Stare Selo Castle is a castle in

Stare Selo Stare Selo (Ukrainian: Старе Село; Polish: ''Stare Sioło''; literally, "old village") is a village in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine known as the site of a large castle, or rather fortress, of Princes Ostrogski. It belongs to Davydiv ...

village,

Lviv Raion Lviv Raion ( uk, Львівський район) is a raion (district) of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It was created in July 2020 as part of the reform of administrative divisions of Ukraine. The center of the raion is the city of Lviv. Four abolished ...

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a relational adjective—in English translating to a noun adjunct w ...

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 ...

. This castle, or

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, was built by the princely

Ostrogski family The House of Ostrogski ( pl, Ostrogscy, lt, Ostrogiškiai, ua, Острозькі - ''Ostroz'ki'') was one of the more prominent families in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The fa ...

. Its original timber fortifications, first mentioned in 1448, were destroyed by the invading

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 the late 15th century. A more secure stone fort, intended to defend the Bârlad Road from

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

, was built in Stare Selo in the 1580s. Those walls were breached and rendered useless by

Khmelnytsky 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 (distr ...

's Cossacks during the Siege of Lviv in 1648. The existing fortress, almost triangular in shape, with 15-metre high walls and a ceremonial gate on the south side, was commissioned by Prince

Władysław Dominik Zasławski Prince Wladysław Dominik Zasławski-Ostrogski (ca. 1616 – 1656) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic) of Ruthenian stock. Prince of the Princely Houses of Poland, Ostroh Ordynat, Grand Koniuszy of The Crown. Zasławski was the most powerf ...

, one of the last members of the Ostrogski family. The citadel was erected in 1649-54 and formerly contained the palatial residence of Prince Zaslawski, one of the richest landowners of Eastern Europe and brother-in-law of King

John 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 ...

. After Prince Zaslawski died in Stare Selo in 1656, the fortress gradually fell into disrepair, although it successfully withstood a siege by the Turks in 1674.

Sources

* Памятники градостроительства и архитектуры Украинской ССР. В 4-х томах. К.: Будівельник, 1983–1986. Том 3, с. 186–187. Castles in Ukraine Buildings and structures in Lviv Oblast Ostrogski family {{castle-stub