The Zhovkva Castle (; ) occupies the principal square of the town of

Zhovkva Zhovkva is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast (Oblast, region) of western Ukraine. Zhovkva hosts the administration of Zhovkva urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is approximately History A ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It was founded by Polish Hetman

Stanisław Żółkiewski Stanisław Żółkiewski (; 1547 – 7 October 1620) was a Polish people, Polish szlachta, nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, a magnate, military commander, and Chancellor (Poland), Chancellor of the Polish Crown in the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

as his fortified residence. Construction began in 1594 and was mostly completed in 1606. The castle had a typically Serlian entrance

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

and was encircled by

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

s (up to 17 meters in width). One wing of the building accommodated the

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

stables A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

; another was immediately contiguous to the city wall. In 1606, a garden was laid out next to the

hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

's residence. It contained a

menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, referring to ...

with

wisent The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

, and

chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...

. The palatine

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

was consecrated in 1640. The golden age of the Zolkiew Castle was the late 17th century when it passed through inheritance to

Jakub Sobieski Jakub Sobieski (5 May 1590 – 23 June 1646) was a Polish noble, parliamentarian, diarist, political activist, military leader and father of King John III Sobieski. He was the son of castellan and voivode Marek Sobieski and Jadwiga Snopko ...

and then to his son King Jan III Sobieski, a native of Zhovkva. It was there that the king celebrated his victory at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. In the 18th century the castle's facade was decorated with the statues of its owners from the Zolkiewski, Daniłowicz, Sobieski, and Radziwill families. After the

partition of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign ...

the castle fell into disuse and was auctioned off. During the 19th century the chapel and some other structures were dismantled or rebuilt to accommodate a local school. The castle sustained further damage during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Some restoration was undertaken just before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but much more was required following the end of hostilities. Замок Жолкевських 5611.JPG, Zhovkivsky Castle.jpg, Жовківський замок з ратуші.jpg,

References

* ''Лильо І. М.'', ''Лильо-Откович З. М.'' Прогулянка Львовом. Путівник — К.: Балтія Друк, 2005. — 224 с.: іл. * Памятники градостроительства и архитектуры Украинской ССР. Киев: Будивельник, 1983–1986. Том 3, с. 152. {{Castles in Ukraine Castles in Ukraine Zhovkva Houses completed in 1606 Buildings and structures in Lviv Oblast 1606 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Royal residences in Ukraine Residences of Polish monarchs