Although the castles of Ukraine may not compare to Buckingham Palace, they have many interesting legends and some are even rumored to be haunted.
Some of the castles date back to the 13th century, while others are surprisingly clear reflections of the Renaissance in Ukraine. Especially intriguing are the tales of the famous castles of Lviv region, built during the Habsburg Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In 75 km from Lviv in the village of Olesko is the most beautiful in the region Olesky castle. The first mention of it dates back to 1327. The fortification withstood several attacks and sieges by the beginning of the XVII century, when it was taken over by the noble family Danilovich, whose name is associated with one of the legends about tragic love.
The young Adam Zolkiewski asked several times for the hand in marriage of the daughter of Danilovich. But the girl’s father wanted a rich, powerful son-in-law, so he immediately refused Adam. Once during a game of cards Adam insisted on his proposal. Having received a final refusal, he immediately committed suicide. Since the church forbade burying suicides in the cemetery, his body was thrown into a swamp not far from the castle. Danilovich’s daughter could not survive the loss and also committed suicide. It is said that even now at night the moaning of the souls who cannot find peace and wander around the castle can still be heard.
The ghost story of another castle, located in the village of Podgortsy, became the subject of a TV program in which the spirit of a woman led several Ukrainian and foreign psychics to the place where her remains allegedly lie.
A story about the ghosts of another castle, which is located in the village of Podgortsy, became the subject of a TV program in which the spirit of a woman led several Ukrainian and foreign psychics to the place where her remains allegedly lie.
An unusual legend is told about Palanok Castle, in the town of Mukachevo in Transcarpathia, about a prince trying to sell his soul. One day Prince Fyodor Koryatovich decided to dig a well. But since the castle stands on a high mountain, the workers could not get to the water. According to legend, the well was dug for a long time, but there was no water. When the prince got worried, the devil came to him and offered his help in exchange for a bag of gold.
The prince would have been happy to accept the offer, but the treasury was empty. In desperation he offered his soul, but the devil refused. One of the prince’s knights came up with a way to trick the unclean one. They say that a bag of gold is an ambiguous concept. It can be big or small, but it is still a bag of gold. So they did it: they threw the last two gold coins into the bag and gave it to the devil. The devil shouted in anger: «You can’t drink the water from this well anyway!» and jumped into the well. Since then the grumbling and sighs of the outraged devil have been heard from its depths.
There are still many fortresses and castles in Ukraine that deserve attention. Each fortress has its own amazing history, almost in each of them dug huge underground passages-labyrinths, and even so gigantic that there would pass a whole cart pulled by four horses. And tales of lost treasures and treasures attract even the most sophisticated tourists.
Source: allcastle.info