The village of Podhorce (ukr. Підгірці) is located in the Brody region of Lviv region of Ukraine. In 1440, Władysław Warneńczyk granted Podhorce to the Podhoretski family, and in 1633 the estate was purchased from them by Stanisław Koniecpolski, Grand Hetman of the Crown, on whose initiative the residence in question was built. From 1682 Podhorce belonged to the Sobieski family; between 1718 and 1865 it was in the hands of the Rzewuskis, and later (until World War II) of the Sanguszko family.

The castle is located in the Voronoky range, on the edge of the northern slope of a plateau (399 m above sea level), towering over the wide-spreading Volhynian plain. It is traditionally known as a castle, although its architecture is more in the tradition of Italian villas ("villa castello") or country palaces, with some defensive qualities, but intended mainly for representation, ostentation of prestige and recreation. The Palazzo in fortezza in Podhorce was built on the initiative of a prominent commander, strategist and one of the most powerful magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Great Hetman of the Crown and castellan of Krakow Stanisław Koniecpolski. The palace was built in the years 1637-1640, although the interiors were still being finished in the 1640s, probably until the Hetman's death in 1646. The palace was built from stone, probably by Andrea dell' Aqua, and the construction work was managed by Mikołaj Silvestri and Johann Ludwig von Wolzogen.

The palace building was set in the northern part of the bastion fortification, built on a quadrilateral plan, with bastions with straight shoulders, characteristic of the fortifications of the Novo-Vilnius school. The whole was surrounded by a moat and additional earth fortifications. The entrance gate, accessible via a drawbridge, was situated in the centre of the southern curtain. A small courtyard to the south, west and east was surrounded by casemates, located in the curtains of the fortifications, intended as warehouses and housing for the castle's servants and crew. Walking paths with balustrade were created on the curtains and bastions. In the corners of the bastions, small cavalry - watchtowers - were erected. The body of the palace, set on a quadrilateral plan, was originally a two-storey building. The main axis of the building was marked by a three-storey central risalit, topped with a turret. From the north-east and north-west, the body was supported by two prominent three-storey alcoves covered with helmets. The interiors of the building were double-arched and accessible via an oval, two-aisle staircase, located on the building's axis. The concept for the interior design programme was probably the work of a Roman, Constante Tencalla. It was furnished with a splendour worthy of the richest magnate of the Ukrainian lands - the walls were covered with panelling, stucco (the one in the palace chapel made by the workshop of Giovanni Baptista Falconi) and damask. Some floors were made of marble slabs. The halls were heated by marble fireplaces and cookers made of Danzig tiles. The owner's splendour was enhanced by trophies from battles against the Turks and Tatars, mainly carpets and tents.

On the north side, a portal in the central risalit of the chateau and a two-storey staircase led to a terraced garden in Italian style with a grotto and a water feature, planted among others with hornbeam avenues and decorated with statues. Vineyards were also established on the nearby slopes, managed by a specialist from Hungary.

After the hetman's death, the beautification of the palace's interiors was probably continued by his only son, Aleksander Koniecpolski. The work was interrupted by the events of 1648. In 1651, the castle fortifications proved their usefulness - thanks to them, the attack of the Cossacks was repulsed, while the lower terraces of the garden were destroyed. After the end of hostilities, Aleksander Koniecpolski repaired the damage the garden had suffered as a result of the fighting, and also expanded and enriched it, including the addition of two arbours on the second terrace. In the 1660s, Aleksander's son, and the hetman's grandson, Stanisław Koniecpolski, brought the painter Jan de Baan to the palace, who decorated the walls with battle paintings and also made paintings in the fields of the dining room ceiling. In 1682 Stanislaw, being old and having no descendants, handed over Podhorce together with the castle to the Sobieski family. In 1682-1696 an external staircase was added on both sides of the main entrance from the courtyard to the palace, leading to the side loggias on the first floor. During the Sobieski era, there was also a figarnia on the lowest garden terrace. However, the foundation inventory of 1717 notes its poor technical condition, both the building itself and the garden were then clearly neglected.

In 1718 Konstanty Sobieski sold Podhorce to Stanisław Mateusz Rzewuski. After his death in 1728, the Podhorce estate was inherited by Stanisław's son, Wacław Rzewuski. Together with his wife, Duchess Anna née Lubomirska, he resided permanently in Podhorce, successively decorating the palace (sometimes at the expense of other buildings, such as the castle in Olesko) and thoroughly rebuilding it. During his reign, the body of the palace was given a second floor, the turret of the central risalit was removed and the main body was covered with a hipped roof. The façades of the building were divided vertically by pilasters and the corners of the building were accentuated with rustication. Wenceslas also partially transformed the interior decoration, and in 1752-1766 commissioned the construction of a central church of St. Joseph on the axis of the palace. A monumental spatial axis was thus created by linking the residence and the church through an avenue with rows of trees and sculptures. Waclaw Rzewuski turned the palace in Podhorce not only into a magnificent magnate residence, but also into a cultural centre of importance for the entire Republic of Poland at that time. Among other things, he organised a theatre stage in his residence, where classical authors were staged, as well as dramatic works by Rzewuski himself. During the Repnin Sejm, Wacław, as one of the opposition leaders, was kidnapped together with his son Seweryn Rzewuski and exiled to Kaluga for 5 years. He never returned to Podhorzec, and died in 1779 in Sielc. The palace declined after his death but remained in the hands of the family until 1865, when Leon Rzewuski, due to a lack of descendants, sold his family Podhorce to Władysław Hieronim Sanguszko.

In 1867 Eustachy Stanisław Sanguszko, Speaker of the National Sejm in Lwów, member of the State Council, member of the House of Lords and conservator in the Conservators' Group in Western Galicia, took over Podhorce from his father Władysław. He opened the palace's interiors to the public. Among other things, it housed a collection of paintings and a famous collection of old weapons. During World War I, the palace, which was cared for in the absence of the owners by the then elderly burgrave Marcin Grabikowski, did not suffer major damage. However, the collections suffered, some of which were evacuated. In June 1915, when Podhorce was in the hands of the Russians, some of the collections were taken to Slavuta, and after the Austrians recaptured Podhorce in the summer of 1916, some of the more valuable items were again sent to Gumniska near Tarnów. During the quartering in the palace of the command of the 5th corps of the Austro-Hungarian army, the historic interiors were also damaged, for example the furniture and panelling suffered from excessive heating. The chateau gardens, gazebos and the figurine house were also destroyed. In the interwar period, Roman Sanguszko and his wife, Konstancja née Zamoyska, began renovating the museum interiors, restoring part of the dispersed collection, the arrangement of which was overseen by Rudolf Mękicki, curator of the National Museum in Lvov. The palace and castle gardens were also partially restored.

In September 1939. Roman Sanguszko evacuated the Podhoretsk collection to Romania, and from there to São Paulo in Brazil. To preserve them there, the Sociedade Sanguszko de Beneficência cultural foundation was established in 1978, later renamed Casa Sanguszko de Cultura Polonesa, which is still in operation today. The palace itself was less fortunate; during World War II, the interiors were completely devastated and then occupied as a tuberculosis hospital. In 1956, the building burned down. In 1997, the ruined monument was taken over by the Lviv Picture Gallery, but so far it has not been possible to carry out a full renovation of the establishment.