Dubno Castle

Dubno castle was founded in 1492 by Kostiantyn Ostrozky on a bend of the Ikva, rebuilt in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with earth bastions faced in stone, and it kept two palaces inside the walls, the Ostrozky and the Lubomyrsky. The gate carries carved coats of arms. Beneath the ramparts run casemates and passages, part of which are shown. The town below keeps a Bernardine monastery and remains of its own walls, and Gogol set part of Taras Bulba at the siege of this castle, which is why Ukrainian schoolchildren know the name.

Background

The castle stands on a promontory above the Ikva, close to the old Ruthenian fort of Dubno in Volhynia. It was rebuilt in stone early in the 16th century, when the town belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and held a church, a two-storey palace and the Ostrogski family treasury. Janusz Ostrogski, last of his line, remodelled it in the early 17th century in the trace italienne, the Italian style of fortification, and his palace still stands. In the 1780s Stanisław Lubomirski had Henryk Ittar and Domenico Merlini design a plain two-storey rectangular palace on part of the old defences. After the Lubomirskis sold it in 1871 to Princess Boryatinsky, a new round of remodelling followed.

Source: Wikipedia, "Dubno Castle"

What's there

• The gate - the entrance with carved heraldry above the arch.
• The two palaces - the Ostrozky and Lubomyrsky ranges inside the walls.
• The casemates - vaulted passages beneath the ramparts, partly open.
• The Ikva - the river looping round the castle promontory.

When to go

April to October is the comfortable season. The castle keeps museum hours and closes on Mondays. Summer brings events in the courtyard.

Practical notes

Restoration is partial and some ranges are empty. The casemate tour is short. Labelling is in Ukrainian only.

Nearby

Tarakaniv Fort is a short drive south, and Ostroh is southeast.

Key facts