Palanok Castle (Замок Паланок)
Description of Palanok Castle or Mukachevo Castle
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.