Bilopillia

The Museum "Shadows of Unforgotten Ancestors" was founded in Bilopillia in 1998 as a historical and local lore museum. Since 2023, it has been located in the premises of the Center for Children's and Youth Creativity of the city.

The museum's exposition covers the period of the history of the city of Bilopillia from the beginning of the 10th century to the events of the Bolshevik coup of 1917. The central place is occupied by a model of the ancient fortress of Vyr, as an outpost of the Kievan state, which presents the structure of the city in the 10th century. The museum's exposition also includes artifacts from the times of the Kyivan state, as well as valuable items found during archaeological excavations in the city. An interesting exhibit is a trade seal from the times of Prince Izyaslav Davydovych (12th century).

The Museum of the outstanding lyric poet of the 20th century, Oleksandr Oles (Oleksandr Kandyba), opened in the city of Bilopillia, the poet’s birthplace, in 1998 on the second floor of the Bilopillia Central District Library, which has been named after its famous compatriot since 1993.

A bust of Oleksandr Oles (the work of Sumy sculptor Yakiv Krasnozhon) is installed in the lobby of the library. In two spacious halls with a total area of ​​54 square meters, an exhibition is located, which includes 384 exhibits and tells about the life and work of the poet.

The first hall is dedicated to the Bilopillia period of Oleksandr Oles’s life. Thanks to the local bookseller Kostya Storozhenko, the museum has a photograph of the house where the poet was born in its then appearance. A photocopy of the entry in the church book of the Intercession Church indicates that little Oleksandr was baptized here.

The exhibition opens with a diorama of the central square of Bilopillia from the end of the 19th century. The museum's exposition is complemented by furniture from the end of the 19th century, which was kept in the apartments of Bilopillia's residents. The highlight of the museum is a samovar found in the Kandyba estate in the attic of a barn that has survived since those times.

The most valuable treasure of the museum is Oles's personal belongings transferred from the poet's archive by the Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and lifetime editions of his works dated 1909, 1917, 1919, 1923, 1935.

A significant place in the exhibition is given to materials that highlight the life and work of the poet's son Oleh Olzhych (Oleh Kandyba), the stay in the Bilopillia region of Oleksandr Oles' grandson - Oleh Kandyba, who lives in Canada.