Korets is a small town on the Korchyk River, 63 km east of Rivne, and the center of Koretska community. About 7,000 people live here. Korets is included in the list of historic towns of Ukraine, and because of its ten churches, among which are notable monuments of sacred architecture, it is sometimes called the “Christian Mecca.” The main reasons to visit are the ruins of the Koretskyi princes’ castle, monasteries, and the old streets above the Korchyk.
Chronicle Korechesk
The town was first mentioned in the Kyiv Chronicle in 1150 as Korechesk. In 1386, Prince Fedor Ostrozkyi began building a fortress above the Korchyk, and in the 16th century Korets became the ancestral seat of the Koretskyi princes, who expanded the castle and the town. Later, Korets passed to the Czartoryski family — Prince Yosyp Czartoryski completed the construction of the Trinity Monastery at the beginning of the 19th century.
Korets also had a rich Jewish history. In 1776, the first Hebrew printing house in Ukraine was established here: by 1781 it had published about twenty books. Before the Holocaust, over 6,000 Jews lived in the town; in 1942 the Nazis created a ghetto here and destroyed the community.
What to see
Koretskyi Castle — ruins of the Ostrozkyi and Koretskyi fortress above the Korchyk with a gate tower and viaduct. Nearby are the remains of the Koretskyi palace and the small palace of Yosyp Czartoryski.
Holy Trinity Monastery — a complex from the 17th–19th centuries, formerly a Franciscan cloister. On its apiary stands an unusual “bee temple”: the nuns say that bees are pure and hardworking creatures worthy of their own temple.
Church of St. Anthony — a 16th-century architectural monument with a mass grave of Polish soldiers. It is also worth seeing the cells of the Resurrection Monastery, the churches of St. Nicholas and St. George, the Horchytskyi house, and the old post station.
Nature
Near the town is the “Koretski Hranity” reserve with outcrops of ancient crystalline rocks above the river. The Korchyk valley with steep banks is great for walks, especially in spring and autumn.
Korets on video
When to go
Korets is beautiful at any time, but best in May–June and September: then the Korchyk valley is green, and the castle ruins are not hidden by leaves. In summer, city festivals and church holidays take place here. Allocate half a day to explore the town, and a whole day if visiting Velyki Mezhyrichi and Hoshcha.
Nearby
Stetskyi Estate in Velyki Mezhyrichi — south of the town, Hoshcha — on the way to Rivne. The regional center is Rivne.
How to get there
Korets is located on the Kyiv–Chop highway, so it is easy to reach by bus from Rivne, Zhytomyr, or Kyiv. From Rivne, it takes about an hour.
