Tarakaniv Fort

The fort at Tarakaniv was built between 1873 and 1890 as part of the Russian empire's western defensive line, a huge earth and brick work in the shape of an irregular rhombus with barracks, casemates and tunnels beneath, designed for a garrison of eight hundred. It saw little use, was abandoned, and has spent a century filling with trees and water. It is entirely unsupervised: no fences, no lighting, no signs, and sections that have collapsed.

What you actually see

• The brick casemates - long vaulted galleries running under the earthworks.
• The inner barracks - the main block standing in the middle of the ditch.
• The tunnels - passages linking the parts of the fort, flooded in places.
• The overgrowth - trees and vegetation grown through the whole structure.

When to go

May to September is the driest and safest. Water fills the lower passages after rain and in spring. It is dark inside at any time of year.

Honest expectations

This place is genuinely dangerous: unlit tunnels, collapsed vaults, deep water and open shafts, with no supervision and no rescue. Going in alone, without lights, or after rain is a bad idea. People have been injured here.

Nearby

Dubno castle is north, and Ostroh is east.