Dubno Castle, a Family Fortress
Dubno Castle, and modern Dubno, Ukraine.
The Castle of the Ostrozskyi Family (we wrote about them here) in the city of Dubno in the Rivne region of western Ukraine is one of the oldest castles in Ukraine, and still retains striking elements of its medieval architecture. It has truly massive walls that withstood many assaults, and also features vaulted dungeons. Because people that build castles tend to be on the safe side, it was heavily fortified and securely protected by the Ikva River and its extensive floodplains.
There are multiple frog villages surrounding the castle.
But the story of the castle started long before it became the grand palace we can see today. The castle originated as a fortress of the Volhynian people in the 10th century. A couple centuries later, it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1240-1241. Around the end of the 14th century, a noble named Fedir Ostrozkyi organized the construction of a wooden-earth fortification.
But as I’ve said, castle people have the tendency to go big! Its wood walls were susceptible to fires – and its location on a plain made it a bit of an easy target, after all.
Accordingly, another Ostrozkyi named Kostiantyn began the construction of a new, higher, taller, bigger, better, thicker, stone fortress. It is that generation of the castle, finished in 1492, that it is officially considered the birthday of today’s castle.
Over time, as bridal cannoneers (see below) were not always readily available to guard the castle, the area was repeatedly rebuilt and fortified. At the beginning of the 17th century, it was updated in the late Renaissance style. During this time, two bastions with watchtowers were added, and a deep moat lay between the old citadel and the new castle; this could easily be filled with water from the Ikva River when needed. Another, wider and more important defensive moat was dug on the opposite side of the castle.
Bridge over the moat, to the entrance of the castle
Beneath the castle were wide stone underground passages, used as hiding places by local residents with their belongings during enemy attacks. Provisions for defenders during sieges were stored here. Oh, and there were some tortures, too.
Exhibition in the dungeon. That executioner/novelist looks pretty cozy.
It is believed that at one time there was also a church on the premises. As the castle was armed with 73 cannons, it required a lot of cannonballs – to solve this, the castle’s arsenal was constantly replenished by its own foundry.
Dubno Castle is quite famous for having never been conquered.
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Shotgun Wedding
The impenetrability of Dubno Castle is reflected in a charming legend. We were excited to retell this story for the castle legend fans out there.
Once upon a time…
The master of Dubno Castle was hosting the wedding of his niece, and guests came from everywhere to visit the impregnable castle and its grand estate… Noble lords and beautiful maidens traveled all the way to Dubno from the east and west, from the north and south, wearing their finest finery and with eyes wide with anticipation of a great party.
Everything had been prepared just so – the feast awaited, and the bride had even put on her shining white wedding dress.
Just as the wedding festivities were about to begin, the nobles and maidens looked up from their wine as the rumble of thousands of riders began to grow louder and shake the foundations of the castle.
Knights grabbed their arms and, armor clinking, rushed to the walls to look out upon the plain, desperately searching the twilight for whatever could be making such a racket… with gasps the soldiers recognized torches, and the shadowy shapes of horses, flags and polearms.
An invading army had already completely surrounded them, trapping them inside the castle walls. The master of the castle was in shock – the groom was quaking in fear; guests started panicking, knocking over the wine and honey and exclaiming in abject terror.
But the bride, the niece, didn’t grow frightened at all… she grew furious.
To get a look at the audacious invaders who dared spoil her celebration, she ran to the tower.
She cast a wrathful glare at the gathering army below and sternly ordered a cannon to be loaded. Confused, but understandably unwilling to deal with a "bridezilla" situation, the anxious cannoneer complied.
The bride calmly plucked a torch from the wall and looked out upon the plain at the dancing shadows of the teeming hordes below. After several long moments, she deftly lit the cannon.
When the powerful shot rang out, the inhabitants of the castle were astonished and began to panic even more.
But the bride’s aim was true – the cannonball had struck the enemy leader, pieces of whom were now scattered on the wide plain.
This time, it was the invaders who grew panicked. As they lifted their siege, the Niece calmly walked down to the feast with a smile on her face. She would have the opportunity to celebrate her grand wedding, after all.
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As the castle was the ancestral estate of the Ostrozkyi Family, it has not one, but two palaces located on the castle grounds. They were filled with unbelievable riches, as some of its occupants belonged to one of the richest families in Europe at that time.
Perhaps this lavishness and imperviousness is one of the reasons why this castle became the location of a phenomenal novella by Mykola Hohol called Taras Bulba – a tragic story of love, loyalty and betrayal. We wrote about Mykola Hohol, known to the world as "Nikolai Gogol", here.
Today, much of the castle remains in great condition, and restoration work continues. The castle even houses a museum and hosts various exhibitions that you can come see during your epic road trip across Ukraine!
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For more sunrise posts about castles, please see:
- Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle
- Tustan Cliff Fortress
- Pidhirtsi Castle
- Nevytskyi Castle
- Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
- Ostroh Castle
- Lutsk Castle
- Vyshnivetskyi Palace
- Khotyn Fortress
- Radomyshl Castle
- Svirzh Castle
- The Defenses of Lviv
- Uzhhorod Castle
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The 947th day of a ten-year invasion that has been going on for centuries.
One day closer to victory.
🇺🇦 HEROIAM SLAVA! 🇺🇦
6:52 AM; The Sun is Rising Over Kyiv on the 947th Day of the Full-Scale Invasion. Dubno Castle!
byu/duellingislands inukraine
Posted by duellingislands