Attractions of Ternopil district

The castle in Zaliztsi was founded in 1516 by the crown hetman Martyn Kamyanetsky, who received these lands from the Polish king Syhizmund I.

It was from here in 1604 that Lzhedmytriy I, the husband of Maryna Mnishek and the son-in-law of Yuri Mnishek, who at that time owned Zaliztsi Castle, started his march to Moscow. After the overthrow of Lzhedmytriy, the castle passed into the hands of the Vyshnevetskys, who turned it into a magnate's residence.

The castle was quadrangular, with four corners and a gate tower. There was a two-story palace in the northern part.

In the 18th century, Zaliztsi Castle was converted into a cloth factory. It has reached our days in ruins. Fragments of the northern and western walls have been preserved, as well as a semi-basement floor with a narrow corridor.

Zaliztsi Museum of Local Lore was founded in 2020 at the initiative of local historians. The museum is located in the assembly hall and library of Zaliztsi polyclinic.

The exposition tells about the nature of the region and the history of the village from the earliest times. In particular, the exhibition presents a sculpture of Saint Francis of the XIX century from the ruins of the monastery of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy in Zaliztsi.

In 2023, the archaeological exposition of the Zaliztsi Museum of Local Lore was opened. Here you can see the fossilized remains of mollusks of the Sarmatian Sea, silicon products of the Mesolithic era, ceramics of the Vysotska culture, body crosses of the XII-XIII centuries, Cossack pipes and silver coins of the XVII century, and other finds from archaeological excavations on the territory of Zaliztsi.

An exposition in memory of the victims of political repressions is being set up in the former NKVD torture chamber.

In the museum, you can buy souvenirs, book an excursion, and get background information about tourist attractions in the area.

The well-preserved Zbarazh Castle has been the residence of Lithuanian princes and Polish nobles for centuries.

The construction of a new fortress instead of the fortress in Stary Zbarazh destroyed by the Tatars was started in 1620 by Princes Hristofor and Yuriy Zbarazkyi, who commissioned a project in Venice from the famous architect and engineer Vinchentso Skamotstsi. His work embodied the advanced achievements of the art of fortification of that time.

The castle consists of a Renaissance-style palace, casemate ramparts surrounding it, an entrance tower and a moat. In the courtyard there is a siege well 70 m deep, connected by underground passages with the Bernardine monastery at the other end of Zbarazh.

In the 17th century, the new owners of Zbarazh Castle, Princes Vyshnevetskyi, fortified it with four bastions. In 1649 the castle withstood a seven-week siege of Bohdan Khmelnytsky's Cossack army, and in 1734 it was captured by the Haydamaks.

Potocki magnates in the XVIII century turned the military fortress into an ordinary palace estate.

During the first half of the XX century the building was severely damaged during the wars, and only in 1985 the restoration was completed. The State Historical and Architectural Reserve was established on the basis of Zbarazh Castle, it is the center of the Ternopil Castles National Reserve.

Archaeological and ethnographic expositions have been set up in the premises, a collection of weapons is on display, unique works of wood carver Viktor Lupiychuk are on display, and the diorama "Siege of 1649" is being created.

In one of the casemates there is a restaurant "Legend", in the manor house (XIX century) on the outskirts of the park opened the hotel "Hetman".