part of the village of Tarakaniv, Dubno district, Rivne region, 650 metres south-east of the M-06 Kyiv-Chop highway. From Dubno to the turn you can get by scheduled bus or by taxi. The staff of the Dubno castle can give you the telephone number of a guide with a car. Entry to the imperishable combat fortification is free. Hurry to visit this fantastic place!
Coordinates: 50°21'47"N 25°42'58"E
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