Olesko castle

Legendary Olesko castle is waiting for you! Since XIII century it was repeatedly attacked by fires, earthquakes but it always found strength to revive. This is a birthplace of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski who saved Europe from Turkish expansion. This is also the place where a well-known Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnitskiy spent his childhood. Olesko castle together with Zolochiv, Svirzh and Pidhirtsi Castles consist “A golden horseshoe” of touristic route around the castles of Lviv region.

An ancient castle has prepared its legends for you. One of them tells about unfortunate love of a girl whose father (one of the castle owners) did not give his consent to a marriage. Girl’s beloved stabbed himself in full view of everybody. A broken-hearted girl could not live without beloved and killed herself too. Since those times shadows of the girl and her man wander about the castle but cannot meet. Guard of the castle says that at night (between midnight and sunrise) they hear echoes of their voices and light steps (someone tells about strange movement of objects in halls). It is said that only unmarried women can see Adam’s phantom. If they meet him they will surely got married and their marriage will be successful.

Stepping on the territory of the castle you will see a unique 42-meters’ well with a picture of devil on its wall (his image appeared after a monk killed himself by jumping into the well).

Currently, it is a castle- museum of the Lviv art gallery where you can find one and a half thousands of exhibits. You will see a unique collection of icons dating from XV-XVIII centuries, the biggest in Europe collection of wooden sculpture of XIV-XIX centuries, works of Iohann Penzel (“Ukrainian Michelangelo”), collections of tapestries, antique furniture and paintings. Moreover you will find yourself in a wonderful old park that will charm you by its calmness, silence of alleys and majesty of trees!

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