A medieval fortress city on the Dniester River, known for its 13th-century stone castle that served as a crucial defensive outpost in Eastern Europe.
Khotyn, a city in western Ukraine's Chernivtsi Oblast, lies on the banks of the Dniester River. You can explore the 14th-century Khotyn Fortress, climb its 40-meter-high walls, and walk through the same corridors where films like The Three Musketeers and Taras Bulba were shot. The city center holds medieval landmarks like the limestone Prince's Palace and a Gothic clock tower, while north of town you'll discover one of Ukraine's oldest Jewish cemeteries with inscriptions dating to the 1800s.
Visiting the Khotyn Fortress
Walk through the gates of Khotyn Fortress on the Dniester River's right bank, where stone walls from 1375 rise 40 meters high. Five defensive towers guard the complex, and inside you'll find a former church building that served as a mosque during Ottoman rule. Climb to the top of the walls for views across the Dniester River and Bukovina region. The fortress museum displays medieval weapons, armor, and items uncovered during archaeological digs. The fortress opens daily from 9 AM to 6 PM.
Movie Sets at the Fortress
Since 1965, when The Viper was filmed here, movie crews have transformed the fortress into various medieval settings. Walk the same paths as the characters from D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers (1978), The Ballad of the Valiant Knight Ivanhoe (1983), and Taras Bulba (2009). Information panels throughout the fortress show you exact filming locations with scenes from the movies shot at each spot.
The Jewish Cemetery
Half a kilometer north of the city center, just off the T2610/T2614 highway toward Ataky, lies the centuries-old Jewish cemetery. Walk among hundreds of tombstones from the 19th and 20th centuries, reading inscriptions in Hebrew and Yiddish. The cemetery reflects the city's past as a major trading post between Constantinople and Lvov, where Jewish merchants established a community that grew to over 9,000 people by 1897.
Medieval City Architecture
In the city center, you'll find the Prince's Palace (Palatul Domnesc), built in the 1460s using limestone blocks in the Moldavian style. Look up at the adjacent clock tower with its four faces and Gothic details. Both 15th-century structures, built during Stephen the Great's reign, remain central points in Khotyn's daily life. The palace and tower are open to visitors daily, though interior access may be limited.
