Medzhybizh

This article informs for the first time that in the second half of the 16th century, a citizen of the city of Ternopil, Jan Bąk (“Jan Bonk” in English transcription), was employed by Mikołaj Sieniawski as the architect of Medzhybizh Castle (now in Khmelnytskyi region, Ukraine). The notice of this fact was found by the author in the first volume of the manuscript “Płac prawnych prac” (“A place for legal searches” – from Polish).

This article introduces documentary information about the structure, condition, functional purpose and actual use of the fortification complex, residential and economic buildings of the Medzhybizh castle in the second half of the 18th century. For this purpose, the text of the inventory descriptions of Medzhybizh castle in 1763, 1765, 1767 in Polish, adapted to modern spelling, and its parallel translation in Ukrainian are published.

The article presents the chronology of the Turkish and Polish stay in Medzhybizh and control over the Medzhybizh Castle based on documents and publications of archival materials. The short period of Turkish rule, which actually lasted about 8 years, as well as the difficult situation for the Ottomans in Podillіa in 1672-1699, cast doubt on the widespread narratives about the 27 years of Ottoman occupation of Medzhybizh. Instead, there is evidence of the inability of the Turkish military to hold the castle.