| abstract | - The Castle of Mirrors also colloquially referred to as The Duke's Reflection Castle and The Wiśniowiecki House is a castle in the southern Ukraine. The castle was built as a testament to the Wiśniowiecki family during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1671. Small by castle standards, the Castle of Mirrors is particularly special because nearly every surface in the stone palace is covered with a mirror or reflector. The castle was constructed under the rule of King Michael of Poland, who reigned from 1669 to 1673. Noted for both its fragility and beauty, the castle attracts hundreds of tourists a year to the city of Medzhybizh. By the end of his rule (and the construction of the castle), mounting political tension between the Ruthenian Vishnevetsky Wiśniowiecki family and the historic Eastern Orthodox Church, visible in such events as the 1596 Union of Brest led to an uprising in the city of Medzhybizh. Over the course of three weeks nearly every mirror in the castle had been shattered. When the region transitioned to the rule of the strictly Orthodox Cossacks, the castle was rebuilt in 1684. Not only was every mirror in the Castle of Mirrors replaced, but much of the outside was also covered in tin and silvered mirrors. Many of the exterior mirrors have been replaced or destroyed, although today the interior remains largely preserved as a result of protective stances taken when Ukraine fell to Austro-Hungarian rule. Today, the Castle of Mirrors is maintained by the Ukrainian government, and it remains primarily protected by its isolated location and the lack of visibility from outside the mirror maze and hedges surrounding the property. Over the years, several scientists have examined the interesting properties of such a large, reflective building. Thus far, using laser spectroscopy, scientists have found at least three paths in which a light rays traverse all 79 rooms before becoming notably absorbed or dispersed.
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