Saint Miklós Castle in Transcarpathia - stone brought to life by love

Saint Miklós Castle in Transcarpathia - a fortress of love forgotten by our contemporaries, hiding behind the guise of a worn-out sentinel of the «Ruthenian Gate». This mountain pass opened the West a route into the valley of the River Latorytsia and further - to all the lands of Rus, and so it gathered stone guardians around itself. Neighbouring Palanok, brought back to life through restoration, the castle in Chynadiyovo may seem, mistakenly, like a slumbering old man. Yet what wondrous dreams come true within its towers and halls!

Pioneering ideas embodied in Saint Miklós Castle

Raising a defensive stronghold in the 14th century, Baron Perényi surpassed the engineering conveniences of the centuries that followed. Within the thickness of the walls of this Romanesque fortress there was central heating, and a lift rose from the cellar to the attic. The austere two-storey castle with corner bastions had unique cellars for provisions and a dozen kilometres of underground passages. The winds of seven centuries pierced its roof and brought its interior to decay.

The present-day tenant Josyp Bartosh managed to find a spark of inspiration in the picturesque ruins. It was kindled by the words of the castle’s legendary owner Ilona Zrínyi, who asked the artist for help in a dream. Faithful to a calling from the past, he restored the fortress’s ancient roof tiles, renovated its halls and cleared the secret passages in the walls. Thus he transformed the medieval refuge of the nobility into a cultural centre with a museum and an art gallery.

Set off on captivating excursions across Transcarpathia together with us!

The castle’s secrets and hidden chambers

The secrets of the walls of Chynadiyovo Castle exist apart from the space of its rooms. Within the metre-thick stone supports of Saint Miklós Castle, threaded with narrow corridors, a hidden court life once unfolded. The inner passages allowed one to leave the chambers, bypassing the doors. Or to visit someone else’s room without the servants’ knowledge, moving along wooden stairs between the floors. In the double walls echoed the whispers of the lovers Ilona Zrínyi and Imre Thököly - the most famous Hungarian countess and the young rebel. But other visitors fell silent forever in the mute embrace of the stone.

Peering into the darkness of the cleared hiding places, today’s tourist will no longer meet the restorers’ find - a human skeleton. This tragic prisoner, walled up during the castle’s construction, was destined to become its faithful ghost. It is unlikely he frightened the neighbouring village council, which turned Saint Miklós Castle a century later into a warehouse, and then - into a motor depot. But now that the spirit of antiquity has been reborn within the stronghold, he deserves a minute of silent remembrance.

You can feel the gaze of those whose voices once rose freely to the vaulted rooms on the ground floor. Josyp Bartosh’s paintings return its inhabitants to the castle in realistic portraits with a living gleam in their eyes. Alongside exhibits of Celtic and Scythian authenticity (1st millennium BC), the heroes of the Middle Ages and later times seem as close as yesterday. Settling into a high-backed chair at a wooden table, you can easily imagine yourself a guest at a count’s feast. And glancing at the mountains through the low window of Ilona Zrínyi’s bedroom, you can understand her romantic feelings.

You can experience all this, as well as visit other no less remarkable Transcarpathian castles, on our regular excursion around the castles of Transcarpathia.

The lovers of those years overcame their ghostly fear, slipping «through the walls» to meet on different floors and in the castle dungeon. Today the doors of the main hall of Saint Miklós Castle are open to happy couples. Here solemn vows are spoken, and the stone echo of the centuries answers them in an ancient tongue. The tradition of wedding ceremonies in the medieval fortress was begun by Bartosh’s own marriage to his beloved Tetiana. Now they are developing festival events around the stone sentinel of Chynadiyovo. They invite tourists to seek the thrilling sensations of the past and, perhaps, their own future love.

Driving through the narrow mountain valley, do not expect to spot fairy-tale towers and fortifications on the horizon.
The austere Chynadiyovo Saint Miklós Castle is hidden by greenery and the buildings of the village. Instead of a ghost, its faithful guardian has become an artist. Ready to reveal to guests the secrets of the walls, the vaulted halls and royal love.