Medieval castles are mute, basically forgotten witnesses
to our largely tragic history. So many of them were built in this land
to protect it against various invaders and only about twenty have survived
the ravages of time, mostly in Halychyna, Podillia, Volyn, and Zakarpattia.
They are different, built atop hills and on flatlands,
tower and bastion type. Most castles in Lviv oblast were founded by our
distant ancestors, the princes of Halych and Volyn, as timber structures,
then appropriated, expanded, and modified by Polish magnates, largely of
Rus’ — i.e., Ukrainian — origin, a fact noted also by Polish historians.
Regrettably, these unique edifices, each with its own enigmatic
history, are now forgotten and in a state of disrepair, inexorably ruined
by time and man, gradually sinking into oblivion. Protection, preservation,
and restoration of castles are, of course, a matter of state concern, because
this state has to build a modern image of Ukraine, its architectural visage,
allowing for monuments of the past. Naturally, the biggest problem is money,
more specifically, the lack of it, although these castles could well help
develop the economy as unique tourist attractions. This would take a national
policy securing investments. While the state remains passive, there are
people fully aware of the true value of these historical sites and making
every effort to preserve this inimitable heritage for posterity.
In Lviv oblast, the Lviv Art Gallery takes care of the
castles in Olesko, Pidhirtsi, and Zolochiv. Thanks to many years of tireless
efforts by Borys Voznytsky, President of the Ukrainian National Committee
of the International Council of Museums, and his team of enthusiasts, the
castles that are gallery property (formally its branches) turn into museum-preserves
with time.
Olesko Castle, one of Ukraine’s oldest such structures
raised from ruin over 20 years ago, currently accommodates the oblast’s
first museum-preserve. An outstanding monument of architecture of the thirteenth
to eighteenth centuries, it is first mentioned in 1347 when passing into
the hands of Prince Yuri Troidenovych. For the past two decades it has
accommodated a regional art museum with a sizable collection of Ukrainian
icons, portraits, decorative art, and ornamented household appliances of
the fourteenth through eighteenth centuries.
The Capuchin monastery, part of the museum preserve, boasts
a treasury with the museum stock including numerous works of art originating
from Western Ukraine, a collection of wood sculptures, portraits, and pieces
of furniture from the fifteenth to twentieth centuries.
Today’s castle “owner,” Roman Solomka, Lviv Gallery departmental
head, and his staff make every effort to keep the castle in a proper shape,
making repairs, tending the park (some 14 hectares), all by themselves.
An amazingly beautiful whimsically shaped living hedge is kept in the patio
adjoining the Capuchin monastery. In fact, it is hard to believe that such
gardening masterpiece could be created nowadays..
Restoration work is in progress at the Zolochiv Castle,
an outstanding monument of seventeenth century defense architecture. Fortunately,
it has been preserved almost unchanged and is now Europe’s only structure
of the type. In fact, the castle is an ensemble including fortifications
with stone walls and bastions, with the Grand Palace inside, the latter
of typical Italian design. But the Chinese Palace is without doubt the
pride of the castle.
Little is known of the castle’s history. Since the end
of the sixteenth century it had been the abode of four generations of the
Sobieski Polish aristocratic dynasty. The castle was built by Mark Sobieski,
later expanded and reinforced by his son Jacob and grandson John (Polish
King John III Sobieski). At that period the castle was not only a fortress,
but also a dwelling. Over the past 200 years the castle has been used as
prison by the Austrian, Polish, German, and Soviet regimes. People in Zolochiv
remember those tragic pages in local history, especially the time when
the castle was an NKVD penitentiary where hundreds of inmates were tortured
to death. A nice chapel was built in their memory by the castle entrance
with popular donations.
The building is being renovated. The walls are restored,
but most importantly the place is being returned its Renaissance spirit.
As rooms and halls are restored they are used for various functions. The
guest hall of the Grand Palace with a beautiful medieval interior houses
music soirees and art exhibits. The basements, cleared of garbage, are
used for the children’s show “Escape from Fort Boyard” in the Zolochiv
Castle catacombs where children compete for quick wit and resourcefulness.
After restoration work is completed the Grand Palace is expected to accommodate
a seventeenth century interior museum and an art and daily craft museum
of the second half of the nineteenth century. Restoration work at the Chinese
Palace is drawing to a close. Hopefully, an Oriental art museum will open
here in the spring, including a tea ceremony held strictly according to
Hoyle. The castle is thus gradually turning into a museum and a major cultural
center. Restoration is financed by patrons. There is a charitable Zolochiv
Castle Society, functioning quite effectively, made up of local and foreign
enthusiasts. It was founded by Prof. Volodymyr Boliubash, a Zolochiv-born
Ukrainian-Canadian currently residing in Toronto. It is headed by Borys
Voznytsky. Considerable sums were donated from abroad to finance restoration
work at the Chinese Palace. A local forestry donated timber for the roofing
and the Polish Ministry of Culture contributed $5,000. The sitting room
was restored with donations from Zolochiv’s German sister-city of Scheningen.
Local organizations with scarce budgets help with manpower, equipment,
construction materials, and fuel. The names of most helpful patrons are
curved in bricks cemented in the wall by the castle entrance, serving as
precious exhibits in their own way.
This tremendous work is conducted by staff researchers
of the Zolochiv Castle Museum-Preserve, as a branch of the Lviv Art Gallery.
They are also directly involved in restoration while trying to uncover
the castle’s remaining mysteries, picking bits and pieces to establish
historical facts, conducting comprehensive research programs, studying
library stocks in Lviv and Krakow, organizing excursions at the castle,
and making sponsorship arrangements. Two of them are attending refresher
courses at the East Central European School of the Humanities in Warsaw
University, focusing on joint studies of the European heritage, aided by
new research technologies. Their enrollment is of great importance as proof
of not only knowledge at the international level, but also of Ukraine’s
participation in the creation of a modern European cultural-artistic environment.
(To be continued)
№46 December 14 1999 «The
Day»
In using our publications, reference to The Day is
mandatory. © "День"







