Name: Olesko
Location:
Country: Ukraine
Hours: -
Ticket Prices: -
Website: -
Now about Olesko. The castle stands on the top of 50m hill. The plan of the
castle is oval. One can see the wall and a moat under it. There is a swamp
around the castle's hill. In the inner yard one can see a well 42 m deep
The first mention of it one can find in the document of 1327 when the
pope Bonifacio lX gave Halych Catholic bishop this castle as a gift. Olesko
laid on the border of Volyn and Lviv land and often changed its hosts. It was
the fief of Polish, Lithuanian and Hungarian magnats and kings.In 1431 the
castle became the centre of fighting for re-union with Volyn. The castle was
many times destroyed by Tartars In the second part of the 15th c the castle
lost its defendant meaning and became the fief ofRadzivill family. In 1605
the castle and a town again change the host-this area was bought by magnate
Ivan Danylovych, then-by Princes Sobiesky and Rzewusky( the same host that in
Pidgirtsy castle ) Their carefree style of living made nothing good for the
castle-it was sold to pay magnates' debt and the collection of antiques moved
to Pidgirtsy castle. In 16th-17th cc. the castle was rebuilt, its halls were
decorated with paintings and mosaics ( the carving was made by French
sculptor B. Leblan).
After the earthquake in 1838 the castle was partly destroyed. In 1882 the
castle's host was Halycia architectural society which closed it for long
years In 1892 a restoration was made .Two wars destroyed the castle very
much And-if all these disasters were not enough- the lightning struck in it
in 1956.The restoration was held in 1961-1985. There is a museum there
now.The rich collection of ancient furniture and paintings is on
display. .Other places of interest near the castle is the town's cementary
with nice ancient monuments made by Shimzer and Gothic church( 15th c).
The above information and pictures were provided by Sergey Gnap