What to see in Dubno

The bastioned fortress of the Ostrogski and Lubomirski princes above the Ikva River, the town's main landmark. Inside the walls are two palaces, a gatehouse building with a fountain, bastions, casemates and the Beatka tower. The reserve's museum works inside: casemates, archaeology, ethnography, weapons. From April the castle is open daily from 9:00 to 18:00. Tickets are sold until 17:00, and tours can be booked until 16:00.

Photo: Константинъ / Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0

A 16th–17th-century gate tower (barbican) on the old road to Lutsk, the central link of the town's fortifications. In Ukraine, barbicans like this survive only in Volhynia. A landmark of national importance. It stands on the same street as the hotel: just walk to the right from our door.

Photo: Константинъ / Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0

The landmark closest to the hotel: a three-minute walk. The present cathedral was built in 1908, but a church has stood on this site since the 16th century. It was founded by Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi in honour of the Prophet Elijah, patron saint of Dubno. Money for the building was raised by all the town's faiths. The annual Town Day celebrations start here.

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A building from the late 18th – early 19th century on the former Market Square, built in the time of the Contract Fairs, when nobility from all over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth came to Dubno. It is what gives the centre its character. The second floor once housed a theatre hall where troupes from Lutsk and Rivne performed.

Photo: Бондар Володимир / Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0

A Baroque synagogue from the 16th–18th centuries, one of the largest in Western Ukraine. The building was restored in 1784 and handed over to the Jewish community in 2018. There is no museum inside; you can see it from outside. Next to it stands a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

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A Roman Catholic parish church from the 1830s with a separate bell tower. It is an active church in the Diocese of Lutsk and part of the Dubno historical and cultural reserve.

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The Church of the Immaculate Conception and the Bernardine monastery were founded by Prince Janusz Ostrogski and built in 1617–1629. Today it is St Nicholas Cathedral, with a monastery for men attached. The bell tower and the cell building have survived. It stands next to the Lutsk Gate, so both landmarks are easy to see on one walk.

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A stone church from the late 16th – early 17th century, one of the oldest in the town. Historically linked to the Saviour Monastery, which was Basilian in the 18th century. An active church and a monument of sacred architecture.

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A Baroque complex from the 17th–18th centuries: a church, a cell building and a stone gate. The nuns were called “panny” (maidens), hence the old name of the street, Panienska. Since 2004 part of the complex has again been home to St Barbara's Convent, and the other part houses a hospice. It is best seen from outside, and please keep quiet.

Photo: Бондар Володимир / Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0

A late 19th-century fortress above the Ikva River, built to protect the Lviv – Kyiv railway. During the First World War the fort changed hands several times, and in 1920 a Polish garrison held its defence here. Today it is a half-ruined maze of casemates, ditches and underground galleries, the most atmospheric place in the Rivne region. The fort is outside town: about 8.5 km by road, 15–20 minutes by car. It is not a walk. Bring comfortable shoes and a torch, there are collapsed sections inside, and don't let children go off on their own. There is an entrance fee; check the amount on site.

Photo: Rbrechko / Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0