Mejibozh Castle
Mejibozhsky castle is a powerful fortified fortress in the village of Mejiboz near the city of Khmelnitsky in Ukraine. Over the years of its existence, it has successfully reflected the attacks of Poles and Tatars.
Such a border location of the region was beneficial for many, so they tried to seize the castle in order to equip a transshipment point here. In its history, the Mejibozh Castle has seen among its owners: Poles, Lithuanians, Turks, Tatars, Cossacks. And each owner tried to rebuild the fortress so that no one would take possession. As a result, the fortress took the form of an incorrect triangle with walls up to 4 meters thick and 17 meters high in some places. In the walls of the fortress were equipped with barracks, weapons, and in the center of the courtyard there is a church.
The first fortifications in these places appeared back in the days of Kievan Rus, but, according to scientists, they were made of wood and most likely they were destroyed by fire during the battle. The first mention of the fortress and the city in this place dates back to 1146, when Prince Yaroslav Ingvarevich owned it. In 1240, the city was destroyed and Tatars looted. The fortifications had to be restored from the ruins to the princes of Vodzimersky, and later Koryatovichi. In 1362, the Lithuanians kicked the Tatars out of Podolla and set up a well-fortified castle here. Tatars raided until Jan Kamenetsky finally defeated their units. In 1540, hetman Nikolai Senyavsky engaged in the reconstruction of the castle, building new fortifications that have reached our days. In 1648, the castle was seized by the troops of Bogdan Khmelnitsky and held him for several years. In 1671, the Poles entered into a peace treaty with the Turks, on which they were to give land to the left bank of the Dniester. Already in 1673, the troops of Khan Mengli II Girei occupied Medjiboz. In the short time that they owned the Turks, they managed to build a mosque and decorate the Mejibozhsky castle in the eastern style. But after the victories of the great crown hetman Jan III, the Poles again took possession of the city. After the division of the Commonwealth in 1793, Medjiboz became part of the Russian Empire.
Nowadays, the castle has become a museum with several exhibitions. In the 1st and 2nd rooms you can find out the whole history of the castle, in the 3rd room you can see how the dwelling of the philistine looked. In the 4th hall there were exhibits of folk art, in 5 – folk weaving. In the sixth hall there is an exhibition of icon painting. In the Mejibozh Castle, festivals on historical topics are often held. The most famous festival is "Older's Medjiboz". During this festival, more than fifty military-historical people come here to reconstruct the knightly tournaments.
