The most popular among them are those of Hotyn, Kamyanets-Podilskiy, and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskiy. Yet there are some castles that may be less impressive in terms of size, but are more romantic looking, like the one near Nevytskiy village.
The Nevytsky Castle is a semi-ruined castle in province of Zakarpattia, Ukraine 12 km north of Uzhhorod. It was founded in the early 15th century. Its ruins stand on top of a mountain that was once a volcano. One side of it borders a wide plain and another side borders a deep gorge with a flowing torrent. The image is completed by a narrow path that leads you through the forest up the mountain.
Like most castles with old traditions, the Nevytsky Castle is linked with many legends and creepy stories. One of them dates back to the 14th century and tells about Pohana Diva (Vile Maiden), a cruel princess and witch, who ordered the castle to be built and constantly terrorized the local population.
According to more pragmatic historical facts, in the 13th century the Nevytsky Castle was a fortification constructed against Mongol Tatars, which later became one of the Hungarian empire’s strategic strongholds, constantly besieged and seized either by monarchic armies or the rebellious aristocracy.
Nevytsky Castle was the mighty citadel of the Drugeth family which supervised its continuous modernisation over the centuries. The keep, rebuilt in its present form in the early 16th century, passed from hand to hand during the internecine strife that convulsed Hungary in the early 17th century.
In 1644, Prince Rákóczi II ruined the castle, leaving it much as its stands today. A decline in the defensive importance of the site, as well as the remote and inaccessible situation of the castle, have preserved it from complete demolition.
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