Olyka Castle
| Olyka Castle | |
|---|---|
Entrance gate from Olyka castle seen from the courtyard | |
| Coordinates | 50°43′24″N 25°48′31″E / 50.72333°N 25.80861°E |
| Built | 1564 |
| Built for | Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł |
| Official name | Замок (Castle) |
| Type | Architecture |
| Reference no. | 030128 |
Olyka Castle (Ukrainian: Олицький замок; Polish: Pałac Radziwiłłów w Ołyce) is a fortified palace in Olyka, Ukraine. Constructed in 1564, it became the principal seat of the Radziwiłł family in Volhynia, once part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and now Ukraine. The Radziwiłłs hold the castle for almost four hundred years, since the last owner, Janusz Radziwiłł, owned the castle till 1945. After 1945, it was confiscated and changed into a psychiatric hospital. In 2021, it was transferred to the Volyn museum and is now open for the public.
The castle is a so-called 'Palazzo in Fortezza', a structure where a palace or noble residence is incorporated or built within a fortress of fortified complex. It is one of the largest aristocratic residences in Ukraine with over two hundred rooms, and a courtyard larger than the Piazza San Marco in Venice.