Ternopil region: castles and palaces from Kremenets to Skala-Podilska

The land of castles in Podillia. About 170 km by car through the Ternopil region of western Ukraine, from Kremenets in the north, through hilly Podillia with its fortresses and palaces, to Skala-Podilska in the south, near the Zbruch river. The road is flat to gently rolling (about 240–395 m above sea level). Two to three hours of driving, or a day with stops.

The route. Kremenets – Vyshnivets – Zbarazh – Ternopil – Mykulyntsi – Terebovlia – Kopychyntsi – Skala-Podilska.

On the way. Kremenets is a small town below the Castle Hill with the ruins of the castle called Bona’s castle, a Jesuit college, and the birthplace of the Polish poet Juliusz Słowacki. Vyshnivets has a large 18th-century palace of the Wiśniowiecki and Mniszech families. Zbarazh Castle, a star-shaped fortress built in 1626–31, was besieged by Cossack and Tatar armies in 1649. Ternopil, founded in 1540, lies on a long artificial lake. Terebovlia was in the 11th–12th centuries the centre of a principality, and its castle ruins stand on a high rock. Kopychyntsi has a castle and a church of the Holy Cross. At Skala-Podilska, a memorial cross recalls Taras Shevchenko.

Good to know. Most castles are open daily and have a small entrance fee. Roads in the region vary: the main road between Ternopil and Skala-Podilska is good, side roads to the castles less so. The music is Ukrainian.

Picture: Zbarazh Castle from the air, Rbrechko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.