Mejibozh Castle
Medzhibozh Castle is a powerful fortified fortress in the village of Medzhibozh near the city of Khmelnitsky in Ukraine. Over the years of its existence, it has successfully repelled attacks by Poles and Tatars.
Such a border location of the region was beneficial for many, so they tried to capture the castle in order to set up a transit point here. Throughout its history, Medzybozhsky Castle has seen Poles, Lithuanians, Turks, Tatars, and Cossacks among its owners. And each owner tried to rebuild the fortress so that no one would take over. As a result, the fortress took the form of an irregular triangle with walls up to 4 meters thick and 17 meters high in some places. Barracks and armories were built in the walls of the fortress, and a church is located in the center of the courtyard.
The first fortifications in these places appeared back in the time 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 it was owned by Prince Yaroslav Ingvarevich. In 1240, the city was destroyed and plundered by the Tatars. The Vodzimersky princes and later the Koryatovichi had to rebuild the fortifications from the ruins. In 1362, the Lithuanians drove the Tatars out of Podolsk and built a well-fortified castle here. The Tatars carried out raids until Jan Kamenetsky finally defeated their detachments. In 1540, Hetman Nikolai Senyavsky began rebuilding the castle, building new fortifications that have survived to this day. In 1648, Bogdan Khmelnitsky's troops captured the castle and held it for several years. In 1671, the Poles concluded a peace treaty with the Turks, according to which they had to give up the lands on the left bank of the Dniester. Already in 1673, the troops of Khan Mengli II Giray occupied Medzhybozh. In the short time that the Turks owned it, they managed to build a mosque and decorate the Medzhybozhsky castle in the oriental style. But after the victories of the great crown hetman Jan III Sobieski, the Poles regained control of the city. After the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1793, Medzyborz became part of the Russian Empire.
Nowadays, the castle has become a museum with several exhibitions. In Halls 1 and 2, you can learn the entire history of the castle, in Hall 3, you can see what a philistine's dwelling looked like. There are exhibits of folk art in the 4th hall, and folk weaving in the 5th. In the sixth hall there is an exhibition of icon painting. There are often festivals on historical themes in Medzybozhsky Castle. The most famous festival is "Old Medzhibozh". During this festival, people from more than fifty military-historical countries come here to reconstruct the jousting tournaments.
