Zhovkva (Żółkiew) in Western Ukraine – an example of urban complex of the Renaissance “ideal town”

The town of Zhovkva (Żółkiew) belongs to the late Renaissance foundations of private resident towns in Western Ukraine (Halychyna region) from the late 16th century. In accordance with historical sources, this city was founded by Stanisław Żółkiewski [2] in 1594. Urban-spatial structure of the town was designed according to the Renaissance ideal city. The city has a well-preserved original planning structure and a number of architectural monuments that are associated with it. The city consisted of two conjugated parts: the owner’s castle and the fortifi ed middletown. The combination of these two parts was of a specifi c nature – when the central square of the town is combined with the facade of the castle complex. On the base of the historical and urban studies presented the hypothesis that town of Zhovkva (Żółkiew) is an unique example of late Renaissance urbanism. The start of town build was in 1594 according to a project based on the concept of “ideal town” from the book of Italian architect Pietro Cataneo. We are thinking, that the author of the project and plan of town was Paolo Clamensi – Italian architect, worked in Lviv at the end of 16th century. The towns have a well-preserved original Renaissance planning structure and a number of architectural monuments that are connected with it.