Svirzh castle

When I was telling you about Khotyn fortress, I mentioned that its territory was used to shoot a lot of different films. Including the film “Three Musketeers”, which is loved by millions of people. I was wondering, where the rest of the scenes were filmed.  It is known that most of them were made in Lviv. But which castles were used? Thanks to “Castles and Fortresses”  blog I found that a lot of episodes were filmed in Svirzh castle. And now I want to tell you about it.

The exact date when Svirzh castle was set up is unknown. But the beginning of the official history of the castle is considered to be 1427, when, according to the chronicles, Polish King Vladislav II Yagello (1352 – 1434) visited Svirzh. This caused additional development of it. The city grew and expanded. And the first owners of that land became the dynasty of land tycoons Svirzhky. Some researchers think that the city and the castle were named after the name of the first owner. But because the city had its name even before Svirzhky appeared there, there is another theory that the new landlords took their name after their possession.

Main entrance to the castle

Because the city was growing, it required  defense. The first castle there was built by the Svirzh dynasty. The exact date when building started is unknown. But on one of the walls a plate with the year of 1530 was found. Most likely, it is the date of later reconstruction.

At the beginning of the 17th century the castle was bought by Alexander Zetner. As a military person, he upgraded and strengthened it. But it wasn’t very helpful. The castle was destroyed during the Cossack revolt led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. After the recovery, the castle was destroyed again during the Polish – Turkish war. The owners each time repaired and reconstructed the castle. That fate went on until the end of the Second World War, when the castle was completely destroyed. Only in 1975, when the castle was given to the Union of Architects, the reconstruction started. It was planned to use this place as a house of art. Unfortunately, the work hasn’t been completed. The reconstruction is still possible due to the money of sponsors and donations of visitors. But it’s not enough.

Inner territory of the castle

It’s easy to find Svirzh city on a map. The castle is visible even from the road. You can easily drive directly to it and leave your car in a parking lot. The admission is free and you can freely go in, have a walk or go down to one of the lakes. But the fishing is paid, unfortunately.   There are no fences so you can come up to the castle from different sides.

The nearest lake

Entrance into the castle is also free. In front of it there is a keeper who is in charge of the gate. On the wall you can find a description of the history of the castle and a box for donations.

Central entrance

It’s quite interesting inside. From the main yard you can go to the area with stables or go inside the main building and walk around the rooms. There is no furniture, but the general condition of the rooms is fine.

Backyard

Internal rooms

The main stairs of the castle were used to shoot the episode of the film where D’Artanian said goodbye to his father. On the following pictures you can compare the shot from the film and the current state.

Do you remember that famous dialogue from the film?

– And how many muskets do we have?
– Four!
– And how many swords do we have?
– Four!

That episode was shot in this ruined chapel in the castle’s park:

The old chapel

All other shots were made from outside, filming the castle different sides. Talking about sides. I recommend you to go along the castle and reach the road which runs parallel to it. From that side there are almost no trees and the castle is very beautiful.