Castle in Toky, Medieval fortress in Toky, Ukraine

Castle in Toky is a stone fortress built on elevated ground and surrounded by defensive walls with corner watchtowers. The structure displays typical medieval military architecture designed to withstand attacks and control the surrounding landscape.

The castle was built at the end of the 16th century by Janusz Zbaraski, voivode of Bratslav, on a rocky island in the old bed of the Zbruch. It withstood several Tatar attacks, but Bohdan Khmelnytsky's Cossacks took it in 1648, and Turkish troops under Ibrahim Shishman destroyed it in 1675. After 1631 it passed to the Wiśniowiecki family, and from 1744 to the Wielhorski, Czarnecki, Matkowski, Małyński and Dzieduszycki families.

The castle stood beside the town of Ożohowce (now Ozhohivtsi) on the eastern bank of the Zbruch, and Toky with its Zbaraski stronghold formed the town's western part. It lay at a crossing of two important routes, the Black Trail and the Kuczmański Trail. From 1772 to 1918, apart from 1809–1815, the Zbruch was the Austro-Russian border, and from 1921 to 1939 the Polish-Soviet one, with the castle on the Polish side.

The site is accessible on foot but sits on elevated terrain, so be prepared for uneven ground and slopes. Visiting during warmer months makes exploration easier, as pathways tend to be dry and safer to navigate.

Local tradition tells of a tunnel from the castle to the Yakhnovets forest, tall enough for a person and lined with wall niches that held burning torches. No such passage has been documented, but pits, cellars and underground openings still appear in various parts of Ozhohivtsi.