"The level of civilization of a people can be judged by the extend of their desire to promote and defend their culture".

If this quotation is true, people of Ukraine are not the most civilized ones in the world. May be. But the culture of Ukraine definitely is very old and extremely interesting.
There were more than 3,000 defense structures here several hundreds years ago. There are only 116 fortresses in various degrees of preservation or ruin to be found in Western Ukraine now. They stand there like witnesses of the historical links of Ukraine with Western Europe, and make you wonder at their indestructibility, particularly in view of all the invasions and wars that Ukraine had lived through — the Huns, the Goths, the Mongols, the Turks, the Poles, the Hungarians, the Austrians, the Swedes, the Russians, the Germans tried at one time or another to establish their rule over my Fatherland. 
The only advantage of the miserable condition of our fortresses is they still the same like centuries ago. Time stops in this reign of history. And in my native town, majestic and ancient Kamianets-Podilsky (Kamenec-Podolsky in other spelling) too - just look at these pictures above. Strong evidence, isn't it? :)
Here you can find my travel notes, descriptions of the towns and villages of Ukraine and - sometimes - maps. I propose to take you on a tour of the history of my land, show you its castles - mostly in ruins - and churches, palaces and synagogues.
I'm not a historian, I just love my native land. If anyone loves it too, I'll be happy. :)
I shall appreciate any of your comments and censorious remarks.