Zbarazh castle. 360° spherical Panoramas
In Ternopil region there is town named Zbarazh that is famous for its historical past. The most famous historical and architectural sight in Zbarazh is Zbarazh castle.
It’s situated not in the heart of the city, in the park on Castle Hill.
The famous Flemish architect Van Peen created a project for the castle according to the fortification projects by Scamozzi, and construction has been lasted since 1626 to 1631. The very process of construction was under the supervision of Zbarazh brothers – Yury and Khristophor. Khristophor died first, and Yuri Zbarazh died after him, so then in 1636 the castle became the property of Vyshnevetsky family by which the castle got a variety of defense structures.
In the design of fortifications around the castle the specificity of Zbarazh geography and topography is considered. The castle is surrounded on all sides by walls and a moat casemated. The defensive wall around the castle could reach a height of 12 meters and the thickness of them reach even more - 23 meters, together with the bulk of the ground. Due to this thickness enemy guns could not penetrate through the wall to enter the territory. Zbarazh Castle was one of the most powerful fortresses, as the defense had more than 50 guns.
It is noteworthy that under the Zbarazh Castle there are underground tunnels that connect the fortification with another local landmark - the Bernardine Monastery - an unusual and ancient monastery complex, which is located in a valley of Zbarazh.
If you climb on the Castle hill, you can see the surviving ancient deep ditch. Now the moat has the stone bridge. In the courtyard there is the palace of a rectangular shape with two floors, whose architecture is reminiscent of the Renaissance. The main entrance is crowned by the palace balcony with stone balustrade. As for the facade of the casemates, located on the perimeter, they are also decorated in a Renaissance style.
However, Zbarazh castle is well known not only for its beauty. In 1649, it was an important place during the uprising of Ukrainian Cossacks led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. The result of these historic events was the signing of the Zborowsky contract. The events of that time are reflected in the historical novel and the film of the same name "With Fire and Sword."
After the Vyshnevetsky Family the Castle became the property of Pototsky, after which it was subjected to repeated devastation of enemies. However, in the early XX century, it was decided to start the restoration works at the castle, which were discontinued in Soviet times. Now Zbarazh Castle is again restored, and there the historical tours are conducted.
