Castle Palanok, Mukachevo: history, legend. Sights of Ukraine

Medieval castles are the part of history that always attracts the curious views of travelers. Perhaps this is due to the halo of romance and codes of honor that were inherent in the nobility of the Middle Ages. It is not for nothing that the expression "faithful knight", which is used when talking about a man who is truly in love, is still in use.

Today, about those times and actions of people who created history, remind only majestic structures in different countries. Castle Palanok (Mukachevo) is one of them.

Transcarpathia

Behind the Carpathian Mountains for many centuries the people were formed so unique and original that their courage, patriotism and devotion to their faith became legendary.

The history of Transcarpathia is forever associated with the Slavs who came here and began to master these lands in another thousand hectares. E. As archaeological excavations show, they were from Volyn and Prykarpattya. Genetic spiritual connection, laid down even during the formation of Kievan Rus and its emergence as a great state, was able to protect the Transcarpathian people from assimilation with alien cultures, under the influence of which it was for a long time.

Only 3 centuries - from 9 to 11 in. - the Slav princes ruled here and Orthodoxy reigned, but from the 11th to the 13th centuries these lands became part of the kingdom of Great Hungary. Later, until the middle of the 20th century, Transcarpathia was a small change in many civil strife and passed from one dynasty to another. From the Hungarian to the Galicia-Volyn principality, then to the Turks and the Habsburgs, the next masters were Austria-Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and only after the Second World War did they again become part of Ukraine, from which they were torn off for 10 centuries.

Today, the ancient castle of Palanok (Mukachevo) is visited by tourists from all over the world to get acquainted with the history of the devotion of one people to its origins, culture and faith.

Mukacheve

The exact date of the origin of the city is unknown, but the first written mention of it is found in the annals for 896 year. The location of Mukacheve is so successful that the Slavs who founded the settlement were not the first to understand and apply it.

The settlement on the site of the present city was established 40,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic period. Time passed, some tribes disappeared, their parking lots fell asleep on the ground, but the following appeared on the same spot. For example, here you can find evidence of life of people of the late Paleolithic (3000 years ago), bronze (2000 BC).

The cultures represented here are just as diverse. On Mount Tupce, a Thracian fortress was discovered (10th century BC), and nearby - the Celtic oppidum, and archaeologists could even trace when the Celts were evicted tribes of carp, after which the mountains were named.

No matter how the tribes of BC have succeeded each other, it is precisely known that Transcarpathia developed and grew with the Slavic tribes, who in the 700 years of the first millennium formed the great Rusich people, ruled by the prince of Kiev. This post, by the way, was elected, and people as put the prince on the kingdom, so he could take it off.

The first wooden defensive structure appeared here on Mount Zamkova in 1086. The real stone Mukachevo castle appeared only in the 14th century. It began its construction at the behest of Charles Robert - Hungarian nobleman, in whose possession was then the fortress.

Today, Mukachevo (Ukraine, Transcarpathian region) is a regional center located half a hundred kilometers from Hungary and Slovakia and 100 kilometers from the border with Romania and Poland.

History of the castle

As it usually happens, there is no exact date for the construction of the castle, but in chronicles it is said that in 1086 he not only repulsed the attack, but remained the only unconquered troops of the Polovtsian khan of Kutesk, the citadel. In the charter for 1321 it is mentioned that in the fortress there is a commandant named Tomash.

The following data for 1352 already speak of another commandant - Deje, who defeated the army of Khan Atlamos. During the 13th and 14th centuries the fortress belonged to the Ugric royal dynasty of Arpadoviches and Anjou, but the real flowering and rebuilding of the fortress into a surprisingly beautiful and impregnable castle begins when the first owner appears.

Mukachevo Castle was awarded for services to Fedor Koryatovich - a native of the ancient Lithuanian princely family Gediminas. He lost his possessions during the war, and Sigismund 1 in 1396 gave him a fortress in lifelong possession.

At that time the building was a square of walls with towers and a moat in front of them. Fedor Koryatovych built a castle on the top of the mountain, which became the residence of his family. On the sides of the old wall were built powerful towers up to 9 m in diameter with a wall thickness of 2.5 meters.

In 1401, the castle was encircled by a deep dry ditch above which towered ten-meter defensive walls. Inside the castle a well was dug so that its inhabitants could survive any siege and not suffer from thirst. The castle of Palanok (Mukacheve) is perfectly preserved to the present day. He was not affected by the passage from one royal dynasty to another, neither the First nor the Second World War. In Soviet times there was an agricultural technical school, thanks to which its halls and walls were maintained in good condition, and in 1960 a museum was opened in it.

Fedor Koryatovich

This prominent political figure of his time and a descendant of an ancient noble family possessed a remarkable intellect and a strong character, but some historians put his personality in doubt, since the originals of credentials were never found.

A few copies of the surviving documents show that the castle of Palanok (Mukachevo) was indeed handed over for life to Fedor Koryatovich together with the city and the adjacent lands up to Khust. Whatever it was, but it was with his light hand on the Castle Hill that a grandiose structure appeared, for which thousands of people now come to Transcarpathia.

In addition to the castle, Fyodor Koryatovich built a library and erected a monastery, in which he was buried after his death. Thanks to him, the city of Mukachevo became the cultural and religious center of the region. Today the grave of nobles can not be found, but it is known that in the 19th century, when a stone church was placed instead of a wooden church, its tombstone was intact. Where it happened later is unknown.

Now a monument resembles a monument in the courtyard of the castle, which already has its own legend.

Description of the castle

For the time that Fyodor Koryatovych held in Transcarpathia, Mukachevo Castle (address: 5 Kurutsev Lane) has acquired a view that we are observing today.

The noblemen were built:

• Upper lock;
• Middle and lower locks;
• Defensive wall with a moat.

For construction from France came her former defense minister and part-time connoisseur of fortifications Sebastian de Vauban, who developed the defensive system of the castle, which made it impregnable. In some parts of the fortress, the walls reached 18 meters in thickness, which made it easy to withstand the firing of existing guns at that time.

In general, he had 4 terraces, which were distributed on the Antechamber, Lower, Middle and Upper Castle. Each level was higher than the other and represented an independent defensive unit, so if the lower tiers fell, the defenders could take shelter at the top and survive the siege.

In the 14th century, as now, to get to the castle of Palanok (Mukachevo, the work schedule - from 9.00 to 18.00, the day off - Mon.) could only be on a wooden bridge over a ditch, only at that time it was filled with water and a palisade - Thanks to which it received its name.

In the first large courtyard there were barracks. Moreover, they also had tiers - the higher they were, the more rewarding the military received, who carried the service there. One of the most amazing structures of the Upper Castle is the 75-meter well, which struck right in the mountain to the river Latoritsy. Depending on the level of its waters, the contents of the well were overflowing, then it went far down, and it was necessary to pull the life-giving moisture from the depth. But this saved the inhabitants during the siege of the fortress, one of which lasted more than 3 years.

Ilona Zrini

At one time the castle belonged to the ancient Transylvanian family Rakoczi, which originated from Vlad 3 Dracula. Their dynasty rules here more than 100 years. At one time it was they who gave shelter to Transcarpathian Slavs who did not want to accept the culture and religion of the Turkish invaders. Such people were called karutsu, and representatives of the ancient family led them.

Ilona Zrini became a legend during her lifetime. The widow of Ferenc Rakoczi led the defense of the castle during the siege by the troops of the Habsburgs and lasted 3 years. She was famous for her extraordinary beauty. There is even a legend that on the eve of the next enemy assault the lady came out onto the fortress walls to look at the strength of the army under its walls. At that moment the Austrian general saw it, preparing the fighters for the attack. Struck by the beautiful appearance of a woman, he unrolled the army and said that he was used to fighting the soldiers, but he would not fight with beauty.

If it were not for the betrayal of Ilona's inner environment that poisoned the water in the well, this fortress would never have surrendered. Today this great woman is reminded of a monument erected in the castle. She stands with her son at the fortress wall, and the young head of the dynasty holds a saber in his hand.

It is a symbol of the fact that he never bowed before the Habsburg family and continued the work of his father and mother. That's how the castle Palanok and his host stand. In Mukachevo, therefore, in the 19th century a monument was erected to a woman who created history and led the revolution. She died in 1703, and her ashes rest in Kosice (Slovakia).

Legends of the castle

Sights of Ukraine can boast of beauty and antiquity, but perhaps there are nowhere as many legends as in Palanok Castle.

Here, modern superstitions resonate with those who have been for many centuries. For example, excavating a well in a rock gave rise to such a story among the humorous Mukachevites.

Digging a man's well, digging a day, two, ten, but there is no water. The prince angrily asks each day: "Where is the water ?!" And each time they answer him: "No" I heard about this devil and decided to earn some money. He came to the prince and said that he would make a bag of gold so that there would always be water in the well. What to do? The prince agreed, the devil spoiled, the men digged, and the water appeared.

The unclean one came for the reward, and the prince hands him a small bag of gold and says that they did not agree on the sizes. It is clear that the long digging and good sense of humor of local residents have created history for ages.

Well, today the castle Palanok in Mukacheve is a legend, for the sake of which people come here who have cherished desires. Who first decided that the monument to Fyodor Koryatovich specially points to the ground with his finger, as if claiming to be conceived here, we do not know about that, but today thousands of people grab for him, like a straw.

Interestingly, many of them argue that their desire was really realized within a year. Maybe it's a belief in a miracle, or simply after a person held on to a noble finger and, closing his eyes, made a wish, he finally began to take some steps to implement it.

Whatever it was, but the miracle is working. There is a suspicion that the legend was put into practice by the lazy students of the agricultural engineering school that once was located in these walls. They held on to their finger, pulled out the only ticket that they knew, and now a million tourist is grabbing for him and something secret whispers.

Castle in the 20th century

Since in the early 20th century Transcarpathia belonged to the Czech Republic, and then to Hungary (flesh until the end of World War II), it remained safe, albeit under alien supervision. In the 1950s a technical school was established here, and its students lived in former barracks.

Only since 1989 a museum was organized in its walls. Today this is another pearl in the necklace of sights of Western Ukraine and Transcarpathia. Therefore, it is not surprising that many tourists who came to these regions are primarily interested in the fortress, which is so proud of Mr. Mukachevo (Palanok Castle). The entrance price is a little more than 35 rubles. The tour will cost 300 rubles. Per person.

Where it was necessary, restoration work was carried out, so the grandiose monument of history and architecture looks the same as in the days of Fedor Koryatovich. It is included in the list of "The most visited sights of Ukraine", and it is quite deserved. Here everything literally breathes history, therefore in the castle there is no off-season.

Still this is the most favorite place for newlyweds who arrange wedding photo sessions. They are especially frequent between spring and October.

Museums and attractions

Today there are open halls with an exhibition of paintings and sculptures, musicians are playing on the weekends, a collection of objects of everyday life and culture of the inhabitants of Transcarpathia is widely represented in the period from 12 to 20 century. In one of the halls of the guests icons are expected 16-19 centuries. It often hosts concerts and festivals, which the guests of the castle can become members of.

If someone is tired of impressions, then you can relax and have a snack in the cafe, and to make the colors of the day brighter, you can go down to the dark cellars of the castle, where the tasting rooms are now located, and taste the Chizai brand wine.

In the castle Palanok can do without a guide, but it will just walk through its silent corridors and halls. It is people who are in love with these walls that enliven them with stories about those who lived here and composed such wonderful legends.

View from the fortress walls - this is another opportunity to enjoy the local beauty, which can not be missed. Very impressive castle looks at night.

Tours to the Castle

Tour in Transcarpathia is a very popular route, as there is everything:

• the mountains;
• Rivers;
• Numerous sights;
• fresh air;
• Hospitable people;
• Tasty and healthy local cuisine;
• Various activities in which you can take part in the process;
• Large and beautiful, and most importantly - a real castle.

The prices for such tours are quite acceptable, probably, therefore there are excursions all year round and devote travelers to the secrets and legends of the city of Mukacheve and its castle. Each guest of the city always throws a coin to the offended line in the well and makes a wish to return here again. On this occasion the local people have even an anecdote, and they will tell you about it with a million times, it's only worth asking.