Pereyaslav

The Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of the Middle Dnipro Region in Pereyaslav is the first and one of the largest open-air museums in Ukraine. It was founded in 1964 on the initiative of historian and ethnographer Mykhailo Sikorskyi. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

The building of the museum imitates the planning of a classic Ukrainian village with a square in the middle. There are about 300 exhibits in the picturesque park area of 25 hectares on the outskirts of Pereyaslav. Almost half of them are authentic wooden temples, peasant houses and windmills of the XVII-XIX centuries, transported here from different parts of the region. 20 peasant yards with residential and farm buildings represent the life of representatives of various professions and segments of the population of Middle Dnipro Region - from the house of a poor peasant to the hunting lodge of Count Horchakov. The interiors feature more than 20,000 exhibits: works of folk artists, tools, household items, archaeological materials, documents, photographs.

Among the most valuable architectural monuments: the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin (early XVII century) and the bell tower (mid-XVIII century) from the Right Bank Kyiv region; the Church of Saint George (mid-18th century) from the Pereyaslav region, immortalized by Taras Shevchenko in the sepia "Andrusha"; forest border - a house of forest protection (late XIX century) from Kyiv Polissia; inn (early XIX century.) from the city of Pereyaslav.

There are 13 thematic museums in some monuments and exposition pavilions: Museum of the History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts of the Kyiv Region, Museum of Ukrainian Rites, Museum of the Ukrainian Towel, Museum of the History of Forestry in the Middle Dnipro Region, Museum of the History of Beekeeping in the Middle Dnipro Region, Museum of Bread, Museum of the Post Station, Museum of the History of Folk Land Transport in the Dnipro Region, Museum of space, Mykola Benardos Museum, Sholom Aleichem Classics of Jewish Literature Museum, the Polissya District Memorial Museum.

The archeological department exhibits reconstructions of dwellings of the Late Paleolithic, Cherniakhiv culture, Ancient Kyiv, Cossack era, as well as lapidary with stone stelae and burial structures of different epochs.

The decoration of the Folk Architecture and Life Museum of the Middle Dnipro Region is the natural landscape of the Tatar mountain, with skillfully inscribed in it artificial ponds, streets, courtyards, gardens, orchards and pastures, which give it vitality and special comfort.

The majestic complex of the Ascension Monastery was built in 1700 in the center of Pereyaslav at the expense of Hetman Ivan Mazepa. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

The monumental Ascension Cathedral is considered a model of Ukrainian national architecture due to its complex construction and rich Baroque stucco.

On the territory of the monastery there is a two-storey building of the former monastery school and the dormitory of bursaks. In 1776, a three-tiered bell tower in the Ukrainian Baroque style, 48 meters high, was built, which served as the second entrance to the monastery.

In Soviet times, a museum-diorama "Battle for the Dnipro and the creation of the Bukrin bridgehead in the autumn of 1943" (canvas length 28 meters, height 7 meters) was opened in the cathedral, which recreates the events of September 21-22, 1943, when Soviet troops Dnipro on the Bukryn bridgehead near Pereyaslav.

The Mausoleum of Eternal Glory is located in the basement, where the names of Pereyaslav residents who died in the Second World War are immortalized on the walls.

The Pereyaslav Collegium was opened at the Ascension Monastery in Pereyaslav in 1738. Its main purpose was to train the Orthodox clergy to fight against the union and Catholicism on the Right Bank.

The school had six classes: two grammars, one each - rhetoric, poetics, philosophy and theology. The term of study was six years. Children of the clergy, Cossack officers, burghers, and peasants studied here.

From 1750 to 1751, the outstanding Ukrainian philosopher-humanist, poet and educator Hryhorii Skovoroda taught poetry at the Pereyaslav Collegium. To commemorate the 250th anniversary of his birth, a memorial museum was established in the reconstructed building. The atmosphere of the library, classroom, teacher's room is recreated. The atmosphere of the era is conveyed by antique furniture and interior items - cabinets, chairs, secretary, astronomical globe, ancient musical instruments. A copy of the Peresopnytsia Gospel, which was kept in the collegium until 1862, is presented.

In the art department you can see a portrait of Hryhoriy Skovoroda by an unknown artist of the XVIII century, a sculptural portrait of the philosopher Ivan Kavaleridze, rare folk paintings: "Cymbalist", "Near the house".

The Hryhoriy Skovoroda Memorial Museum is part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

The Museum of Kobzar Art in Pereyaslav is located in an old house, where in the early XX century there was a shop of the Pereyaslav merchant Arkhyp Marchenko. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

About 250 exhibits tell about the history of the origin and development of Kobzar Art, about the life of the most famous Ukrainian bards, as well as about modern trends in kobzar art - traditional folk and folklore and stage-academic.

The oldest exhibits are authentic ancient Rus musical instruments: whistles, tambourines and harps. A special place in the exposition is occupied by the traditional Ukrainian kobza - a lute-like string plucked musical instrument, which was an indispensable companion of the Zaporozhzhian Cossacks.

In addition to the Cossack kobza, the museum exhibits lute, zither and bagpipes, as well as 26 banduras, which are more modern and sophisticated musical instruments. In particular, there are banduras that belonged to a prominent kobzar of the XIX century. Hnat Honcharenko and the famous master Oleksandr Korniyevskyi.

The museum hosts concerts of Pereyaslav kobzars and other events.

The back side of the building is decorated with artistic ceramic tiles on historical subjects, which tell about the princes and bishops of Pereyaslav.

The Museum of "Testament" in Pereyaslav is dedicated to the most famous work of the outstanding Ukrainian poet-prophet Taras Shevchenko. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

The exposition is located in an old wooden house built in 1820, which belonged to the family of Pereyaslav doctor Andriy Kozachkovskyi. It was there that Shevchenko visited him during his stay in Pereyaslav, and it was here on December 25, 1845, during a serious illness, that he wrote his program poem, which became a call to the liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people and a message to his descendants.

The house reproduces the preliminary planning and interiors of the guest room where the poet lived, living rooms, libraries, Kozachkovsky's office. For a long time, a historical museum was located here. Much of his exposition is preserved and now reveals in chronological order the history of the Pereyaslav region of the Cossack period through the prism of its understanding by Shevchenko.

The most interesting exhibits belong to the Cossack era: ancient weapons, Cossack jewels, personal belongings of Cossack leaders, copies of important documents of the time. In particular, the personal sword of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, presented to him by the Polish King Yan Kazymir, is presented. You can also see the hetman's mace of the XVIII century, bunchuk of the XVII century, colonel's pirnach, squid of the hetman's clerk, etc.

Three literary and artistic halls tell about Taras Shevchenko's studies at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, the poet's early work, as well as his acquaintance with many Pereyaslav residents and personally with the owner of the house, about the "Pereyaslav Kobzar Autumn" - the period of a real creative rise of the artist.

In front of the estate grows an acacia tree planted by Shevchenko together with Kozachkovskyi. There is a souvenir shop in front of the museum of "Testament".