Location: Mukachevo, Zakarpattia Oblast (Province) Map
Constructed: 14th century
Palanok Castle is a medieval castle situated on a hill overlooking
Mukachevo, Zakarpattia Oblast in Ukraine. It was constructed in the
14th century. Palanok Castle or Mukachevo Castle is a medieval
fortress in the town of Mukachevo in Western Ukraine in a province
(oblast) of Zakarpattia. It stands on the strategic mountain of
volcanic origin at an elevation of 68 meters and covering a total
area of 13930 sq meters. The fortress consists of three parts: high
castle, middle castle and low castle. There is no exact date for its
foundation, but it is first mentioned in the documents from the 11th
century. New Palanok citadel was erected in the 14th century by the
orders of the Hungarian noble family Aba who erected several castles
to defend the kingdom of Hungary.
Between 1396 and 1414 Palanok Castle was owned by Fyodor Koriatovych
who recieved it from the Hungarian king Sigismund. He fortified the
castle and turned into one of the most protected forts in the
region. He further increased its size and turning it into a
residence. A 85 meter deep well was cut in to the rock to supply the
garrison of the castle with drinking water.
During the 15th and 16th centuries Palanok Castle changed hands
between various rulers. They conducted further work to strengthen
its foritifications. Its walls were protected by 14 towers. Upper
Castle housed a large palace that served as a residence for the
castle owners. In 1633 Palanok Castle (Mukachevo Castle) was
acquired by Transylvanian Prince George I Rakoczi by the right of
inheritance. He turned into the capital of his principality. After
his death in 1648, his widow Zsuzsanna Lorantfi [en] expanded
Palanok adding the middle and the lower terraces as well as outer
defense ring. In 1649 citadel was visited by the ambassadors of
famous Ukrainian/ Russian leader Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky during
his liberation war with Poland. Here his representatives negotiated
joint actions with Gyorgy Rakoczy II againt Polish rulers.
This royal family owned Palanok Castle (Mukachevo Castle) until 1711
when after the defeat of the uprising in accordance of Satmarsk
peace treaty all the possessions of the family were confiscated by
the Habsburg royal dynasty who subsequently transferred it to their
vassals Schonborn lords. The citadel lost its military purpose, but
it was preserved and turned into a political prison of the Holy
Roman Empire (1782- 1896) and later Austrian Empire. During this
century Palanok Castle housed over 20,000 prisoners. In July 1847
castle prison was visited by the Hungarian poet Sandor Petofi.
In 1986 the prison was closed and Panok Castle was largely abandoned
and it soon feel in disrepair. It was briefly used as a garrison by
the soldiers of Czechoslovak Republic and later Hungarian armed
forces during World War II. After the war the former Sub- Carpathian
Rus along with Palanok Caslte became part of the Ukrainian SSR.
Since 1960 the Historical Museum is located within walls of the
fort. In 1998 a monument dedicated to Prince Fyodor Koriatovych by
sculptor Basil Olashina was erected in the castle courtyard. Local
superstition claim that you need to leave coins on the bottom of the
statue and touch the thumb or index finger of the statue for good
luck.
The castle is built on a mountain of volcanic origin 68 m high and
occupies an area of 13,930 square meters. m. The exact time of the
castle's founding is unknown, but it is already mentioned in documents
dated to the 11th century.
The Hungarian king Stefan I the Holy
gave special importance to the castle by strengthening its walls. The
case of Stephen I was continued by St. Vladyslav.
In 1086, the
Mukachevo Castle was besieged by the Polovtsy, but they were unable to
capture it.
In 1241, the territory of the Hungarian Kingdom was
attacked by the Mongols. One of the first points of their attack on the
kingdom was Mukachevo. The 60,000-strong army of Khan Batia completely
destroyed the city, but could not capture the well-fortified castle.
From 1396 to 1414, the castle was owned by the Prince of Podil Fedir
Koriyatovych. He significantly expanded and strengthened the castle,
turned it into his residence. At the same time, an 85-meter well was dug
in the rocky mountain. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle
was in the hands of many owners who built and strengthened it. At that
time, there were 14 towers in the defense system of the castle, and
there was a large palace in the upper part.
In 1567, Mukachevo
Castle was besieged by Lazarus von Schwendi.
Mukachevo Castle
belonged to Count Mykola Esterhazi, who got it through his marriage to
Ursula Dersffy. In 1622, under the terms of the Mykula Agreement, the
Mukachiv Castle came into the possession of Gabor Bethlen. As a result
of the war started with the Hungarian Esterhazi family, Prince Yuriy I
Rakotsi (Ragotskyi) of Semigorod conquered the Mukachevo Castle, which
since then was in the possession of the Rakotsi (Ragotskyi) family.
In 1633, the Mukachevo castle was purchased by the Transylvanian
prince Yuri I Rakotsi with the right of inheritance. The princes of the
Rakotsi dynasty turned the castle into the capital of their principality
and owned it until 1711. After the death of Yuri I Rakotsi in 1648, his
wife Zuzhanna Lorantffy continued the construction of the castle and
built two more terraces - Middle and Lower, as well as an outer
defensive ring. In 1649, the castle was visited by the envoys of Hetman
Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, who held negotiations with Yuri II Rakotsi about
joint actions against Poland.
From 1685 to 1688, the castle
survived one of the biggest sieges carried out by the troops of the
Austrian emperor. Ilon Zrini, the widow of Prince Ferenc I Rakocza, was
in charge of the defense of the castle. After the capture of the castle,
the Austrians reconstructed it, which made it the strongest fortress in
the east of the Austrian Empire.
The fortress had triple protection, and the castle was located in the last (third) wall. The castle also had deep cellars in the rocks, where the population could hide. Below the mountain lies Palanka, that is, a town surrounded by piles and a moat with water up to 12 feet deep. There was a swamp around the ditch. On the territory of the castle, a covered well carved out of the rock was made, which led to the moat. Teodor Koriatovych, with the permission of the Hungarian kings Charles and Louis, built a castle here around 1350 with great efforts.
From 1703 to 1711, the castle became a stronghold of the national
liberation war of the Hungarian people against Austrian oppression.
Ilona Zrini's son Ferenc II Rakotsi led the war.
After the defeat
of the liberation war, the castle gradually lost its strategic
importance. In 1782, a political prison of the Austrian monarchy was
opened here, in which more than 20,000 prisoners were imprisoned for
more than 100 years. In July 1847, the outstanding Hungarian poet Sandor
Petefi visited the castle-prison. In 1848, during the Hungarian
Revolution, under pressure from the residents of Mukachevo, all
prisoners were released from prison. Later, in honor of this, a linden
tree, known as the Freedom Tree, was planted in the castle, which stood
on the semicircular bastion of the courtyard until 1960. In 1896, the
prison in the castle was liquidated in honor of the millennium of the
arrival of the Hungarians to Europe, but in fact the prison continued to
exist until 1903. The most famous prisoner of the fortress was the
Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin. In 1897, Palanok was bought by
the Ministry of Justice of Austria-Hungary. The castle gradually fell
into disrepair and was destroyed.
During the Napoleonic Wars,
namely from December 11, 1805 to March 10, 1806, the Hungarian Holy
Crown was guarded and stored in the castle.
During the period of
the Czechoslovak Republic (1919-1938), military units were located in
the castle. During the Second World War, the castle was occupied by
Hungarian troops. After the occupation by the Soviet troops in 1944 and
the annexation of Transcarpathia to occupied Ukraine, the castle housed
a vocational school.
Today, the Mukachevo Castle houses a historical museum.
On
April 15, 2009, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution "On
measures to preserve the cultural heritage of Palanok Castle", which
recommends:
The General Prosecutor's Office to verify the legality of
the decisions of the Mukachiv City Council regarding the transfer of
Palanok Castle to communal ownership and to take appropriate
prosecutorial response measures
The Cabinet of Ministers shall, in
accordance with the established procedure, develop measures for the
creation of the state historical and architectural reserve "Palanok
Castle" and assign it to the sphere of management of the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism, and necessarily determine the necessary funding for
the maintenance of the castle.
Recently, the castle became
available for viewing in Google Street View.
On October 5, 2018,
a Room of Historical Memory of Prince Fyodor Koriyatovich appeared in
the castle, dedicated to the biography of the Lithuanian nobleman, who
was one of the builders of the fortress.
In 2022, the Trident was
installed instead of the Hungarian turul. "Today, our national symbol,
the small State Coat of Arms of Ukraine - the Trident, was installed in
the Palanok Castle territory, a landmark for our community and the
entire Transcarpathia, in honor of our heroes defenders," - wrote the
mayor of Mukachevo, Andriy Baloga.
The legend tells about the appearance of the well: when there was a
need for it, the prince ordered to dig a well. No matter how long they
dug it, they still could not reach the water. Hearing the same saying
every day: "Your Highness, there is no water." Koriatovych increasingly
did not believe that it would be possible to dig a well. One day, the
devil came to the prince and offered a deal: a bag of gold in exchange
for filling the well with water. But it turned out that there is no
money in the treasury, so the prince cannot pay the impure. The prince
offered his soul, but he refused, demanding money. One of Koriyatovych's
faithful knights, overhearing the prince's conversation with the devil,
offered him to deceive him: "Fedor, a bag of gold does not necessarily
have to be big: a small bag is also a bag." Throwing the last two gold
coins into the bag, they gave him the devil, and he, terribly indignant,
declared: "You won't drink the water anyway," and with these words he
jumped into the well. Since then, every evening from the depths of the
well, you can hear the devil howling at the bottom because he was
deceived.
Another version (which is told on tours of the castle):
The devil did not tell the price, but simply helped to dig the well
(inside it is made of solid stone). And when it was time to pay, the
devil demanded two bags of gold. The prince spent all the money and he
had only 2 gold coins left. When his wife found out about the problem,
she suggested simply sewing very small bags, so that one coin could
barely fit in them. And they threw these bags into the well.