Zolochiv Castle

The Zolochiv Castle (Ukrainian: Золочівський замок, romanized: Zolochivs'kyi zamok) was a residence of the Sobieski noble family on a hill at the confluence of two small rivers in the south-eastern part of Zolochiv (Polish: Złoczów), Galicia (now part of Ukraine's Lviv Oblast).

The rectangular fort was built in 1634–36 by Jakub Sobieski using the labor of enslaved Crimean Tatars. The Sobieski castle comprised solid walls in a then-current Dutch style, with four pentagonal towers at each corner, and the so-called "grand palace". The Chinese Palace, a diminutive mauve-colored rotunda flanked by one-storey wings, was added later in the century as a gift from King John III Sobieski to his French-born wife, Queen Marie.

In 1672, the castle was taken after a 6-days siege by the Turks under Kapudan Pasa. Three years later, it survived a new siege by the Ottoman army. After Jakub Ludwik Sobieski's death in 1737, the castle passed to the Radziwiłł princely family and then (in 1801) to Count Łukasz Komarnicki-Pawlikowicz (of the House of Sas), whose heirs sold it to the Austrian crown in 1834.

In the 19th century, the castle was adapted for use as a hospital and barracks. It was turned into a prison in 1872 and continued in use after the September Campaign. A chapel commemorating the victims of the NKVD is located on the grounds of the castle.

Thousands of people belonging to the Jewish faith were taken from Zolochiv and were killed by the Germans at the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa.

Since 1985, the complex has been supervised by the Lviv Art Gallery and under restoration. Recently it began to open its grounds for visitors. Exhibits include more than 25 European coats of arms, dinosaur bone chandeliers, and a replica of a typical royal crown from the 13th century that could be similar to that of Daniel of Galicia.

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

Zolochiv Castle ranks #1,083 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #17 of the 183 mapped in Ukraine. Founded 1634, it is older than 29% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 580 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,216 times in the last 60 days, more than 82% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Ivano-Frankivsk, 99 km away. See how Ukraine compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗