The text, accompanied by several photographs, describes in detail the history of Toki Castle, which once belonged to the Wiśniowiecki family. It is also recalled in the context of the castles in Zbaraż and Wiśniowiec, and folk traditions connected with these places are also given (Source: "Wschód", Lviv 1939, no. 131, p. 6, after: Jagiellonian Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text.

The ruins of Toki Castle.

The season of tourist excursions across the country is approaching. These routes lead primarily to memorial sites, many of which are located in the Podolia region. On the eastern borderlands of the former Republic of Poland, on the three routes along which, over the centuries, numerous waves of eastern, savage invasions had pulled into our country, strong and vigilant borderland castles and chateaus stood guard, whose walls were often smashed by hostile Tartar, Cossack and Turkish incursions. After all, those were the times when the Polish knighthood was ringing the necks of invaders with sabres almost year after year, and when the "terror" of war had passed, it was gaining new troops with the ploughshare for this borderland, as the easternmost outpost of Western culture, when iron fulfilled its noble mission in the borderlands in such a glaringly contradictory form. In a series of articles we would like to point out to the tourist masses those places of remembrance which, thanks to their role in the past, played an important role as strong and vigilant redoubts of physical vigour and moral strength. In the midst of the general deluge, these watchtowers stood like rocky reefs amidst a deluge of hostile floods and provided a clear example of a deeply-rooted duty to the Republic. We would like to draw tourists' attention to these borderland watchtowers in the coming season. Like waves of an immeasurable ocean, over the centuries, three hordes and hordes of warlords and hordes flowed from the eastern wall of the Republic of Poland into the Polish eastern borderlands, bringing murder and destruction all around, marking the traces of their march with the blood and destruction of the innocent, defenceless population, the conflagration of their homes, the devastation and ruin of all their possessions. In the midst of the barbarian invasions, which have followed an unbroken thread through the history of these borderlands, which history has kept close to Poland, a glorious and noble role was played by the castles and chateaux of Podolia, which today, after decades, mostly shine with the remains of their shattered walls, but with a powerful voice proclaiming their great historical role and clearly illustrating the past of this Polish land. The great number of these monuments, scattered around the Podolia region, indicates that they originated from a deep watchfulness and constant armed alertness. They were erected as permanent points of defence, which was a prerequisite for existence in the face of numerous invasions taking advantage of the open spaces on the eastern borders of the Republic. These defensive watchtowers, the famous "fortalitia", were built and fell into ruin on the borderline between two worlds: European culture and Asian barbarism. They were built where art gave nature a hand to create a rocky reef from a wooden fortress or a stone castle, against which the rough waves of a hostile invasion would crash. After every deluge, new, armed and vigilant redoubts were erected at the border mounds. Under the threat of constant invasions, which filled the Chervenland with murder, plunder and destruction, castles and chateaux were erected on naturally defensive sites, which were built on secluded peaks, on high hills, among lakes and ponds, which facilitated the task of defence. In the 14th century there are already castles and chateaux in Buczacz, Czerwonogród, Lopatyń, Olesko, Skala and Trembowla. The 15th century shows them in Busko, Dunajów, Glinyany, Gołogory, Jazłowiec, Podkamień, Pomorzany, Tłustem, Vyzhniany and Zbaraż. In the 16th century, they appear in Bavorovo, Brzeżany, Budzanów, Chortkiv, Husiatyn, Jagielnica, Kamionka Strumiłowa, Kuropatniki, Mikulińce, Monasterzyska, Ostrów, Tadań, Tarnopol, Załoźce, Zborów and Złoczów. The 17th century builds the most of them. They are possessed by: Bialy Kamień, Bilcze, Bobulińce, Borszczów, Brody, Bucniów, Czamokońce, Czemilów, Gródek, Glinna, Grzymałów, Horożanka, Huta Wierzchobuska, Janów, Jeziema, Kasperowce, Kociubince, Kolyśiąpy, Koniuchy, Kopyczyńce, Kozowa, Krzywcze, Kudryńce, Kulakowce, Kupczyńce, Liczkowce, Łoszniów, Mogielnica, Nakwasza, Nowosiółka Kostiukowa, Okopy św. Trinity, Oleyów, Pieniaki, Podhajce, Podhorce, Podwysokie, Podzameczek, Przemyślany, Sasów, Sidorów, Skałat, Stratyn, Strasów, Strzemilcze, Świrz, Toki, Torskie, Touste, Ułaszkowce, Uście Zielone, Uścieczko, Wysuczka, Zarudzie, Zawałów, Złotniki. Alongside these castles, fortified monasteries and churches played a defensive role. Let us now turn our attention to the border castle in Toky. Near the border, in the north-eastern corner of the Zbarazh district, on the upper Zbrucz River, some 36 km east of Zbarazh and 15 km north of Podwołoczysk lies the border village of Toki in the Volyn highlands, among the marshes and swamps of the Zbrucz River, with the ruins of an old defensive castle built probably at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries in the suburb of the town of Ożegowce, called Towarki or Toki. On the northern side of the village, on the headland of a lofty and artificially created island, surrounded by a wide Zbrucz pond, stand the ruins of an old defensive castle. A dyke leads to the island from the village, which used to be accessed via a drawbridge. Dr. Aleksander Gołowski, an outstanding expert on borderland castles and chateaux, describes the condition of the ruins of Toki Castle in his valuable work "The Past and Historical Monuments of the Ternopil Voivodeship" (1926) in these words: "Its perimeter walls of stone and brick formed an irregular triangle with three towers at the corners, of which the front one, from the south, was pentagonal, the other two semicircular. Each had two tiers of loopholes at the bottom, while the top was occupied by living chambers with stone-framed windows. A large part of the walls were demolished to their foundations. Relatively the best preserved is the pentagonal tower, but its interior, like that of the entire castle, is completely destroyed. The plaster remains in places. There are no decorations, coats of arms or inscriptions. The well is covered with rubble. A large tower, long since demolished, defended the access to the causeway and the drawbridge. Piotr Dowosser, head of the local school, once wrote a number of remarks about the Zbaraski and Wiśniowiecki castles in Toki in "Teka konserwatorska" of 1900. The village of Toki belonged to Ożegowiec until the first partition (1772), and after the partition the town was on the Russian side. After the first partition, when the Zbracz formed a border river, the suburb of Ożegowiec, situated on the right bank of the river from the town, was detached and incorporated under the name Toki together with the castle into Galicia, while the town was annexed to Russia. This division obliterated the history of Toki Castle, which in the 17th century was known as Ożegowiec Castle, Ożegowiec Castle or Ożgowiec Castle. The history of Ożegowce castle is closely connected with the history of Zbaraż and Wiśniowiec, as these three towns with their defensive castles belonged to one and the same magnate family of the Prince Korybut Wiśniowiecki family and formed a kind of defence triangle for south-eastern Volhynia of the Cossack-Tartar yen. While the castles in Zbarazh and Wiśniowiec were built on well-known routes which were used by the constant incursions of the eastern barbarian deluge to defend against these incursions, the castle in Ożegowce, located far from these routes, unknown to the Cossack hordes and Tartar chambuls, situated almost in the middle of the vast estate of Prince Korybutowicz Wiśniowiecki, was hidden and fortified by the Cossack and Tartar hordes. Situated almost in the middle of the vast estate of Prince Wiśniowiecki, hidden and camouflaged, deliberately built in an area unfavourable to raids among the impassable marshes and swamps of the Zbrucz River, it served a double purpose: on the one hand it was used for defence, and on the other it was a kind of victuals store, intended for the prince's troops in their numerous military expeditions. According to local legend, large supplies of grain, food and other war necessities were stored there, and the owners of the castle, at a time when "terrors" were beating from the eastern walls of the Commonwealth, seemingly avoided the castle so as not to expose it to attack by hordes eager for plunder. The Dukes of Zbaraska - the founders of the castle. Some say that the castle was founded by Prince Janusz Zbaraski, and the construction was completed by Prince Jerem Wiśniowiecki during the minority of Prince Dymitr Jerzy Wiśniowiecki. Popular tradition, however, does not know the name of Prince Janusz as the founder of the castle, only that of Jeremi and Dmitry Wiśniowiecki, which would date to the first half of the 17th century. The Wiśniowiecki and Zbaraski dukes, powerful families of Volhynia, were both descended from Korybut, son of Olgierd, Jagiełło's half-brother. The origin is doubtful, but in any case it seems certain that the Wiśniowiecki, Zbaraski, Woronieccy and Porycki dukes form a common branch of the Nesvizh or Nesvizh princes. In the 16th century Stefan Zbaraski was Voivode of Vitebsk, later of Troki (†1586). His son, Janusz, became Braslav voivode in 1576, was a brave warrior and diplomat. During the Zebrzydowski rebellion, he and his sons stood faithfully on the royal side, dying in 1608. Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki lives in folk tales Tok. The castle in Ożegowce became the property of Prince Wiśniowiecki in 1631. They are mentioned in many folk tales and songs, which praise Jarama. It says that he often stayed in this castle and from here he was to set off with his knights to Zbaraż, following the Wisniowiecki road to Koszlaki, and having rested after a skirmish with Cossacks on the Koszlaki hill, which to this day is called "Jarema's Hill", he went on through the woods towards Zbaraż. Folk tradition tells us that Prince Jarema, leaving the Ożegowice castle near Zbaraż, said goodbye to everyone and kissed the gate. And how the local people related to the prince is evidenced by a folk song: "Ne żurysia nasz Jarema, Pobjem Chmila, pobjem Chana, Nim mine szesta nedila Ne stanę wże Chana i Chmila". During its existence, the Ożegów castle has more than once resisted the Tatar invasion, but in 1648 it was captured by the Cossacks and completely plundered. The same fate was inflicted on the castle by the Turkish invasion in 1675. As a result of the Cossack and Tartar invasions in 1648/49, and later the Turkish invasions, the Wiśniowiecki family suffered huge losses, so that they had to pawn their ancestral property in order to meet their war obligations. After Prince Dmitri Jerzy Wiśniowiecki, the last descendant of the Wiśniowiecki family, Prince Michał Serwacy (†1744), was the owner of the Ożegowiec estate. The erection of the church of 14 February 1722 and the church of 8 October 1741 are preserved from his time. The tower was converted into a church, the belfry and the entrance part were rebuilt, a wooden choir, sacristy and pulpit were built, and the prison dungeons were converted into tombs. This church was demolished between 1849 and 1852 for material to build the present church. Father Michael Serwacy Wiśniowiecki, the last of the family, was also the founder of the local church, whose foundation charter reads: "...I have placed an Orthodox church, destroyed in the past by the Ottoman invasion, in my town of Ożegowce, in the suburb called Towarki, in the Volyn voivodeship and the district of Krzemieniec, under the title: 'Transfiguration of the Lord', and reedify the foundation...". After the death of the last descendant of the Korybut family, before and after the partition of Poland, the village was owned by the following families: Czarnecki, Matkowski, count Dzieduszycki, and more recently by the Dornbachs. The first of the Czarneckis to own Tok was Ignacy, castellan of Braclaw, the last representative of the magnate family, albeit already poorer, who lived in the castle in Tok. During his and his successors' times, the favourite retreat of the illustrious family of the Korybut-Wisniowiecki family was demolished and destroyed, together with the defensive castle, of which only remnants of the ruins remain, testifying gloriously to the owners of the castle, who carried their blood and property in defence of the Republic. The Wiśniowiecki family's foundations in the endowment of the church and orthodox church testified to their magnanimous generosity for the glory of God and the good of the people.