According to one of the legends, one of the most beautiful and powerful castles in Ukraine was created by mystical forces together with a nearly 70-meter volcanic mountain. Mukachevo Castle Palanok towers over the city, striking with such immense grandeur that it is hard to believe that it was humans who founded and developed it.
You can experience the grandeur of the thousand-year castle Palanok on our tours:
- Mukachevo castle, thermal waters Kosino and wine (1 day),
- Transcarpathian cheese and wine tour (2 days / 1 night),
- 10 highlights of Transcarpathia (3 days / 2 nights),
- Around the Carpathians in 7 days ( 7 days / 6 nights).
Empires and states arose and dissolved in the vortex of history. The castle withstood invasions of Cumans and Mongol uprisings and sieges. Its walls have seen the range of human passions, the suffering of political prisoners, marches of soldiers, fooling around of vocational school students. The castle kept standing – unmoved and dispassionate like a stone soldier.
Check out tours to the Carpathian mountains with Vidviday Tour Operator.
Mukachevo castle excursion
Wandering the stairs, secret rooms, and expositions of Mukachevo Castle, you will be surprised to find that every stone of the giant building bears history, behind each castle gate there is its own drama, at every turn – a bunch of legends. Our virtual tour is dedicated to the outstanding historical landmarks of the castle and the famous names of its history. However, according to the established tradition, we will only sketch your unforgettable tour of the castle, and you will create a picturesque canvas of impressions during a fascinating tour of the castle terraces with us on tour Mukachevo castle, thermal waters Kosino and wine in just one day.
Check out our tour Around the Carpathians in 7 days.
What will you learn during the excursion
You will learn that the exact date of the castle foundation is unknown, but according to the “Hungarian Chronicle,” the stone wall fortress existed as early as the 11th century during the reign of Ladislaus I of Hungary and successfully withstood the attacks of the Cumans and Mongols.
At the end of the 14th century, Prince Fyodor Koriatovych of Podolia expanded the fortress, adding residential and farm buildings, a stone wall with towers, a well and significantly strengthened its military arsenal. traffic and tireless reconstructors of the fortress. The following lords of the castle, the Transylvanian princes Rakoczi, are known as ardent leaders of the Hungarian liberation movement and tireless reconstructors of the fortress.
Together with the revolutionary husband and son, a real legend of the liberation movement entered history – the brave Ilona Zrinyi, who led the defense of the castle during the Habsburg siege for almost three years (1685-1688). After the defeat of the rebels, in the early 18th century, the castle was taken over by the Habsburg vassals, the Austro-German family of the Shenborns, who left many traces of real land ownership in the region.
The subsequent fate of the castle was tragic. Austrian prison, military barracks, serving NKVD and the common people in Soviet times. Today, the restored castle has a museum of local lore and an art gallery, on the basis of which it is planned to create a hotel and tourist center.
More interesting information you can hear during the Transcarpathian cheese and wine tour.
What will you see in the castle
The powerful fortress covers an area of almost 14,000 m2 and is located cascade on three cascading terraces. You will see the oldest Upper Castle with a closed courtyard, former princely chambers, an ecumenical chapel and three towers at the top of the mountain, the Middle Castle located 6 meters lower, where mostly commercial and office premises were concentrated, and the impregnable Lower Castle with strong bastions.
In the yard of the Upper Castle, there is a 75-meter deep well that was dug during the time of Fyodor Koriatovych. Legends associated with it will be revealed to you during the tour. From recent history, we know that it was cleared by real climbers who found underground passages at the bottom and picked up not only animal bones and coins of different times, but also a 100-year-old furnace and a projectile.
Also in the castle, you can see the ‘corridor of death’ and the torture chamber, archeological finds and ethnographic monuments, a unique collection of icons, ancient and modern paintings in museum halls. The territory of the castle is decorated with bronze figures of Fyodor Koriatovych and Ilona Zrinyi with her son Francis II Rákóczi, and a two-meter sculpture of Turul on a majestic column – a sacred for Hungarians mythological bird.
Mukachevo castle interesting facts
- The name Palanok comes from the oak fence that once surrounded the moat around the castle.
- During the Napoleonic invasion, the castle housed the holy Hungarian royal crown.
- The Hungarian “Bastille” is the name given to the castle while it served as a prison. Well-known European politicians ended their days here in chains, and no prisoner managed to escape from the strong walls.
- At the wedding of Ilona Zrinyi and leader of anti-Habsburg insurgents Emeric Thököly which took place in the castle, the guests ate, among other dishes, 10 oxen and drank almost 300 barrels of wine.
The history of the castle and the city is reflected in the name of the streets of Mukachevo – Ilona Zrinyi, Count Shenborn, Kurutz. - The castle is also famous for a large number of monuments, and each of them tells its own story.
What can you enjoy in the castle
Wonderful views from the castle, prayer in the ancient chapel, the charming music of local musicians. You can keep a good memory of the castle, taking pictures in a medieval costume, make a wish holding the finger of Fyodor Koriatovych, relax and have a meal at a cozy cafe, visit the wine tasting room in the castle dungeon, buy original souvenirs in the local shop.
How to get there?
To get to the castle you need to pass 250 kilometers from Lviv. You can use any type of transport because both cars and public transport often go in this direction. However, you should plan your time well, because you need to spend more than 3 hours to get there.
The most comfortable option is to travel with a specially organized group of people because you will have a large and fun company and do not need to worry about questions such as: “where to eat?”, “how to get there?” , “where to spend the night?”. All these issues are resolved as soon as you choose a tour. In addition, you can see other interesting places in the region.
Additional information
Address: Hrafa fon Shenborna St, 42, Mukachevo, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine, 89611
GPS: 48.73484210, 23.70415520
Contacts: (03131)-4-15-79
Work hours: Daily from 9.00 to 18.00.
Visit Mukachevo castle Palanok together with Vidviday
Wondering what connects Ilona Zrinyi with a maniacal fan of blood baths Elizabeth Báthory? How does the love story of Ilona Zrini and Emeric Thököly connect Palanok with Saint Miklos Castle? What does the octagonal star on the walls of the Middle Castle mean? All this and much more interesting information – on our tours:
- Mukachevo castle, thermal waters Kosino and wine (1 day),
- Transcarpathian cheese and wine tour (2 days / 1 night),
- 10 highlights of Transcarpathia (3 days / 2 nights),
- Around the Carpathians in 7 days ( 7 days / 6 nights).
