Attractions of Kyiv region

The People's Museum of Bread has been operating since 1981 in the premises of the National Ecological and Naturalist Center for School Youth on Priorka in Kyiv, next to the Shevchenko museum "House at Priorka".

The museum has collected more than 2,000 exhibits that tell about the history of bread, its importance for humans, the origin of the main grain crops (rye, wheat, corn, barley, and others). More than 100 samples of various agricultural crops are presented.

The decoration of the exposition is the section "Bread is the head of everything", where 150 breads from different parts of Ukraine and other countries are presented. Agricultural tools of different times are exhibited - from a wooden plow to a modern tractor, from a bucket for manual sowing to a combine harvester.

An honorable place in the museum is given to the works of the poet Taras Shevchenko, who wrote a lot in his works about bread and the hard work of farmers.

A separate exposition is dedicated to the terrible events of collectivization and the Holodomor-genocide organized in Ukraine by the Russian occupiers in 1932-1933.

Considerable attention is paid to the works of Ukrainian scientific breeders. You can even see "cosmic" white and brown bread, donated to the museum by cosmonaut Pavlo Popovych.

The Fastiv Brewery was founded in 1906 by the burgher Yulius Zibert and the Prussian subject Herman Saalman.

A picturesque place on the banks of the Unava River in Zarichchya, next to the Intercession Church, was chosen for the construction of the plant. Beer production was adjusted by German specialists. At the time of its launch, the Fastiv Brewery could produce about 50,000 dal of beer per year. The enterprise was not damaged during both world wars.

A large-scale reconstruction with a complete update of technology was carried out in 2008. Currently, the capacity of the enterprise, which is part of the "Obolon" association, is 12 million deciliters of beer per year.

Tours with tastings are held every Thursday at "Zibert Brewery" (pre-registration is preferred). A branded store is open.

The entrance gate (propylae) of Brovary Airport "Kyiv" was preserved from the first Kyiv airport, which was opened in 1935 as the main airport of the capital of the Ukrainian SSR.

In September 1935, military aviation training was held here. In this connection, General Luazo, Yona Yakir, Heorhiy Zhukov, Semen Budonniy, Stanislav Kosior, Pavlo Postyshev visited Brovary.

In 1940, 50 planes took off from the airport every day and 50,000 passengers were served a year.

On June 25, 1941, the German-fascist aviation completely destroyed the airport. Only an arch with a colonnade, which was located at the entrance, remained from the architectural complex. There is a memorial plaque on it.

Currently, the shooting ranges of the "Sapsan" shooting complex and several residential buildings are located on the territory of the former airport.

The Brovary Museum of Local Lore is located in a modern building in the center of the city.

6 exhibition halls present collections that tell about the nature of the region, its history and ethnography.

The historical and archeological exposition tells in particular about the times of Kozachchyna and about the stay of the poet Taras Shevchenko in Brovarshchyna.

Among the events of the 20th century, the liberation struggle of Ukrainians from 1917 to the end of the Second World War is covered in detail.

Separate showcases are devoted to the period of collectivization, the Holodomor of 1932-1933, the work of the outstanding teacher Anton Makarenko in Brovary Children's Labor Colony No. 5 in 1936-1937.

The works of local artists, models of destroyed brewery temples are also exhibited.

The Burty Village Local Lore Museum was opened in 1977 in the premises of the old school. The exposition in 5 rooms tells about the history of the village and the daily life of its inhabitants.

The ethnographic section presents household items, clothes, embroidered towels, work tools (loom, spinning wheel). The historical exhibition tells about the events of the Ukrainian revolution, collectivization and the Holodomor, the participation of the villagers in the Second World War, post-war reconstruction, the Revolution of Dignity and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

A separate exposition is devoted to the development of education in Burty.

The Byshiv exemplary museum of history and local lore was founded in 1983 by Valeriy Obukhivskyi, a history teacher at the Byshiv secondary school. It is located in the premises of the Byshiv Academic Lyceum.

The museum's collections include up to 1,500 exhibits, which are organized by sections: archaeological, medieval, ethnographic, the first half of the 20th century, the Second World War, socio-economic development of the village in 1950–1990, and the present.

The closed training ground for testing and demonstrating the promising urban monorail transport, proposed to the capital authorities by the company "Capway" in 2004, is located on the outskirts of Hostomel near Kyiv.

Initially, the cableway was a 300-meter overpass with a contact rail on steel supports, which moved a passenger car on rubber wheels manufactured by the Belarusian Belkomunmash plant. A car with 150 seats could develop a speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour. Due to a number of reasons, the project was never implemented in Kyiv.

Currently, the overpass has been dismantled, but the landing platform with the car has been preserved. The territory is protected, but tourists can have a short excursion.

Castle Hill in Lisnyky is one of the hills above the village on which a medieval castle was located in the 16th century.

It was built by Prince Yukhym Koretsky, who in 1596 bought Foresters from Adam Bohohval. The prosperity of the village is connected with the activities of the prince and his wife Anna. The further fate of the castle is unknown, but ruins were still visible on the mountain in the 19th century.

Until recently, Castle Hill was a wasteland. Currently, the plateau is being actively built up with private cottages. A memorial sign in the form of a cross is installed at the entrance.

Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi is the main passenger railway station of Kyiv. It belongs to the Central Railway, which has been operating since the 1860s. It consists of the old Central, new Southern and Suburban railway stations. The "Vokzalna" metro station is located in the immediate vicinity of the Suburban Station.

The laying of the central building took place in 1927 on the site of the old station, built in the form of English Gothic in 1868-1870. The first line started working in 1932.

During the Second World War, the station was partially destroyed, and after the war - it was restored. In 1954-1955, pedestrian tunnels were laid from Station Square to the platforms, in 1967-1969 a canopy was built over the first platform, and the two original passages at the second floor level were replaced by a large waiting hall with exits to the platforms.

The station was designed for 72 pairs of trains and 40 thousand passengers per day. The main volume has an overall symmetrical composition, in the center of which is a departure lobby with an area of more than 1,200 square meters and a height of 32 meters.

In 2001, a general reconstruction of the station was carried out, during which the facade of the central building was renewed, and the lobby became much more spacious. Its walls were decorated with granite and marble of different colors, and panels with views of the historical monuments of the capital were placed under the vaults. A large escalator was installed near the central entrance, which takes passengers to the second floor. At the same time, the spacious seven-story building of the South Railway Station was built, which is considered one of the most beautiful railway terminals in Eastern Europe.

The Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art of Ukraine was created in 1966 with the assistance of the chairman of the board of the Writers' Union of Ukraine Oles Honchar.

It is located in the historical building of Sophia Monastery Bursa (1763-1767), on the territory of the National Reserve "Sofia of Kyiv". 

The archive-museum holds documents from the literature, art and culture of Ukraine of the 18th-20th centuries, biographical and epistolary materials, manuscripts of works, graphic works and photographs of many Ukrainian writers, artists, composers, actors of theater and cinema. Some of these materials are presented in the exhibition halls of the museum. 

Of particular interest are the recreated interiors of work offices with personal belongings of outstanding figures of Ukrainian culture. Among them are the memorial offices of film director Oleksandr Dovzhenko, writers Yuriy Yanovsky, Mykhaylo Stelmakh, Ivan Mykytenko, poet Andriy Malyshko, artist Mykola Hlushchenko. 

The State Archive-Museum has a reading room where you can order archival documents for perusal.

The department of the Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art of Ukraine is the "Literary and Artistic Pliuty" Museum on the outskirts of Kyiv.

The Cherniakhiv Museum of Local Lore was opened on the initiative of local educators in 2023 - almost half a century after its predecessor ceased to exist. It is located in the premises of the Cherniakhiv Village House of Culture.

The exposition tells about the ancient history of Cherniakhiv, the modern life of the village and its prominent residents. In particular, the archaeological section presents items of the Cherniakhiv culture from the stock of the Kaharlyk Museum of History and Local Lore.

The interior of a Ukrainian house of the 19th century has been recreated, where you can see ancient agricultural and household relics, embroidery, ceramics, vine and wood products. In the corner of household items of the mid-20th century, old radios, record players and typewriters are exhibited.

The Choral (Central) Synagogue was built in the 19th century at the expense of the Jewish community of Bila Tserkva. The building is made in the eclectic style.

At the age of 16, the cantor Pinkhas Minkovsky began his career here, about whom Babel wrote in one of his stories about Benya Kryk: "Yosyp's funeral will be in the first order: six horses, like six lions, two chariots with wreaths, a choir from the Brody Synagogue, Minkovsky himself will come to mourn your late son."

During the Soviet era, the synagogue was closed, now the building belongs to the Technological and Economic College of the Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University.

The Klavdiievo Christmas Tree Decoration Factory is located in the village of Klavdiievo-Tarasove, Bucha district near Kyiv and is one of the most popular New Year and Christmas locations and the oldest enterprise of this profile in Ukraine (opened in 1946). Most of the technological processes here are still carried out manually: blowing, silvering, painting, coloring.

In 2013, the Klavdiievo Christmas Tree Decoration Factory opened the first museum of Christmas tree toys from around the world in Ukraine, where private collections of toys from the USSR era, as well as modern toys, are presented.

The Christmas tree decoration factory operates from early September to late December. Tours are held from early November to late December. The tour includes: a visit to the glassblowing workshop and art studio, the museum of the history of toys and exhibitions, the fairy-tale town of Lemax, meeting the factory's chief wizard, the Saint Nicholas post office, a master class on painting a Christmas tree toy, a visit to the company's Christmas tree decoration store.

It is better to arrange a tour in advance by phone. On weekends there is a very large flow of school groups.

The Christmas Story Estate, an exhibition-shop of Christmas tree decorations and New Year's paraphernalia, opened in 2023 in the village of Petropavlivska-Borshchahivka on the western outskirts of Kyiv. During the winter holidays, the establishment invites guests to immerse themselves in Ukrainian Christmas traditions.

The estate has a large area with a Christmas tree and a whole floor of New Year's decor for the home: didukhs, candles, Christmas trees, spiders and various Christmas decorations handmade from glass, porcelain and textiles. All products can be purchased on site. The estate has a glassblowing workshop.

Visitors are offered an excursion "The Return of the Christmas Star", at the end of which a master class is held on painting a glass ball. You can also order master classes on making cotton toys, straw products, etc.

On the second floor there is a cafe offering homemade treats and hot drinks. And in the gazebo by the fireplace, Saint Nicholas is waiting for the children.

The private factory of Christmas tree toys of the Bakun family is located near Kyiv, in the village of Lubyanka near Hostomel.

In 2007, Vasyl Bakun and his children Ihor and Kateryna established a traditional but more modern production of hand-painted glass Christmas tree balls here.

During the tour, visitors are shown various stages of toy production: blowing balls from glass tubes, silvering the balls with a solution of silver oxide, drying in special ovens, and finally, hand painting, which is done by students of art higher education institutions. Visitors can order a personal drawing or make an inscription on the ball.

The Lubyanka Christmas Tree Decorations Factory produces more than 2,000 types of Christmas tree toys, many of which can be bought in the company store at the manufacturer's price.

On the very first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, February 24, 2022, the factory and the village of Lubyanka were occupied by the Russians. Ihor Bakun, the son of the factory's founder, who worked as a glassblower for Christmas tree decorations and gave tours, was shot by the Russian military.

Currently, the Christmas tree decorations factory in Lubyanka does not accept tour groups. Instead, the factory organizes field workshops at schools or kindergartens.