Zhovka Fortress
Zhovkva, L'vivs'ka oblast, Ukraine
About
(Visit the town tourist center and souvenir shop up the stairs of the castle wall on the far left. From the wall platform can be seen the best views of Zhovka). Construction of the castle began in the early 17th Century. Behind the castle was a zoo which is a park today. Stanislav Zholkievski founded Zhovka in 1594 on the site of the 14th-Century Kyivan-Rus village of Vynniky. His wife, Regina, managed the building of the fortress since her husband was gone most of the time at war as Field Crown Hetman of Poland. From 1594-1596 he put down the Cossack uprising of Severyn Nalyvaiko. In 1607 he defeated the rebel nobles who tried to overthrow Polish King Sigismund III Vasa at the Battle of Guzow. His greatest victory came in 1610 when he defeated the Russian forces at the Battle of Klushino and subsequently captured Moscow and dethroned Tsar Vasiliy Shuyskiy, briefly detaining him in Zhovka Castle. Both in 1612 and 617 he led military campaigns into Moldavia against their Turkish overlords. In the midst of these military victories Zhovka received Magdeburg Law in 1603. It was his third campaign in Moldavia against the Turks in 1620 that brought about his death. The Polish-Lithuanian army, with their Cossack and Moldavian allies, met the Ottoman and Tatar forces led by Iskender Pasha on September 10. The Turkish forces surprised the Commonwealth forces and many were taken captive. The Moldavians quickly changed sides and attacked the Polish army as well. By September 19 the Commonwealth leaders realized they had lost and began to prepare for their retreat that took place ten days later. The retreat, under constant attack, was holding until the night of October 6 when the nobles attempted to flee north leaving the army and camp behind. The Turks swooped in and slaughtered the leaderless army. Zholkievski was captured and beheaded. His head was mounted on a pike and sent back to the Sultan. His son, also named Stanislav, was captured and imprisoned by the Turks. The Commonwealth raised a ransom to redeem his head and secure the release of his son. The son died soon afterwards with no heir. The Zhovka Castle then was passed to the prominent Danylovych family. Cossack hero Bogdan Khmelnitsky spent his first ten years in Zhovka (1595-1605). His father, Mykhailo Khmelnitsky, was the sotnik (military secretary) to Zholkievski. The town of Zhovka reached its heights at the end of the 17th century when Polish King Jan III Sobieski, the great-grandson of Stanislav
