Palanok Castle

The castle Palanok "Plankenburg" is located on a mountain cone of volcanic origin west of the town of Mukachevo in Transcarpathia. The origins of the castle complex go back to the 14th century.
The castle has seen a changeable development. After the Rákóczi family, who owned the castle until 1711, Emperor Charles VI. the castle and the lands around Mukachevo in 1726 to the Mainz elector-archbishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn. The possessions remained in the possession of the Counts of Schönborn until the 20th century.
Later the castle was used as a barracks and prison, over time it was rebuilt as a fortress and today it houses a museum dedicated to the history of the castle and the town of Mukachevo.

There is a fee to enter the castle (around 300 UAH, August 2023) but it is worth it, especially if you are interested in the history of this fortress from its beginnings to the present day. Excavations and renovations are still taking place, so there is something new to see with each new visit.