Radomysl Castle () is a historical and cultural complex created in 2007–2011 by Olha Bohomolets, a Ukrainian doctor and public activist. The castle's center is an old flour mill built in the town of

Radomyshl Radomyshl (, ) is a historic city in Zhytomyr Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. Before 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Radomyshl Raion. It is located on the left bank of the Teteriv River, a right tributary of ...

(

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast (), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna (), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately H ...

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 ...

) in the late 19th century by

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 ...

engineer Piekarski. The mill was constructed upon the ruins of a paper mill built in 1612 by the order of the

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

(

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

) of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Yelysei Pletenetskyi (1550–1624). During research conducted during the reconstruction of this building, it was discovered that it had been planned to be used as a fortress. Since 2011, Radomysl Castle has been part of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

's cultural project,

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the Historic roads, historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History ...

. Its purpose is to promote cultural exchanges by means of tourism between

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an countries.

Interior

The main attraction of Radomysl Castle is the Museum of Ukrainian home icons. The Museum's collection is based upon Olha Bohomolets' private collection of icons, which she has been collecting since 1996. This is perhaps the first and only museum of its kind in Ukraine and in the entire world (despite museum on

Supraśl Supraśl (; ; ) is a town and former episcopal see in Białystok County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Supraśl. It is situated on the Supraśl (river), Supraśl River, about northeast of Białyst ...

and

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...

, Poland). The collection comprises more than 5000

icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially ...

and sculptures (

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 ...

, and

Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...

), created between the 16th and 20th centuries in different parts of Ukraine. One of the museum's highlights is an icon of St. Nicholas carved in stone. This is probably the oldest icon in the collection of Radomysl Castle, dated from the 12th century. Some icons retain traces of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

aggressive

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

. Among the exhibits is a box made of headless icons. Some of the icons were rescued from burning, but they are impossible to restore. The Castle's interior combines the features of the

Late Medieval The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the period of European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

and

Early Modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

periods. One of the halls in the museum exhibition is the Ceremonial Hall. It is a place for special events, especially weddings. There is also a concert hall which seats 150 for

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. Nina Matviyenko, a popular Ukrainian folk singer, performed there. The Castle Radomysl's concert hall has another unique feature, it is probably the only concert hall in Europe with its own natural water spring. The Castle's refectory is also a small museum. On its walls hang fine copies of old maps from the 15th–19th centuries. Its big oven can be used both to cook food, and as a fireplace.

Landscape park

Radomysl Castle's landscape park was created in accordance with modern environmental requirements. Human interference in the environment was minimal. There are some natural fresh water springs in the park, which provide a very refreshing drink. The vast majority of trees and flowers growing in the park are rare species. Among them are iris, pink and white

lilies ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

, English garden roses, magnolias, and ''Trapa rossica'', a

water caltrop The water caltrop is any of three extant species of the genus ''Trapa'': ''Trapa natans'', ''Trapa bicornis'' and the endangered ''Trapa rossica''. It is also known as buffalo nut, bat nut, devil pod, ling nut, mustache nut, singhara nut or wate ...

, which is listed in Ukraine's Red Book of endangered species. The park is inhabited by animals like

beavers Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Rank (zoology), subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic animal, aquatic, or Marine ecology, marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae Family (biology), family, whi ...

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

s, and water voles. Beaver Radomysl

The Castle and its park are decorated with sculptures of

St. Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

, dated to the 17th–19th centuries. On 29 October 2009, near the place where the paper mill stood, a monument to Yelysei Pletenetskyi was unveiled. This is perhaps the only monument in Ukraine on the surface of moving water.

External links

*http://www.radozamok.com.ua/en/ Official web page of Radomysl Castle

Sources

* Budka W. Papiernictwo w Nowym Stawie і Radomyślu // Pzegląd Biblioteczny. – Rocz. 3. – Kraków, 1929. * Енциклопедія українознавства. У 10-х т. / Гол. ред. Володимир Кубійович. – Париж; Нью-Йорк: Молоде Життя, 1954–1989. * Гладиш Л.А. Радомишль: ключі від міста. Нариси про історію міста. – Житомир, «Полісся», 2007 * Запаско Я., Мацюк О. Стасенко В. Початки українського друкарства – Львів, 2000. * Мацюк О. Історія українського паперу. – Київ, 1994. * Тимошенко Л. «Радомисль в історії Української церкви»// Людина і світ. – 1997. – No.2. – С. 6–11.
Радомисль" відзначає п'ятиріччя з дня початку реконструкції

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