Khust Castle

Khust Castle, a monument of architecture of national significance, towers atop a hill of volcanic origin (174 m above sea level), which gave it an exceptionally advantageous strategic location. Its construction began around 1090 and was completed in 1191 as a Hungarian royal fortress. The main purpose of the castle was to protect the important salt route that ran from the Solotvyno mines. The stronghold controlled all surrounding roads, dominating the plain, and was a subject of conflict between the Kingdom of Hungary, the Principality of Transylvania, and the Austrian Empire. The castle was never taken by storm—only through deception or bribery—confirming its might, which the Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi compared to the fortress of Iskander. In the 14th century, the castle briefly belonged to the knight Drago, an ancestor of Vlad the Impaler, famously known as Count Dracula. Unfortunately, the fortress was destroyed not by enemies, but by the elements: on July 3, 1766, lightning struck the powder tower, causing an explosion, though folk tradition attributes this to the opryshok Mykola Chuhai. Subsequently, in 1798, following a storm and with official permission, the local community began dismantling the ruins for building stone. Yet even today, Khust Castle remains a majestic witness to centuries of history.