Pidhirtsi Castle

Pidhirtsi, Ukraine, Ukraine

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Pidhirtsi Castle in Pidhirtsi, Ukraine, was built between 1635 and 1640 by Polish-Lithuanian Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski on the site of an older fortress, designed in the palazzo in fortezza style by architects Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan and Andrea del Aqua as a luxurious residence blending Renaissance and Baroque elements amid the Voroniaky hills overlooking the Styr River valley.

This square complex, about 100 meters per side with three floors, pentagonal bastions, a deep moat, drawbridge, and Italian-style gardens with terraces, fountains, and sculptures, withstood Cossack attacks during the 1648 Khmelnytsky Uprising and later Tatar-Turkish raids, later passing to noble families like the Rzewuski and Sanguszko who added baroque enhancements.

Damaged by fires, wars, and Soviet neglect after serving as a hospital, the preserved exterior now belongs to the Lviv National Art Gallery, housing restoration efforts and exhibits despite haunted legends and lost opulent interiors like the Chinese Room.