Description of the attraction
Palanok Castle is located on a 68 m high mountain of volcanic origin and covers an area of 13 930 sq. M. There is no exact information about the date of the foundation of the castle, but there are already references to it in documents dating back to the 11th century.
From the end of the 14th to the beginning of the 15th century, the castle was in the possession of the Podolsk prince Fyodor Koriatovich. Thanks to him, the castle was significantly increased in size and fortified, becoming the residence of the prince. At the same time, a well 85 meters deep was carved into the rock. In the 15-16th centuries, the castle changed rulers more than once, who carried out further work on its construction and fortification. Then the defense system of the castle consisted of fourteen towers, and its upper part was occupied by a large palace.
In the 33rd year of the 17th century, the castle passed into the hands of the Transylvanian prince György I Rákóczi. The princes of this dynasty made the castle the capital of their principality and remained its owners until the beginning of the 18th century. After the death of Gyorgy I, his wife Zsuzsanna Lorantfi does not stop and continues to reconstruct the castle, constructing two more terraces and an outer defensive ring. In 1703-1711, the castle played a significant role in the national liberation struggle of the Hungarian and other peoples of Transcarpathia against the power of Austria. The struggle was led by Ferenc II Rákóczi. In 82 of the 18th century, the Austrian monarchy opened a political prison in the castle, in which more than 20,000 prisoners were held for more than a century. Today the castle houses a historical museum.
