The Chernelytsia Castle ( uk, Чернелицький замок, italic=yes, pl, Zamek w Czernelicy) is a
castle
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 r ...
built in
Chernelytsia
Chernelytsia (; ) is an urban-type settlement in Kolomyia Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Chernelytsia settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population was
Location
Chernelytsia is loc ...
,
Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
in 1659 by
Bratslav
Bratslav ( uk, Брацлав; pl, Bracław; yi, בראָצלעוו, ''Brotslev'', today also pronounced Breslev or '' Breslov'' as the name of a Hasidic group, which originated from this town) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, located i ...
governor
Michał Jerzy Czartoryski Michał () is a Polish and Sorbian form of Michael and may refer to:
* Michał Bajor (born 1957), Polish actor and musician
* Michał Chylinski (born 1986), Polish basketball player
* Michał Drzymała (1857–1937), Polish rebel
* Michał Hel ...
.
Architecture
Built in a
bastion fort
A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...
style, the castle occupies an area of around 2 hectares, and is protected by
defensive walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
that are up to 6 meters high and 2.5 meters thick and
loopholes
A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system.
Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow ver ...
for firearms. There are four acute-angled
bastions
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
at the corners of the castle. The front
façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means 'frontage' or ' face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...
is decorated with «
Pogoń
The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is als ...
», the coat of arms of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...
. The western façade of the gates is decorated with Piława,
Polish coat of arms
The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background.
In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as ''godło'' both in official documents and colloquial speech, despite the fact that ...
, located above the stone doors of the gates, followed by the letters E.S.X.C.W.B., meaning "Euphrosyne Stanislavitskaya, princess of Czartorysk, Bratslav governor (wojewoda)" (the second wife of Mikhail Czartoryskiy).
History
In 1672 and 1676, the castle suffered damage during the war with 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 ...
(also
Tatars
The Tatars ()Tatar in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different ,
Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easte ...
). The castle played an important role during the Polish–Ottoman War in 1685-1690. It was the largest eastern castle of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ...
on the right bank of the
Dniester River
The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...
. During the times of the Moldavian crusades of
Jan III Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 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, Sobie ...
the castle was the storage place of provisions and
fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including ...
. Several times the King himself stopped there.
At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle was owned by Tsensky.
In 1892, then owner of the castle Samuel Mosberg wanted to rebuild the castle. But the order of Gorodenka Starostats prohibited any construction under the threat of punishment. The castle stopped functioning after the
Soviet annexation of Eastern Galicia and Volhynia
On the basis of a secret clause of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union invaded Poland on September 17, 1939, capturing the eastern provinces of the Second Polish Republic. Lwów (present-day Lviv), the capital of the Lwów Voivodeship ...