Berezhany Castle ( uk, Бережанський замок, Berezhans'kyi zamok, pl, Zamek w Brzeżanach), around which the modern town of

Berezhany Berezhany ( uk, Бережани, ; pl, Brzeżany; yi, ברעזשאַן, Brezhan; he, בּז'יז'אני/בּז'ז'ני ''Bzhezhani''/''Bzhizhani'') is a city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It lies about fr ...

has sprung up, was built on an island in the

Zolota Lypa River Zolota Lypa ( uk, Золота Липа, pl, Złota Lipa) is a river in Western Ukraine. It flows through the Ternopil and Chortkiv Raions, forming the Berezhany Lake north of the city of Berezhany. It is a left tributary of Dniester, belonging t ...

in the 1530s and 1540s by

Mikołaj Sieniawski Mikołaj Sieniawski (c. 1489 – 1569) was a notable Polish magnate, military commander and a prominent politician of his times. He built stone Brzeżany Castle round which the modern town of Berezhany has developed. He is not to be confused ...

as the main residence of the Sieniawski magnate family.

turned the adjoining church of the Holy Trinity into a family mausoleum and a private church. Currently decayed, the church was a prominent example of early Baroque style. In 1630, the castle's fortifications were expanded. It was so well fortified that neither

Khmelnitsky Khmelnytskyi ( uk, Хмельни́цький, Khmelnytskyi, ), until 1954 Proskuriv ( uk, Проску́рів, links=no ), is a city in western Ukraine, the administrative center for Khmelnytskyi Oblast (region) and Khmelnytskyi Raion (dist ...

's Cossacks (in 1648 and 1648) nor the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

(in 1675) succeeded in taking it. In 1655, it was surrendered to the Swedes without a fight. The local

Jewish community Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

was made responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the walls in 1667. After

Maria Zofia Sieniawska Countess Maria Zofia Czartoryska née ''Sieniawska'' (15 April 1699–21 May 1771) was a Polish szlachcianka (noblewoman). By birth she was member of powerful Sieniawski family and by marriage she was member of House of Dönhoff and House o ...

's marriage to

August Aleksander Czartoryski Prince August Aleksander Czartoryski (9 November 1697, Warsaw4 April 1782, Warsaw) was a member of the Polish nobility (), magnate. He is the founder of the Czartoryski family fortune. Life August became major-general of the Polish Army in 17 ...

, the castle passed to the

Czartoryski The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; lt, Čartoriskiai) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian- Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dyna ...

family (1726), then to the Princes Lubomirski (1778) and to the Counts Potocki (1816). Those new owners allowed it to fall into such disrepair that in 1908 visitors were cautioned not to enter the castle for fear of being smashed by falling masonry. The castle was further damaged during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, as was the late Gothic church from 1554 which contains a number of elaborate tombs of the Sieniawskis. The Brzeżany tombs were executed by

Jan Pfister Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

and other leading Polish artists of the 16th and 17th centuries.

References

Sources

* * Памятники градостроительства и архитектуры Украинской ССР, 4 volumes, Kiev: Будивэльнык, 1983-86, the article on Бережанский замок
online

External links

* {{Castles in Ukraine Castles in Ukraine Castles in Ternopil Oblast Houses completed in the 16th century

Castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...