Palanok Castle

Palanok occupies a volcanic cone standing sixty-eight metres above Mukachevo and is one of the most complete castles in Ukraine, built in three connected tiers with the oldest work from the fourteenth century and the bastions from the seventeenth. It was held for three years against Habsburg siege in the 1680s by Ilona Zrinyi, which is the episode Hungarian and Ukrainian accounts both dwell on, and it later served as a prison. Museums fill several of the ranges.

What you actually see

• The three tiers - lower, middle and upper castles climbing the cone.
• The bastions - seventeenth-century angled fortification around the lower ward.
• The well - a shaft cut eighty-five metres down through the volcanic rock.
• The museums - collections in the ranges covering the region and the castle.

When to go

April to October is the comfortable season. The castle is open year round with shorter winter hours. Weekends and holidays bring crowds.

Honest expectations

The museum displays are dated and labelling is almost entirely in Ukrainian. The climb up from the town is steep, though a road runs to the gate. Restoration has been uneven in quality.

Nearby

Shenborn Palace is northeast at Chynadiyovo, and Uzhhorod is west.