Castle In Stare Selo, Ukraine

The village of Stare Selo, which by the way translates literally as “Old Village” is located 30 km away from Lviv. There, by the railway, sit the ancient remains of a once great castle. Nowadays, the castle in Stare Selo is a forgotten place that is very rarely visited by tourists, perhaps due to the inconvenient location. 

The first fortification walls in Stare Selo were built in the 15th century to protect people from Tatar attacks. Unfortunately that construction was made of wood, therefore the fortification walls were destroyed and burned down. 

In the 16th century on the same grounds another big construction was built, this time out of stone. And once again in almost 100 years the walls of now stone castle were ruined due to battles. 

The third time the castle in Stare Selo was rebuilt a year after the destruction. This time the castle got elements of the late Renaissance. Beautiful big gates were made and walls became 8 meters tall. There were bastions with cannons and deep trenches filled with water. All of this made the castle invincible to siege by Turckish army in the end of the 17th century.

In the 18th century the castle in Stare Selo lost its strategic location and little by little it started to change. At one point the castle was turned into the warehouse, beer brewery, and wine brewery. Part of the structures inside the fortification walls were taken apart. And the walls began to turn into a ruin due to the elements. 

Nowadays inside the castle’s walls there is an empty field full of grass and weeds. Every year the walls of the castle are falling more and more into disrepair and with time there won’t be anything left except the footprint of a great structure. 

How To Get To Stare Selo

Stare Selo is not on the tourist path, so there are usually not many visitors here. The easiest way to get to Stare Selo is by driving or taking a taxi. To get to Stare Selo from Lviv by Uber, you will pay no more than $10 (280 UAH). It is a good solution, since you need just 10 – 15 minutes for exploring the castle in Stare Selo. 

It is also possible to get to Stare Selo by public bus. The price of such a ride will cost you 92 UAH per person. The bus departs from B.Khmelnitskogo str. 225, Lviv.