Schoenborn palace in the Carpathians

A hunting palace of Counts Schoenborn is an excellent state of preservation. Nowadays it houses Karpaty health center where people receive treatment for cardiovascular diseases. Tourists are welcome here: the entrance is free of charge, souvenirs are sold and excursions organized.

Hunting was always a popular entertainment with aristocracy, and the Carpathians with their untouched nature and wildlife were extremely suitable for hunters. Austrian masters of the Transcarpathian Territory, the Schoenborns, had taken fancy to hunting near the village of Chinadievo. For that purpose, they first built a wooden hunting seat, which was changed into a palace in 1890. The palace is built in the style of Romanticism with elements of gothic, the architectural trend fashionable at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

Between spire-topped towers there are high funnels. It is interesting that their number corresponds with the number of weeks in a year — 52, while there are 365 windows in the palace, and 12 entrances (equal to the number of days and months in a year, accordingly). No doubt this original idea corresponds with the spirit of Romanticism too.

The interior of the castle was designed to create a cosy and comfortable atmosphere for rest after active entertainment. This is promoted by squeaking wooden stairs, fireplaces with crackling coal, and chandeliers decorated with hunting trophies, being a typical feature of hunting seats. The chandelier carved of antlers represents Meliusina, a Celtic fairy saving knights. Heraldic symbol of the Schoenborns, a crow lion, is repeatedly used in elements of inner and outer of decor.

A large and picturesque park is laid out around the tie, with beeches, spruces, sakuras, cork pines, and other rare trees planted here.

In the palace park there is a lake famous by banks being a copy of the Dual Monarchy on the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

Chinadievskv Castle
Nearby Schoenborn Palace there’s one more castle of the 15th century in the village of Chinadievo. Saint- Miklosh Castle is a stern-looking angular structure with two round towers on both sides and a row of loopholes under the roof. It also has vast catacombs with secret tunnels cut through the walls. During restoration works in the 19th century people found a skeleton of some poor devil immured into a wall alive.

Useful info:
– Castle of Uzhgorod
– Palanok Castle of Mukachevo
– Khotyn fortress