Chervonograd castle

If you travel from Ternopol to Chernovtsy, you can make a short halt and visit Chervonograd castle. The castle is very old and has a rich and tragic history. It was named after the ancient city Chervonograd (later –  Chervonogrud), which means Red City in Ukrainian. The local ground contains substances, which turn red in case of rain.

  It is known that the first settlement in this place was established in the 10th century.  At those times the city was a residence of Russian dukes. It was destroyed during the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Later this territory became controlled by Poland. During that period, in the 14th century, the first castle was built.

The castle suffered from different wars, changed hands several times and was almost destroyed. Only in the 18th century, when the Polish duke Karol Polinsky became the owner of the castle, a large-scale reconstruction started.

World war I made the final point in the history of the castle. It was seriously damaged and became useless for living. Since that time it hasn’t been repaired and is gradually going into a decline.

Don’t try to find Chervonograd on a map. The city officially ceased to exist in 1970 due to the absence of citizens. The nearest Nirkiv town will be a landmark for you. Just before the town you can find a pointer to the castle. But you will see this amazing building from the road without any pointers.

The castle is situated on a hill in a valley. The road to the castle is winding and doesn’t have any signs of asphalt. Therefore, it will be quite difficult to drive after the rain. It is the only road and you won’t miss it.

The first surprise for us was when we ran into a children’s camp «Romashka» on the way to the castle. Baffled, we tried to find another path. But without any success. There were sleep slopes on the both sides of the road. The gate to the camp was open and we went inside. Because of the autumn, there were no children in the camp. A keeper near the gate noticed us but said nothing. I think that in summer admission may be paid, but we hadn’t found out anything about it.

In front of the castle we saw cows,  grazing peacefully in that territory. But there were no people’s houses around. It seemed that cows were from one of the nearest towns – Nirkov or Nagoryany.

Opposite the castle there are ruins of the Dominican Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. You can only imagine its original beauty! The state of the church is a bit better than the castle’s.

Only two towers are left from the castle. One of them is half destroyed. The second is in a better state. Everything inside is in disrepair, so you must be careful. Of course there is a lot of graffiti inside and outside, made my modern «artists» buy viagra without prescription.

After visiting the castle, don’t forget to go to the opposite side to the Djurina waterfall. This artificial 16 meter waterfall was made at the time of the reconstruction of the castle when the nearest park was being built.  The remains of the park are barely distinguished among the old trees. But the waterfall still gladdens many tourists and locals. Near there you can find a lot of places for camping or a picnic. So, if possible, you can enjoy the halt or even spend a night in this beautiful place.