" Olesko, once a pearl of Polish Crown" Olesko by om_212

Olesko Travel Guide: 13 reviews and 61 photos

Sobieski royal coat of arms at the castle entrance

The Castle and its Inhabitants

Olesko Castle is located on the crossroads of two historical area - Galicia and Volyn. This is a castle-fortress, unlike its neighbour in Pidhirtsi, which can be classified as a castle-palace. The historical importance of the place is that Olesko castle was a birthplace of two Polish kings - Míchal Korýbut Wisniowiécki and Jan III Sobieski.

the first written mentioning about the Olesko castle dates to 1327. the wars and changes of rules between 1340 and 1590 were reflected in changes of the ownership. in 1512 the castle had been severely damaged by Tatars and only in 1590 to be inherited by Stanislav Zolkiewski (founder of Zhovkva), who restored it and passed as a dowry to his daughter Sofia. in 1627, his grand daughter Teofilia (Danilowicz) married Jacob Sobieski in this castle. In 1629, Jan III Sobieski, the future king of Poland was born and spent his childhood here. the family has lost the property in 1647, but Jan III Sobieski bought it back in 1682. in 1725, the castle was sold to Rzewuski family, who abandoned it having taken all the treasures to the neighboring .. Pidhirtsi.

since then, the castle has survived several wars and fires, the last one, in 1951, was caused by a lightening. the new life to the castle was brought with opening of the museum in 1974.

The Museum Collections

the Vienna siege M. Altamonte

Olesko Museum, one of the oldest castle museums, has been opened in 1974 after four years of hard work and restoring done by a group headed by the Director of Lviv Art Gallery and a great enthusiast B. Voznytskyi. while walking from a hall to hall, keep in mind that most of these artifacts have been literally rescued from a saw and fire, like unique wooden sculpture of St. Anna by I. Pinzel (Ukrainian Michelangelo); some came in the dreadful condition (like Belgian tapestries of 16th century and the Vienna Siege by M. Altamonte from "Little Wawel" in Zhovkva) and have been restored.

the Capuchin Monastery

the sneak peek on the Capuchin Monastery

the museum holds about 3% of all the Lviv Gallery artifacts, the rest are in storage in the Capuchin Monastery across the street. the hope is that with restoring of Pidhirtsi and Zolochiv castles some of stored artistic treasures will finally "see the light."

Pros and Cons

Pros:Renaissance castle-museum
Cons:lack of proper tourist infrustructure
In a nutshell:good for a one-day trip, in conjunction with visits to other castles

Last visit to Olesko: Jun 2007
Intro Updated Aug 20, 2008
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Reviews (8)

Pidhirtsi: the historic tree Things to Do (6)

u/c more travel advice

Pidhitsi: the old kozak cemetary - Olesko

Pidhitsi: the old kozak cemetary Things to Do (6)

In Pidhirtsi, like many other places in Western Ukraine, for centuries two different worlds – Polish and Ukrainian,... more travel advice

Pidhirtsi: ST. Joseph Cathedral Things to Do (6)

Very first thing that catches one’s eyes at the arrival to Pidhirtsi is this once magnificent cathedral, that could be a... more travel advice

Pidhirtsi Castle Things to Do (6)

My favorite of the three "horse-shoe" castles despite its current condition. for whatever reason, you can just feel the... more travel advice

Transportation (2)
See All A smart way to get from Olesko to...

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Comments (9)

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Dabs May 11, 2010 at 7:47 AM

Is your transport tip on how to get here from Lviv? I'm looking to see one or more of the castles on a daytrip when we are there for Euromeet :-)
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ronaldpk Feb 13, 2010 at 1:43 AM

Thanks for great tips on Lviv and its environs. I completely agree with your view on Polish history in Ukraine. They maintained a sort of apartheid state where the Ukrainians were discriminated against and didn't have the same opportunities.
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OleksiyM Feb 11, 2010 at 4:13 AM

Чудові фотографії
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hunterV Jul 18, 2009 at 11:48 AM

Hello, Olya! Many travels! Nice pictures and stories! Thanks a lot! ><><><><><><><><><
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HORSCHECK Aug 20, 2007 at 3:22 AM

Olya, fabulous little page with brilliant photos. I am looking forward to seeing your updates on this lovely of the beaten path place.
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lotharlerch Aug 14, 2007 at 1:38 AM

Thank you once more for recalling nice memories!
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crazyguitar Aug 7, 2007 at 8:15 AM

I hope I can drop by your country soon!! I've heart lots of nice things about it!!
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yumyum Jul 29, 2007 at 12:48 PM

Lovely page on those castles. I see, one day I will have to return to that area ;)
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bugulma Jul 15, 2007 at 11:24 PM

Wooden sculpture in Oleska castle are great. well, i just wanted to make the one page for all 3 castles, that's why I chose only Zolochiv page for that