Attractions of Zhovkva

Zhovkva Town Hall in the Neo-Renaissance style is part of the Market Square ensemble. The first town hall in Zhovkva was built by architect P. Beber in 1687. On its walls were placed a sundial and a sample of arshin. The old house was dismantled in 1832 due to an emergency, and for a century the magistrate sat in the castle. The current town hall was built in 1932. It was built according to the competition project of architect B. Victor on the site of former barracks and casemates. In the pre-war period, the city trumpet player sang the melody "geynal" from the clock tower at noon. Now at noon the bells of the clock perform a passage of the anthem of Ukraine. The tower houses the historical and local lore exposition "Zhovkva Tower Museum" with access to the observation deck.

Zhovkva Castle is an outstanding architectural monument of the Renaissance, the main element of the fortification system of the "ideal city" of Zhovkva. Construction began by the city's founder S. Zholkevsky in 1594, the author of the first project was P. Happy. The castle is quadrangular, at the corners are towers connected by covered galleries with two-story buildings. The entrance to the Serlian portal is fortified with a four-story tower. In the courtyard there is a palace and office space. In 1606 the Zoo Garden was laid out, where bison, deer and deer were bred for hunting. At the end of the XVII century. Zhovkva Castle was the summer residence of the Polish King Jan III Sobieski, became one of the richest royal palaces in Europe (in 1676 there were celebrations in honor of Sobieski's victory over the Turks near Vienna). Hetman I. Mazepa and Tsar Peter I stayed in the palace. Later the castle became the property of the city. Until recently, it housed various municipal institutions, schools and even residential apartments. Currently, the State Historical and Architectural Reserve has been established, a tourist information center and a small museum with an exposition dedicated to the history of the city have been opened. The central facade has been restored, and restoration work is underway inside.