The Town of Khotyn lies on the right side of the Dnister. Archaeologists believe it was founded in the 8th - 9th centuries A.D., during the period of Eastern Slavs' active involvement in state formation. Practically isolated from major roads and contemporary life, the fairy tale- like Khotyn castle is best known for towering 50-meter high walls that look out upon the wide, sweeping river as it flows south to the Black Sea. Located alongside the Dniester River, the castle controlled a critical water- based trade route. Originally built in the 12th century out of wood, by the 15th century it had been completely remade in stone. Its 50 meter walls are still considered the tallest in all of Europe, Kurmaz said. After the break up of the Galician-Volyn principality, Khotyn fortress was mainly controlled by the Cossacks until the Polish established control in the 15th century. The Turks took control of the fort the following century, but not for long.

Despite efforts by the Turks in the early 17th century to fortify the castle, it was conquered by a unified Slavic army that included Poles and Cossacks.

The Khotyn castle is especially interesting, and particularly so due to the famous battle that occurred just outside its walls in 1621. In the battle, Cossack Hetman Petro Sahaydachnyi defeated the Turks( army of 300, 000 men and officers) and struck an important peace agreement with them, which ultimately benefited the Poles and gave them control over the region. Khotyn finally came under Russian control in 1793 and was mainly used as a prison up until the end of WWII.

Even today, the castle strikes with its grandeur. Stone and earth fortifications stretch out for about a mile. This 12th - 16th century structure rests atop a man-made platform 33 feet deep, a genial piece of ancient engineering thought, in its turn lying on a rocky ground. Rectangular area 4,000 by 800 feet is enclosed in the earthwork rampart (26 feet deep) enforced with bulwarks. Castle's stonework walls ornamented with red bricks to resemble the style of Podillya rushnyky look strikingly beautiful against the background of the Dniester valley.