Kuropatwa Magnates Castle (better known as Pniv Castle), late 16th century. Patrimony number 240. Monument of national importance. It is situated in Pniv village, Nadvirna county.
Pniv Castle is located north of the locality with the same name, on a plateau that once formed the west bank of the river Bistritsa. Until the appearance of the fortress of Stanislaw, the castle of Pniv was the strongest fortification in Pokutia. It had the shape of a huge irregular pentahedron with towers at the corners and the thickness of the walls over 1.5 m. The castle watched over the old trade road that descended from the Carpathian Mountains.
The castle was built in the second half of the 16th century. At its corners were built five watchtowers with ramparts. A ditch was dug in front of the entrance gate and it was filled with water, while on the opposite side a stream flowed.
In 1621 the castle was vandalized by some local robbers, who entered it through an underground gallery dug in the most vulnerable place, indicated by a traitor from the guardhouse. Also, the castle suffered severe damage during the national liberation war of 1648-1654, when its walls were stormed by the army of 15.000 rebels under the leadership of Semen Vysochean. In 1676 the Turks made an unsuccessful attempt to conquer the castle, during which its walls were destroyed.
At the end of the 18th century, the castle was abandoned, beginning to gradually dismantled. Residents of nearby villages began using its stone to build houses and a brewery.
Under the castle of Pniv there was a whole system of underground galleries. It is said that one of them led to the tower that currently stands on the territory of the public garden in Nadvirna. Less likely is the version according to which another gallery would have led to the Maniava hermitage, located 30 km from the castle.
Until now, fragments of the wall, towers, entrance gates, living rooms of the Kuropatwa palace have been partially preserved, but the castle continues to destroy. In 2018, restoration works began at the castle in Pniv.
