Castle Khust

The Khust Castle (Ukrainian: Хустський замок, romanized: Khusts'kyj zamok; Hungarian: Huszti vár) is an abandoned castle located in the city of Khust in Zakarpattia Oblast (province) in western Ukraine.

The former Hungarian castle lies on a 150-meter high mountain near the center of the city. It is widely believed that the construction of the castle had started around 1090, during the reign of the Hungarian King St. Ladislaus I, and had finished in 1191, under Béla III. However, the first written mention of the castle dates back to 1353, and a 2019 archaeological expedition dated the oldest findings to late 15th century.

The castle was built as a fortress to protect the salt road from Solotvyno, including the Khust Gate, and the border areas.

A Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi mentions the castle: "The Khust castle is located at the top of Mount Hassan. Its walls are high and thick, and with its power it is similar to the Iskander fortress, because its height already reaches the sky. Residential buildings facing east face one above the other. The roofs of the palaces are covered with colored tiles, the roofs of the churches – iron, the crosses on them – of pure gold and so shine that the one who looks at them gets tired eyes and is forced, with respect for them, to lower their gaze."

After the defeat of the Hungarian army in the Battle of Mohács in 1526, The Kingdom of Hungary fell apart and the castle in Khust became a part of the Principality of Transylvania.

Text adapted from “Khust Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castle Khust ranks #1,627 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #32 of the 183 mapped in Ukraine. Founded 1353, it is older than 57% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 582 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 5,537 times in the last 60 days, more than 86% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Uzhhorod, 90 km away. See how Ukraine compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗