Lvov - Tourist Guide » High Castle

High Castle – its’ Sundown

admin — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:40:05 +0000

As I wrote yestarday, on october 14th Maxim Krivonos seized Castle Hill. This event has been commemorated by stone monument erected in the Park; the street leading to the summit of the hill has been named after Krivonos.
The Castle lost its glory as an impregnable fortress. In 1672 Castle Hill fell into the hands of the Turks. By the beginning of the 18th century the High Castle was falling into decay and could no longer serve as a stronghold. Carl XII, King of the Swedes, seized it without difficulty. A few decades later only a heap of ruins remained of the Castle. The Austrians handed it over to the city as a quarry. Today there still exists a house that was built of stones from former castle walls.
Much later the Hill was planted with trees and a park (currently named Ivan Franko) laid out.

Fights For High Castle

admin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:30:00 +0000

As I wrote earlier today, there were many attempts to seize the Castle Hill and all of them faild until 1648 when entire Ukraine was enveloped in a national war. As the battlefield extended to Galicia the Ukrainian peasant and the urban poor lookedupon the Cossacks as their saviours who would put an end to national and social oppression. The people of Lvov had high hopes: they prepared arms, ready to come out against the Polish nobility (szlachta), to chase out the vicegerent and the Polish army. When Khmelnitsy marched into Lvov they helped him to gain hold of the Glinyansky Szlach, to seize the Churches of Saint Lazarus and Saint Mary, the Church of Saint George and the estate of the Jesuits (the present Ivan Franko Park).

Towards the end of September 1648, Khmelntsky’s troops besieged the garrison of the High Castle. Numerous attacks on the fort were beaten back. Finally, on October 14th a detachment under “first colonel” Maxim Krivonos – one of the Hetman’s bravest followers – with a following of Ukrainians, Moldavians and the valiant Don Cossacks seized the Castle.

Cossacs

Ivan Franko (1856-1916)

History Of Lvov – New Page

admin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:46:06 +0000

A new page began in the history of the ancient Lvov – centuries of occupation by foreign invaders an epoch of relentless national and social oppression. But the people’s freedom-loving spirit was not broken.
Having pulled down the Castle of Daniil Romanovkh, King Casimir ordered that a new stone fortress be built in its stead. He named it the High Castle.

The High Castle dominated the town, an imposing bastion of the King’s military might and boundless power. Dungeons were built beneath the defense towers. There, following the Battle of Grunwald (1410),

the Knights of the Teutonic Order who had been taken captive were held to ransom.
There were many attempts to seize the Castle but its walls were impregnable. Castle Hill held out until 1648 when the entire Ukraine was enveloped in the flames of a national liberation war under the leadership of Ukrainian Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky.

Ancient Lvov

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:49:54 +0000

As I wrote before, Daniil founded Lvov arround the year 1250 and didn’t give way to the enemy within the country: The centre of the town was the fortress, or detinets which was surrounded by a wall, and numerous ramparts and moats. A high watchtower dominated the settlement. Near it were the ammunition dumps and depots. At the foot of the hill, the site of the present Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street and the former Volhynski Szlach (Road) lay the Okolny Gorod or Padgoradye (the town outskirts). Volhynski Szlach was the main thoroughfare of that time linking Kolomiya and Galich with Volhynia and Kiev and was of great economic and strategic importance. Here, where a small square today marks the beginning of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street was the former Old Marketplace (Staryi Rynok) – the trade centre of ancient Lvov. The old name of the street pod Bramoy – denotes the site of the gateway to Okolny Gorod (Padgoradye). A fortified wall fenced in the palace of the Prince, the houses of the boyars and their retinue. Along the poltva bordering the hill from the west, north and south, lay the scattered settlements of the merchants, craftsmen and the urban poor.

The town grew, constantly fighting for its life. In 1259 the Tartar Khan Burunday forced the Princes of Galicia and Volhynia to pull down the fortifications. Lev Daniilovich “opened up” the town but fortified it again soon afterwards. New attempts of the Tartars to seize Lvov, this time under Khan Telebug, ended in failure.

Castle Hill and its’ Surrounding

admin — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:17:12 +0000

As I wrote in the High Castle thread there is no trace of the Castle Hill( Zamkovaya Gora) in spite of the name of the park – The High Castle (Vysoky Zamok).

High Castle was once the beginning of Lvov. There is a marvelous view of Lvov from the Castle. Highways run through Lvov in every direction. In the evening they are dotted with glimmering lights.
Red and blue trams, scurry to and fro, buses, tramways and cars travel in a never-ceasing stream; the busy modern town is bathed in the bright lights of shops, cafes cinemas and theaters.

In the centre of a small square which is easy to spot among the lofty buildings and cupolas 65 metre tower crowning the graceful silhouette of the Gothic Cathedral.
Closer to the Castle Hill is the Church of the Assumption and the Tower of Kornyakta flanked by the imposing Church of the Dominicans. Further to the right is the Opera Theater. On the hill in the background you can see the slender towers of the Church of Mary Magdalene and right behind it the silhouette of the Church of Saint George and the neo-Gothic Church of Saint Elizabeth. Far in the background stretching across the skyline from the Central Railway Station to New Lvov, in podzamche and other districts of the town, long lines of factory smokestacks seem to pierce the sky. That is the industrial part of Lvov.

High Castle (Zamkovaya Gora)

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:33:45 +0000

Castle Hill (Zamlwvaya Cora) dominates the town. The grounds of a beautiful park, laid out in 1835-1839, stretching over an area of 40 hectares cover the slopes and summit. There is no trace of the castle but the name of the park – The High Castle (Vysoky Zamok), has been retained to this day. Moats and ramparts, fortifications and ammunition dumps, garrison quarters and the premises of the Commandant have given way to shady lanes and children’s playgrounds, snack-bars and cosy benches; there is also an attractive restaurant. A 200-metre TV tower soars into the sky. Only the remains of the fort’s western wall and a grotto bearing the image of a heraldic lion remind one of the past. This sculpture known as the Lorentsovich lion stood at the entrance to the Town Hall in the 17th and 18th centuries.