Stilsko Hillfort
Remains of a White Croat hillfort of about 250 ha with three rows of ramparts.
The Stilsko hillfort near the villages of Stilsko, Dubrova and Iliv in the Stryi area was a settlement of the White Croats. According to the reserve's website, it was founded in the 7th century and flourished in the 9th–10th centuries; “Hlavkom” and “Vysokyi Zamok” date the hillfort to the 8th–10th centuries. Its area is about 250 ha: 10 km of ramparts in three rows remain, and the citadel occupied 15 ha (ZAXID.NET, 2021). According to the regional council, about 45 thousand people lived here in its heyday. The hillfort was first studied in the 1970s by Vasyl Deresh, and excavations began in the 1980s; in 2015 a historical and cultural reserve was created, headed by the leader of the expedition, Orest Korchynsky. In 2023 excavations were carried out on the hillfort for the first time since 1987, finding pottery and flint tools of the 4th millennium BC. In 2026 archaeologists concluded that on the mound, which after the 1987 excavations had been considered a pagan sanctuary, there most likely stood a wooden tower on a stone foundation.
Tours by appointment with the reserve: +38 (050) 696-38-16 (2026). Navigation in the forest is weak — download offline maps.