The text describes the history of Szarogród, developed by Jan Zamojski, who received it by right of life. The history of Szarogród is outlined, and the surroundings of the town are presented, including the issues of the Cossack invasions (Source: Tygodnik Illustrowany, Warsaw 1872, Series 2, T:9, pp. 116-117, after: Digital Library of the University of Łódź).

A modernised reading of the text.

Description of Greyfriars.

Among the number of undoubtedly noteworthy places is the ancient Sharogrud, located in the Podolia Governorate, Mogilev District. The town was first mentioned in a privilege granted by Vytautas Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, to his servant Vasyl Karachewski in 1383 in Polotsk, whereby the land where the Senkovskaya Morashka flows into the Velikiye Morachva became his property, on condition that he cleared the forest that must have covered the whole area and established the village of Kniazia Zuke. The authors of "Ancient Poland", who gleaned information about Podolia from Aleksander Prze¼dziecki's "Podole, Wo³yñ and Ukraina" and Father Marczyñski's "Podole statistics", did not know whether there had ever been a village under this name and mention only a once empty place called Haraczów, which changed its name to Karczmarzów. Karczmarzów once belonged to the bishops of Kamień Pomorski, one of whom, Marcin Białobrzeski, exchanged it for other estates, and then King Stefan Batory granted it to Jan Zamojski by right of annuity. It is to this excellent man that Sharogród owes its origin and growth, and its entire history revolves around his name. Having received the innkeepers' estate with the adjacent land, this prudent husband sought a convenient place to fortify it and found a town in which the local inhabitants could find shelter from the Tartars' attacks, at a time when Poland suffered so much from them, and especially Podolia, which seemed destined to endure the first and strongest of their blows. The area and the very place where Szarogród is situated convince us how terrible and how frequent these attacks must have been, since this was the chosen path for the Tartars to plunder the country, turning it to rubble and spreading conflagration, loot and murder everywhere. The most convenient place for a fortress was found to be near where the Kielbaśna river flows into the Moraszka, and the town of Szarogród was founded in memory of the progenitor of the Zamojski family, Florian the Grey, from whom the Saryuszs descended. Shortly after its foundation Sigismund III granted the town the Magdeburg Law, established markets and fairs, ordered Walachian and Turkish merchants to stay here for two days in order to sell their goods, freed those who settled here from all taxes and burdens for 20 years, and allowed the townsmen to trade with Walachians, Turks and Tatars, freeing them from duty and granting other privileges, as well as establishing warehouses for various goods. The same Sigismund III granted the town a coat of arms, St. Florian with a shield in his right hand, and in his left holding a vessel with water which is flooded by fire. Zamojski encircled the town with walls and moats and provided for war needs. He had to lay the foundations of a defensive castle, the remains of which are still preserved today, and erected a large, beautiful church, dedicated to St. Florian, which was given St. Anna as its patron saint and endowed with the village of Plebanowka. The further history of Sharogrudok was sad and bloody, as the Cossacks stormed the town in 1595 and sacked it completely; then it was taken over by Khmelnytskyi in 1650, until Martin Kalinowski of the Polish High Command evaporated it. However, soon afterwards, Cossacks under the command of Nechai conquered Sharogrudok again. In 1654, hetmans Stanislaw Potocki and Stanislaw Lanckoronski camped here, with a considerable number of troops, and then, in 1663, King Jan Kazimierz stayed in Sharogród with his army for a few days. By the treaty of Bucharest, Podolia came under the rule of the Turks, who took such a liking to Sharogruda and decorated it to such an extent that they called it Kuczuk-Istanbul, i.e. a small Istanbul. When Podolia returned to Polish rule, Sharogruda also returned to the Zamojski family, then went to the Koniecpolskis, the Lubomirskis, the Sosnowskis, the Lubomirskis again, and now it is owned by Prince Roman Sanguszko, whose only daughter is married to Count Alfred Potocki, a former minister in the Viennese cabinet. Under these heirs, Sharogrudok grew so much that it became the second town after Kamenets in the former Podolia province. Today Sharogrudok is not what it used to be. It is an old and respectable town, which does not meet the requirements of today's cities. Built on stony ground, on a mountain surrounded by other mountains, it is not easily accessible, and even in the town itself it is difficult to get through the narrow, stone-lined streets between the narrow rows of houses. Thus Sharogruda is not attractive for those who look at it with indifferent eyes and would like to subject it to the rightful demands of comfort, beauty and so on. But this is not how it looks to those who want to look into the past, who do not necessarily love today's cities, populous, busy, pleasing to the eyes with their beautiful buildings. So, first of all, whichever side you enter Sharogrudok from, you have to admit that it is very picturesquely located in a charming area, which is like a Podolia village, on a mountain surrounded by two other mountains. One of the mountains is called Murafovskaya, because a road leads along it to the neighbouring town of Murafy (formerly Moracliwa). From this mountain, and especially from its part called Jurynitsa Mountain, one can see a wonderful landscape from the town of Dzhurin (formerly Charylov): the whole of Sharogrudok is visible as if on the palm of your hand; the castle seems to be waiting for an attack from either Murafy or Dzhurin (both towns belonged to Vinnitsa District, formerly Brasov Voivodeship), and turns towards the castle. The castle seems to be waiting for an attack from Murafa or Dzhurin (both towns belonged to Vinnitsa district, formerly Brasov province) and turns its scars and battlements towards them; the small Jewish houses surrounding it huddle under its protective wings, and the Orthodox church neighbouring the castle, the former Basilian monastery nearby and the church opposite look out from beyond the castle walls. All the misfortunes that befell Sharogrudok must have come from this mountain, as the former Braclav region began behind it and was plundered by Tatars, Turks and Cossacks. The attached view of the castle is taken from the neighbouring village of Hybalivka, through which the road leads to Dzhurin. The second mountain is called Mogilevskaya, after the district town of Mogilev (on the Dniester), 40 versts away from Sharogrudok. Today it is difficult to form even the faintest idea of what the fortress and castle of Sharogrudok used to be, from what remains of them. Today there is hardly a trace of the walls and moats which surrounded the town in the past. All that remains of the former castle is the central part of the building depicted in the engraving and the battlements. The watchtowers still existed here not long ago, and the one shown in the drawing was recently added, as were other parts of the castle. In the central part of the chateau, there is a noteworthy beam on the ceiling, with an inscription in the old Slavic language, which probably said that all misfortunes fell on Sharogrudok, because the former Braclav region started behind it and was plundered by Tatars, Turks and Cossacks. The attached view of the castle is taken from the neighbouring village of Hybalka, through which the road leads to Dzhurin. The second mountain is called Mogilevskaya, after the district town of Mogilev (on the Dniester), 40 versts away from Sharogrudok. Today it is difficult to form even the faintest idea of what the fortress and castle of Sharogrudok were, from what remains of them. Today there is hardly a trace of the walls and moats which surrounded the town in the past. All that is left of the former castle is the central part of the building depicted in the engraving and the battlements. There were watchtowers here not long ago, and the one shown in the drawing was recently added, as were other parts of the castle. In the central part of the chateau, there is a noteworthy beam on the ceiling, with an inscription in the Old Slavic language, which probably indicates the era of its foundation. I have not been able to read this inscription and I take the liberty of drawing the attention of archaeologists to it, all the more so as the late count Aleksander Przezdziecki, who visited Sharogrudok before publishing his work, did not use it. Apart from this beam, there is nothing else worth mentioning in the castle. An ancient wall painting was recently discovered here, depicting some kind of fortress, perhaps of Sharogrudok. Worth a visit are the dungeons in the town, which similar ones probably do not exist elsewhere. These are endless labyrinths on which the whole city is built and which stretch far beyond its present-day boundaries. The careful construction of these dungeons, their multiplicity, their communication with each other and with the entire city seem to convince us that they once served as a shelter for people. Of the buildings, St Florian's Catholic Church is worthy of note. It is an ancient and beautiful structure, in Byzantine style, founded by Jan Zamojski. The Greyfriars Church is one of the largest in Podolia and is widely renowned for the zeal of its priests and exemplary worship. As a result, twice a year, on St Florian's Day and St Anne's Day, a large crowd of pious people, who come even from far away, gather here for the indulgenced feast. The great altar contains a statue of Christ on the cross, a beautiful work of sculpture said to have been imported from Italy. At present, the large local parish is under the direction of the venerable prelate Fr L. Pogorzelski, who is well-known for his teachings and piety, the former rector of the seminary in Kamenets. Near the church there is a column, of the kind there are now only three in Sharogruda (apparently, there used to be more), and which I have not encountered anywhere else. They are not of unusual construction, but there is a historical detail attached to them that they once served as stations for the Stations of the Cross. The one next to the church has recently been fenced off, by decree of the town owner. Opposite the church was a monastery with a school of the Basilian Fathers. Today, there is an Orthodox church and a Greek monastery, and next to them are the initial schools for those devoting themselves to the clerical state. The Greyfriars' schools were not among the finest; they were elevated by the education commission to the rank of sub-departments, had 600 pupils and existed in their former form until 1794. There is an Orthodox church near the castle, which is called a brick church. Another noteworthy landmark is the large Moorish-style Jewish synagogue, a reminder of ancient times; there are also two gates, one at the entrance and the other at the market square. Szarogród, which was abandoned several decades ago, is now visibly on the rise, as it is only 20 versts away from the Kyiv-Dyiv railway, and is now in light and precautionary hands. It has a pharmacy, doctors, decent shops, rich merchants trading in grain and various products and other conditions for growth and prosperity. "The Illustrated Weekly, which has already placed so many historical mementoes on its pages, with this description of what was once the first town in Podolia after Kamieniec, will thus begin a series of illustrious towns in which I would like to include: Bar, Vinnitsa, Braclaw, Miedzyboz and others, if there is room for them.