Articles

The park “High Castle” (Vusoky Zamok)

The park “High Castle” (Vusoky Zamok) is located on the Castle Mountain and it is considered to be one of the most popular places for romantic dates of citizens of Lvov and its guests.

The first mentioning of Lvov in manuscripts of 1256 is connected with this mountain. Later the Lysaya Mountain (Bold Mountain) was planted with 50 species of regular and exotic trees and bushes. The lower terrace is the most beautiful place in the whole park. In 1841 the artificial cave was built here, decorated with lions from the former city administration. Since the end of 19th century this cave has the name of Grotto of Suicide. Although there are no documents that can prove this fact.

According to the official data the park was founded in 1835 on the place of the fortress Vusokiy Zamok (the High Castle). The fortress was not only serving for protection but also for imprisonment. In 1410 here German knights crusaders were imprisoned after the Battle of Grunewald. During the fierce earth quake in 1670 a part of a castle wall fell down. Since this time the decline of the High Castle has begun. In 1704 when Lvov was conquered by Swedish king Karl XII the castle was more and more in decay. Left without any surveillance the castle became the shelter for all sorts of nomads and robbers, who were spreading horror among the citizens. People sick with plague were ousted to the High Castle.

The total territory of the park is 36.2 hectare. It consists of 2 terraces: the upper terrace and the lower terrace. On the lower terrace there are a lot of lanes and also here is situated the monument to Maksim Krivonos – the colonel who conquered the fortress the High Castle together with the army of B.Khmelnitskiy. On the upper terrace there is an observation square that is situated on an artificial barrow, constructed in 1869 by people of Poland in honor of 300 anniversary of Lublenska junction (the agreement of including the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Rocks from castle buildings and walls were used during the construction of this artificial barrow. In such a way Lvov got the observation deck that does not have equal in the whole Europe. The landscapes that you see from it will take your breathe away. In 60-80th of the 19th century you could observe the fire of the town Striy that is situated 70km away from Lvov, and 120km away from Stanislav, Ivano-Frankivsk today. In 1957 the Lvov television center was built on this mountain with the television tower more than 200 meters.

There is no doubt that people in Lvov love this park very much. It is situated almost in the city center and each citizen of the smoggy city with just 10-15 min of walking can get into the shade of these huge trees, admire the unique beauty of this beautiful corner of an ancient city. From the top spot, 413 meters above the sea level, where the observation deck is located, you can view an epic panorama of the ancient city and its sights. Among the Middle Age architecture you can spot green islands of parks.