Zhovkva is a small town in the Lviv region, the only one in Ukraine to have preserved the layout of an ideal Renaissance town of the 17th century. Fifty-five sites hold the status of architectural monument, all concentrated in the historic core of medieval Zhovkva. The central place in the historical and architectural reserve is held by the residence of the royal court — the castle, founded by the town's founder, Stanislaw Zolkiewski, at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Built of stone and brick, the structure served not only as the mansion of a noble personage but also had a defensive purpose.
Rectangular in plan, the fort was fortified with three-tier towers with loopholes.
On the outside, the castle was surrounded by 17-metre moats filled with water. There is now no artificial barrier around the structure, and its walls have subsided by several metres.
The towers are joined by galleries to the two-storey wings, which housed the living quarters for the lords, their servants and soldiers, the arsenal, the smithy and the archive.
In the reign of Jan III Sobieski, who loved this palace and here received the aristocratic society's congratulations on the victory over the Turks, the castle was substantially extended and adorned with lavish decoration. The palace interiors were enriched with captured works of art, a library and a collection of weapons.
Once, behind the castle, a wonderful garden with marvellous plants grew green, and in the enclosures bison and deer were kept. The castle endured sieges and fires during enemy attacks. In the years of the War of Liberation against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the Cossack army surrounded the stronghold, but after a ransom was paid it left the castle be.
There is a version that the future hetman of Ukraine was born here, since his father was in the service of the Zolkiewskis and took part in their campaigns. The people of Zhovkva have not forgotten this: on the Eastern Tower, a bas-relief to the commander has been placed by his fellow countrymen.
To prepare for military operations in the Northern War, Emperor Peter I chose the royal chambers for his headquarters and met there with Hetman Ivan Mazepa. The First World War brought considerable destruction to the castle, in which the headquarters of the Russian army was stationed.
During the Second World War, the NKVD set up a prison in the palace to hold arrested Ukrainians who had fallen out of favour. The mutilated remains that were found were reburied on Vichevyi Square by the castle walls.
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| Zhovkva. The monument to the victims of the NKVD |
As late as the early 21st century, the wings of this Galician landmark were used as housing stock, and this could not but affect the state of the buildings. The castle has kept its original outlines, but the refined decorations, the sculptures of its owners, the fountain and the garden are lost forever.
Like every castle, the Zhovkva one preserves its own legends and tales. According to one of them, the fortress was joined by an underground passage to Mount Haray, from which subterranean corridors led to the Krekhiv Monastery and to Lviv. Another legend explains one of the versions of the name of the River Svynia around the castle. Peter I, being tipsy, could not walk gracefully along the riverbank and, tracing loops as he went, tumbled into the boggy ooze.
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| Zhovkva. The River Svynia |
For centuries the palazzo has been the calling card of this Galician town and is in need of laborious and urgent restoration. Grants and reconstruction projects for this architectural monument of the Renaissance era have so far been unable to fully complete the emergency works on the roofs of the palace complex, to strengthen the foundations, or to repair the utility services.
In the eastern tower, in three halls, an exhibition has been opened where you can learn the history and secrets of this Renaissance palace.
Entry to the castle: adults — 24 hryvnias, children — 9 hryvnias.
The other memorable places and historical
landmarks of Zhovkva can be explored here.
What popular tourist sites are located near Zhovkva?
13 kilometres away —
the Krekhiv Monastery.
Near the village of Volia-Vysotska, on the site of the death of Petro Nesterov, who performed the dead loop and the aerial ram —
a monument to the outstanding air ace.
To reach Zhovkva from
Lviv you can take a suburban train or a minibus from bus station No. 2 every 15-30 minutes.
The castle's address: 2 Vichevyi Square, Zhovkva, Lviv region.
Coordinates: 50°3’15"N 23°58’8"E
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