Olesko Castle (; ) is located within the borders of present-day

Zolochiv Raion Zolochiv Raion () is a raion (district) in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Zolochiv. Population: It was established in 1939. On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the numbe ...

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 ...

. The first historical records of the castle are in a document dated 1390, when

Pope Boniface IX Pope Boniface IX (; ; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death, in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope during the Western Schism.Richard P. McBrien, ''Lives of t ...

gave Olesko and Tustan to a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

bishop of

Halych Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...

. It is located about seventy-five kilometers from

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, the largest city in western Ukraine.

Location

Olesko Castle, oval in shape, stands on top of a small hill, about fifty meters in height. A

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 ...

and a wall surrounds it, which serves as a defence for the castle. The castle is also surrounded by a dense swamp. The land that the castle sat on changed ownership many times. It was originally on the border of land of

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

and land of

. The castle was, at different times, owned by

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. It became a political landmark in the 14th century when movable borders between the three aforementioned countries ran through its territory. Battles for ownership of the castle were constant. A deep well in the basement of the castle was used as an escape route for besieged inhabitants.

Inhabitants

In the 15th century, the castle was changed from being a defense point, to simply a getaway for

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

. In 1605, the castle was bought by the nobleman

Jan Daniłowicz Jan Daniłowicz (1570–1628) was a Polish szlachta, nobleman, voivode of the Ruthenian Voivodeship and grandfather of King Jan III Sobieski. He was voivode of the Ruthenian Voivodship since 1613, castellan of Lviv since 1612, Great Krajczy of t ...

h. Sas, a wealthy local landowner and

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

of the

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (; ; ) was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów (lat. Leopolis) (modern day Lviv). Together with a number of ot ...

. It was then sold to the family of

Koniecpolski The House of Koniecpolski (plural: Koniecpolscy) is the name of an old and once powerful Polish noble family. History The Koniecpolski was a magnate family. The family appears in the historical annals beginning in the 15th century. The family ...

. The new owners, whose main residence was in

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 ...

, treated the castle poorly, and only in 1682 the castle was renovated by

Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

, who bought the complex from

Stanislaw Koniecpolski Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

for 400,000 zlotys. In early 18th century, Olesko was bought by the family of Rzewuski, and its collection of antiques was moved to another castle the Rzewuscy owned,

Pidhirtsi Castle Pidhirtsi Castle (; ) is a residential castle-fortress located in the village of Pidhirtsi in Lviv Oblast (oblast, province) western Ukraine, located eighty kilometers east of Lviv. It was constructed by Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan between 1 ...

. The castle is perhaps most famous for being the birthplace of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

king

, the hero of the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

. He often lived there, and collected many of the artworks displayed in the present-day museum. Another Polish king, King

Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki Michael I (, ; 31 May 1640 – 10 November 1673) was the ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 29 September 1669 until his death in 1673 ...

, was also born here. It is also said that Bohdan

Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi (, ) is a city in western Ukraine. Located on the Southern Bug, it serves as the administrative centre of Khmelnytskyi Oblast as well as Khmelnytskyi Raion within the oblast. With a population of Khmelnytskyi is the second-larges ...

, the most prominent leaders of Ukrainian

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

spent his childhood years here.

Restorations

The castle was restored in the late 16th to the early 17th centuries. Paintings and mosaics were brought in to decorate the different rooms of the castle. The castle was remodeled in the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

style, which was popular at that time. In 1838, an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

rocked the castle, partly destroying some areas. In 1882, the castle, regarded as a Polish national monument was bought by the Committee of Preservation of the Olesko Castle, which led to a restoration in 1892. Both

World War I 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 ...

and

World War II 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 ...

affected the castle negatively, undoing previous restoration work. In 1956, the castle was struck by lightning. The castle was restored again, beginning in 1961 and lasting until 1985. Today, it is a museum, displaying the collections of antique furnishings and art dating from the 16th-17th centuries. It also features

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

paintings Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or " support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush. Other implements, ...

, still lives,

applied arts The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univ ...

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

, period weapons, and objects used in everyday life at the time. Its collection is regarded as one of the richest treasury of Polish art outside borders of Poland. The castle is a part of the "Golden Horseshoe", a ring of three castles nearby each other: Olesko,

Pidhirtsi Pidhirtsi (; ) is a village of about 1,000 inhabitants in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast of Ukraine, located about 80 km east of Lviv, 17 km south of Brody, 60 km north west of Ternopil. It belongs to Zabol ...

, and Zolochiv Castles. File:Boguszowicz Taniec Salome.jpg, ''Dance of Salome'',

Szymon Boguszowicz Szymon is a Polish version of the masculine given name Simon. Academics *Szymon Askenazy – historian and diplomat who served as the first Polish representative at the League of Nations *Szymon Datner – Polish-Jewish historian and anti-Nazi par ...

File:Siemiginowski Bachus i Ariadna.jpg, ''Bacchus and Ariadne'',

Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter (born Jerzy Szymonowicz; c. 1660 – c. 1711) was a prominent Polish painter and engraver of the Baroque era. He was court painter to king John III Sobieski and a Polish–Lithuanian noble. He is considered one of t ...

File:Czechowicz Dzieciątko Jezus wśród aniołów.jpg, ''The Christ Child sleeping among angels'',

Szymon Czechowicz Szymon Czechowicz (July 1689 – 21 July 1775) was a prominent Polish painter of the Baroque, considered one of the most accomplished painters of 18th century sacral painting in Poland. He specialized in sublime effigies of painted figures. ...

File:Michał Józef Rzewuski.jpg, ''Portrait of Michał Józef Rzewuski'', Marcello Bacciarelli File:Chojnicki Portret damy.jpg, ''Portrait of a lady'', Józef Chojnicki

In philately and numismatics

On June 9, 2017, the national postal operator Ukrposhta put into circulation a postage stamp "Olesky Castle of the XIII-XVIII centuries" with a face value of UAH 5.80. The stamp, which was issued under the C.E.P.T. program, represented Ukraine in the annual postage stamp rating conducted by the association of European postal operators PostEurop. On August 17, 2021, the National Bank of Ukraine put into circulation a 10-hryvnia silver commemorative coin "Olesky Castle". It belongs to the series "Architectural Monuments of Ukraine"

References

External links

Olesko Castle at the Wilanów Palace MuseumMedieval restaurant Hrydnytsya inside Olesko castlelvivecotour.com
– Olesko Castle Tour in English {{Castles in Ukraine

Olesko Olesko (; ) is a Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast (oblast, region) of western Ukraine. It belongs to Busk urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Po ...