Dubno Castle
Encyclopedia
The Dubno Castle was founded in 1492 by Prince Konstantin Ostrogski on a promontory
overlooking the Ikva River not far from the ancient Ruthenian fort of Dubno
, Volhynia
.
The Ostrogski castle was rebuilt in stone in the early 16th century. It had a church, a two-storey palace
, and an impressive array of 73 cannon
s. It was there that the treasury of the Ostrogski family was kept. These fabulous treasures brought the predatory Crimean Tatars
to the castle on several occasions (at least two in 1577 alone).
Prince Janusz Ostrogski
, the last of his family, undertook major renovations of the castle in the early 17th century. He made use of the trace itallienne, or "Italian style" of fortification, to transform Dubno into the most advanced fort in the region. It is the only Volhynia
n castle featuring a hornwork
. Prince Janusz's palace still stands in Dubno.
During the Khmelnytsky Uprising
, the vicinity of Dubno Castle was the scene of heavy fighting, some of it described by Nikolai Gogol
in the novella Taras Bulba
(1835). The castle passed to Prince Władysław Dominik Zasławski as part of the Ostroh inheritance and survived a Russian siege in 1660.
In the 18th century Dubno lost much of its military relevance. Some of the fortifications gave way to a plain rectangular palace of two storeys, commissioned in the 1780s by Prince Stanislaw Lubomirski from architects Henryk Hyacynt Ittar and Domenico Merlini
. The palace's interior layout and design did not survive the First World War.
After the Lubomirskis sold their Dubno residence to Princess Boryatinsky in 1871, the castle was subjected to a new campaign of remodelling. It held a notable military garrison of the Border Defence Corps. The old barbican
was transformed in the 1920s into a prison
where about 550 prisoners were executed by the NKVD
in 1941.
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
overlooking the Ikva River not far from the ancient Ruthenian fort of Dubno
Dubno
Dubno is a city located on the Ikva River in the Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Dubno Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
, Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
.
The Ostrogski castle was rebuilt in stone in the early 16th century. It had a church, a two-storey palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
, and an impressive array of 73 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s. It was there that the treasury of the Ostrogski family was kept. These fabulous treasures brought the predatory Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
to the castle on several occasions (at least two in 1577 alone).
Prince Janusz Ostrogski
Janusz Ostrogski
Prince Janusz Ostrogski was a Polish-Lithuanian noble.Janusz Ostrog - statesman of the Commonwealth...
, the last of his family, undertook major renovations of the castle in the early 17th century. He made use of the trace itallienne, or "Italian style" of fortification, to transform Dubno into the most advanced fort in the region. It is the only Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
n castle featuring a hornwork
Hornwork
A hornwork is an element of the trace italienne system of fortification. It consists of a pair of demi-bastions with a curtain wall connecting them and with two long sides directed upon the faces of the bastions, or ravelins of the inner fortifications, so as to be defended by them.The hornwork...
. Prince Janusz's palace still stands in Dubno.
During the Khmelnytsky Uprising
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...
, the vicinity of Dubno Castle was the scene of heavy fighting, some of it described by Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
in the novella Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba is a romanticized historical novel by Nikolai Gogol. It tells the story of an old Zaporozhian Cossack, Taras Bulba, and his two sons, Andriy and Ostap. Taras’ sons studied at the Kiev Academy and return home...
(1835). The castle passed to Prince Władysław Dominik Zasławski as part of the Ostroh inheritance and survived a Russian siege in 1660.
In the 18th century Dubno lost much of its military relevance. Some of the fortifications gave way to a plain rectangular palace of two storeys, commissioned in the 1780s by Prince Stanislaw Lubomirski from architects Henryk Hyacynt Ittar and Domenico Merlini
Domenico Merlini
Domenico Merlini was an Italian-Polish architect whose work was mostly in the classical style.-Life and Style:...
. The palace's interior layout and design did not survive the First World War.
After the Lubomirskis sold their Dubno residence to Princess Boryatinsky in 1871, the castle was subjected to a new campaign of remodelling. It held a notable military garrison of the Border Defence Corps. The old barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
was transformed in the 1920s into a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
where about 550 prisoners were executed by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
in 1941.