You're reading: Zhovkva, a town of ghosts and legends in western Ukraine

ZHOVKVA, Lviv Oblast – Like many who come from southern Ukraine, the western part of the country remains a mystery to me. It’s a shame to confess, but I have never been to any of the Western cities except for Lviv. 

So during a recent trip I decided to venture out of the city to visit Zhovkva, a small town of around 13,000 located 25 kilometers north of Lviv. 

Tales of the 16th-century castle standing proud on a hilltop were extremely appealing for a young woman from the flat, southern steppes. Soon after arriving I saw that rumors of the town’s beauty were true.

Legend has it that the famous Ukrainian Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky was born here. He certainly spent some of his youth in Zhovkva with his father, who belonged to the court of the Polish nobleman Stanisław Żółkiewski, the town’s founder. The hetman, or Cossack leader, obviously valued his childhood memories. When Cossacks under Khmelnytsky’s rule were attacking Lviv, he forbade burning Zhovkva. 

Żółkiewski founded the town in 1597 and fortified it to protect the Polish border from Tatar raids. But Zhovkva owes its beauty to Żółkiewski’s wife Regina. Fond of Italian cities, she insisted on borrowing from the Renaissance urban planning ideas of Italian architect Pietro Cataneo in constructing the town. 

Since the Italian Renaissance masters were inspired by the beauty and perfection of the human body in their works, one can recognize the human figure in the shapes and lines of Zhovkva. In this respect, Żółkiewski’s magnificent castle is the town’s head, the square in front of it is the torso, the Saint Lavrentiy Cathedral is its heart, the stalls a stomach and the streets that start from the main square, its hands and legs.

Żółkiewski didn’t live to see Zhovkva prosper, however. The military commander was killed at the age of 73 in a battle against the Turks in 1620. His mourning widow had to sell all her treasures to buy her husband’s head from the invaders and bring it home. It is still kept in the Saint Lavrentiy Cathedral. 

You can almost feel the ghosts of those famous inhabitants following you through the town’s streets and squares. Stones in the fortified city walls, that ressemble skulls, as well as flocks of ravens add to the somber atmosphere. 

Zhovkva was said to be the favorite residence of Polish King John III Sobieski. According to legend, when a cradle holding the infant king was put atop of the sarcophagus of his great-grandfather Żółkiewski in Zhovkva, the cover of the sarcophagus cracked, symbolizing that a hero had been born to avenge his death. Under Sobieski’s rule in the 17th century, Zhovkva experienced its most prosperous years.

World War I brought destruction to the town. The castle survived only to be soon converted into a prison for the NKVD, the secret Soviet police at the time. In 1951, the town’s name was changed to Nesterov in honor of the Soviet pilot Pyotr Nesterov. In 1992 it regained its old name. 

Over 400 years have brought numerous changes to Zhovkva, making the town an interesting wrinkle in western Ukraine’s history. Nowadays, pubs stand next to the old cathedrals, cyclists fill the main square rather than sauntering Polish noblemen, and children play on the defensive walls where soldiers once fought. 

Despite this, Zhovkva has kept its majestic spirit of old glory. It takes you from the present and throws you back into an era of noble knights and bloody battles – even if they are no more than legends now.

HOW TO GET THERE: Take the bus to Zhovkva from Lviv Bus Station #2. Buses depart every 20 minutes and the fare is Hr 8. 

WHERE TO EAT: Make sure to visit Tsukernia café (Ukrainian for “confectionery”), situated in Zhovkva’s Vicheva Square in the very heart of town. Cakes are available for Hr 9-12, coffee for Hr 12-16.

Kyiv Post photographer Anastasia Vlasova can be reached at [email protected].