Chroniclers of the Middle Ages and modern scientists say that natural topography of Podolian highland influenced greatly the fortification of Podillia. There many rivers there.
The valleys are deep and form capes and real peninsular that are high above the surfaces of rivers.
Major part of castles were built on the banks of the Bug and the Dniester and their tributaries: the Smotrich, the Zbruch, the Zgara, the Soba, the Snivoda. The most typical is the cape fortification or “one-side fortress” as it was called in Podillia and Bratslavshchina.
There belong the fortificated buildings of Kamenets, Medzhibizh, Zinkov, Sutkivtsi,Skala , Busha, Vinnitsa (the first castle), Yanev, Buchach and many other fortifications.

The majority of castles were situated on hills and were inaccessible. Among them first of all should be mentioned the fortress in Kamenets, Terebovlia, Kremenets, Sutkivtsi and others.
The castle in Zinkiv looks magnificent with it’s three towers. It was built by the Head Petro Odrovonzh in the middle of the XVth century and was considered to be “one of the keys to Western Podillia.” It was proved in 1524 when Tatars attacked then besieged it, burnt away the suburb but could not win. When it was impossible to build a fortification on a hill, there were used other ways of strengthening.

A castle could be situated on an island (the Vinnitsa’s second castle) or the main force of a fortress was concentrated in a defend tower (a castle in Starokostiantiniv). There was no one standard for building castles. They could be in a form of triangle (Zinkiv, Vinnitsa, Konetspil), rectangle (Kudrintsi, Mikulintsi, Litin), pentahedron (Sataniv, Zhvanets) or they could have a free planning according to the peculiarities of the locality (Medzhibizh, Kamenets).
A good example is a castle in Skalat. It was built in 1630. It’s walls were defended by tour towersorientated to the parts of the world. The castle was surrounded by the moat with water. Not only castle remain in Ukraine but many monasteries still exist.

They also played the role of fortresses. In a system of defence of a locality there were monasteries, the road monasteries and monasteries as prisons. Architecture of monasteries were the same as castles.

The most famous in Podillia are Liadovskiy and Letichivskiy monasteries. The monastery in Letichiv is the main memorial to the defence architecture in Podillia.
Catholic church of Uspenie with a building of monastery is made in a style of developed baroque. The monastery was destroyed many times and reconstructed in 1724.

Berezany castle is located in Berezhany, a small town in Ternopil region.
It was build in 1534-1554 by Polish magnats the Seniavskys. The castle consists of walls, a palace with an entrance gate, a bastion , a quarter tower. and a church.. It was inaccessible. The castle was created with the help of Italian architects but there are many ukranian elements in its planning and details. The walls from the north side were 2 m. wide, from the south-west side- almost 6 m. The beautiful carved ceiling is preserved in Seniavsky's chapel. Now the castle is not used and stands dying in town's park near the Zolota Lypa river.

Lancut schliesslich, Landshut, “palazzo in fortezza” fuer die Lubomirski, spaeter die Potocki, auf dem Wege von Krakau nach Lemberg, zwischen Rzeszow und Przemysl.

Gepflegte Alleen und Bosketts, ein monumentales Tor, Sternbastionen, Brueckenboegen, Fruehbarock des 17. Jahrhunderts, Neubarock der letzten Jahrhundertwende, reich, geniesserisch, kalkulierte Pracht und Macht, Profanes ist eliminiert.
Kein Schloss ostwaerts der Wiener Hofburg konnte sich mit diesem Lancut messen, ausgenommen die Residenzen der Zaren. In manchem uebertrafen die Sammlungen Lancuts die grossen Haeuser Englands und Frankreichs. Diplomatie und Verbindungen haben Lancut in beiden Kriegen bewahrt. Vor der Roten Armee allerdings haben die Potocki sich und ihr bewegliches Gut nach Liechtenstein gerettet. Auch der Rest noch ruft Glanz und Herrlichkeit der Magnaten in die Erinnerung, ihren Absolutismus, den demokratische Skrupel wenig truebten, ihre patriotische Leidenschaft, ihren europaeischen Geist und in allem das tonangebende Wien.

Sandomierz, Ebenbild Rothenburgs ob der Tauber ueberm Zusammenfluss von Weichsel und San.

Baranow, auf dem galizischen Ufer der Weichsel suedlich Sandomierz,Sitz der Leszynski, Renaissance des 16. Jahrhunderts, ein wenig barockisiert, Wassergraben, viereckig, vier Wehrtuerme, ein Kastell wie in Oberitalien. Im Innenhof drei Seiten mit Arkaden, an Schoenheit gleich denen im Wawel. Baranow ist eine Magnatenresidenz in bestem manieristischen Stil. Rafael Leszynski, ihr Bauherr, war zu den boehmischen Bruedern uebergetreten, er ebenso wie sein calvinistischer Enkel fuehrten die Opposition im Sejm.