Spring is a time for travel, including short weekend trips. For such trips, visiting several castles and fortresses of Ukraine at once is ideal. This time we advise you to see the Khotyn fortress. It is ideal to visit it together with the Kamyanets-Podilsky fortress, which is located nearby.
The Khotyn Fortress is a unique structure of the 13-18 centuries. It is located in the city of Khotin on the banks of the Dniester in the Chernivtsi region. The complex is a state historical and architectural reserve. It is also considered one of the seven wonders of Ukraine.
This place dates back to the time of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, who founded the Khotyn fort here in the 10th century. The fort was located at the intersection of important transport routes that combined Kiev and the Lower and Danube regions. The fort defended the settlement of Khotin and the river crossing. Subsequently, the fort was converted into a fortress. For several centuries, its appearance has been repeatedly changed, adding certain architectural details and expanding the fortress.
During its existence, the Khotyn fortress was part of the Terebovlya principality, the Shipin land, and the Moldavian principality. It was also ruled by the Ottoman Empire when the Turkish army captured the city in 1920. Since 1812 - under the rule of the Russian Empire. Subsequently, the fortress lost its strategic importance. The castle is the best preserved of the complex.
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Today a well-trodden path leads to the fortress: this is where excursions usually begin with this place. Near the trail, you will see a picturesque panorama of the river bank: this is a popular place for photos of the fortress, which are most often disseminated on social networks.
It is worth using the services of a guide: this will help enrich your walk through the Khotyn fortress with interesting stories from its past. With a guide, you can walk through the territory of the fortress, look into a 40-meter well. Here you will be shown how soldiers walked on a wheel to pump water out of the ground. They will tell you how the debtors lived in a debt hole and show the exposition of the Polish-Turkish war.
Here you can stroll along the corridors of the fortress with its long corridors and towers, listening to exciting stories of ghosts from casemates and dungeons.
The fortress workers have repeatedly said that ghosts live here. Even the management of the complex confirms: one of the guards hears sounds of unknown origin in the corridors every night, and the other assured that he hears the creak of the door, even when there is no wind.
On the territory of the fortress, especially in the summer season, large-scale festivals, holidays of Cossack and knightly competitions are held, films and clips are shot.
Author: Oleg BOZHKO