One more pearl of our region is, undoubtedly, Zolochiv Castle. It was a defensive building and a residential complex at the same time. With the help of unknown to historians architector it was built in 1634-1636 by the father of Jan Sobiesky – Jakiv Sobiesky. Later, Polish king decorated Zolochiv Castle with artwork.
The castle confronted most attacks in XVII century. Cossack, Tatar, Turkish attacks and sieges had not ruined the castle. However, considerable loss and destruction occured in the twentieth century, when the owners changed one by one. The fortress, royal residence, the manor, school and even prison – such multifaced is Zolochiv Castle. Zolochiv Castle is the real miracle that retained its architecture for a number of centuries.
Zolochiv Castle has a complex of monuments of historical importance that form a Renaissance ensemble – Chinese Palace, Entrance Tower, a large residential palace. The interesting thing of Zolochiv complex is one of the few examples of eastern architecture – the Chinese Palace. Now in the Chinese Palace there is the Museum of Oriental cultures for several years. Here you can see the works of Oriental art – Sumer, Japan, India, China, Indonesia, Persia, Turkey and Egypt.
The exhibition is impressive! About three hundred sculptures, paintings, archeological exhibits and graphics. You should agree that Zolochiv Castle is worth visiting for a «dessert». Where is the reason to go to Egypt if near Busk you can see a falcon mummy and fragments of Egyptian sarcophagi! And you can realize the impressions of seen artwork in a quiet park located near the China Palace.
The most puzzling exhibits in Zolochiv are the encrypted stones which inscriptions still can not be deciphered. We only know that they are dated XIV-XV century. The stones came to the castle from the village Novosilky. There is a version that the inscriptions were made by Templars, to whom the castle belonged at one time and which ruins are saved to this days in the outskirts of Novosilky.
As you can see, there are lots of things to see on the way to Busk. In our region there are many well-known but not fully discovered landmarks. Perhaps you can unveil the secrets and decipher the mysteries that the mighty knights and the great kings, who made their mark on the history of Lviv region at one time, hid from us.
