Attractions of Kyiv region

Since 1998, the Kyiv Circus has had the status of the National Circus of Ukraine, which gives it the right to be called the main circus arena of the country.

The first stationary Kyiv circus Hippo-Palace of the rich horse breeder and trainer Petro Krutikov was built in Pechersk in 1903 according to the project of the architect Vladyslav Horodetskyi. At that time it was the largest in Europe.

The current fundamental building of the National Circus of Ukraine was built according to the project of the architect Valentin Zhukov in 1960, becoming one of the three main arenas of the USSR.

Today, the National Circus of Ukraine has its own artists of various circus genres, a ballet troupe, and one of the best musical groups.

Excursions "Traveling through the circus building" are held, during which visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the real circus atmosphere, learn interesting historical facts, architectural features of the building, details of the creation of performances.

National Complex "Expocenter of Ukraine" (VDNG) is the main exhibition site of the country.

The complex on the southwestern outskirts of Kyiv was built in 1958 as the Republican Agricultural Exhibition, but already at the time of its opening it was named "Exhibition of Best Practices in the National Economy of the Ukrainian SSR". Soon the complex was renamed "Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy" (VDNG). In 10 pavilions, the best samples of products of Ukrainian enterprises were presented.

Currently, "Expocenter of Ukraine" is the organizer of many international and national exhibitions and fairs, a modern demonstration center of Ukraine's achievements in the economic, scientific, industrial, humanitarian and other spheres. The closed exhibition display area is 18,000 square meters, the open area is 21,000 square meters.

From a tourist point of view, the Expocenter is interesting as a sample of grand Soviet architecture - 20 of the 180 buildings located on the territory have the status of historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine.

The National Cultural, Art and Museum Complex "Art Arsenal" (Mystetskyi Arsenal) in Kyiv is a leading Ukrainian cultural institution that integrates various types of art - from contemporary art, new music and theater to literature and museum work. Founded in 2005 on the initiative of President Victor Yushchenko.

The museum is located in the complex of historic buildings of the Old Arsenal opposite the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This is the best preserved building of the Old Pechersk Fortress of the XVIII century, which later became the citadel of the New Pechersk Fortress. The large two-storey rectangular building was erected in 1784-1801 by the military engineer Carl de Chardon from yellow Kyiv bricks without external plastering, which is why contemporaries called the Arsenal porcelain. Also preserved is part of the main fortress wall with bastions, Vasylkiv and Moscow gates, two powder cellars. From the beginning of the XIX century the Arsenal was at the disposal of the Kiev military garrison, during the XX century the military unit was located here, the defensive Kiev repair plant worked.

Since 2005, the restoration and transformation of the monument of architecture and military engineering into a modern cultural and artistic space has been carried out. So far, less than half of the total exhibition area, reaching 60,000 square meters, is used for exhibitions of contemporary art and various art events.

In the future, the Art Arsenal will become a progressive museum complex that will present the history of Ukrainian art from ancient times to the present and will host collections of masterpieces from the world's leading museums. Now there is a Small Gallery, which presents young Ukrainian art, as well as chamber projects of leading domestic artists. The largest annual event is the Book Arsenal International Festival.

According to the project "Inclusive Travels in Ukraine: accessibility of museums of Ukraine", this largest cultural, artistic and museum complex in Ukraine is successfully implementing a program to increase inclusiveness.

The National Historical and Architectural Museum "Kyiv Fortress" was established in 1927 on the basis of part of the fortifications of one of the world's largest surviving stone and earth fortresses.

The history of the Kyiv fortress in Pechersk begins in the second half of the XVII century, when the Cossacks under the leadership of Hetman Ivan Samoylovych built an earthen quadrangular fortress with a fence around the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Larger fortifications were carried out during the reign of Peter I, when the laurel was surrounded by a stone wall with loopholes and four towers at the expense of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, and later a more perfect fortress with nine earthen bastions was added to it.

In 1831-1856, the New Pechersk Fortress was built, consisting of the Kyiv-Pechersk Citadel, Vasylkivsky and Hospital fortifications, separately located defensive towers, barracks, arsenal workshops and other buildings.

One of the key nodes of defense was the Hospital Fortification, which is perfectly preserved to this day - on its territory is the Main Military Clinical Hospital.

The Kosyi caponier, located outside the main shaft of the Hospital Fortification, houses the Kyiv Fortress Museum with expositions "History of Fortification in Ukraine" and "History of the Use of Kyiv Fortress Buildings", an exhibition "From Nuclear to Shell", as well as an open-air exposition from defensive ramparts, fortress wall caponiers and ancient guns.

Parts of the museum complex are the Spassky bastion of the Kyiv-Pechersk citadel and the largest in Europe Lysohirsky fort with an area of almost 120 hectares in Holosiyvskyi district of Kyiv.

National historical and ethnographic reserve "Pereyaslav" is one of the largest historical and cultural reserves of Ukraine. It unites 24 museums, more than 370 monuments of history and architecture, about 3,000 hectares of the territory of the Pereyaslav city and its surroundings.

The reserve was founded in 1979 by the outstanding Ukrainian historian, ethnographer, museologist, archaeologist, Hero of Ukraine Mykhaylo Sikorsky on the basis of the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi State Historical Museum - now it is the Taras Shevchenko "Testament" Museum, and part of the reserve's administration is also located here.

Today, the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav" covers a whole complex of monuments of the cultural heritage of the historical city of Pereyaslav of different eras, starting from the Pereyaslav Child with the remains of the Prince Michael's Cathedral, including the architectural monuments of the Cossack era in the city center and ending with the administrative and residential buildings of the end 19th - early 20th centuries.

The most popular object of the reserve is the Folk Architecture Museum of the Middle Dnipro Region (Open-Air Museum, skansen), where authentic examples of ancient Ukrainian housing, as well as defensive, economic, administrative and religious buildings of the past are presented. There are 13 separate museums on the territory of the skansen, including the Museum of the Ukrainian Towel, the Museum of Ukrainian Rites, the Museum "Postal Station" and others.

The administration of the reserve, the scientific part and the excursion bureau are located in one of the former premises of the Ascension Monastery, next to the Hryhoriy Skovoroda Memorial Museum. Here you can order a sightseeing tour of the city of Pereyaslav.

The National Historical and Memorial Reserve "Bykivnia Graves" was established at the site of the mass burial of victims of the political repressions of 1937-1941.

In Stalin's time, a special purpose NKVD facility was located near the village of Bykivnia (now within Kyiv near the Kyiv-Brovary highway), where executed Kyivans, Polish officers, and other victims of Bolshevik terror were secretly buried. In particular, prisoners of Kyiv prisons, who were shot after the German attack on the USSR, were hastily buried here.

According to preliminary data published in Soviet times, 6,783 victims of repression are buried near Bykivnia, but the actual number may be several times higher. Research continues today.

A monument to the victims of repressions has been erected at the entrance to the Bykivnia Graves Memorial.

Funeral services are held every year in mid-May.

The National Military History Museum of Ukraine is located in the Officers' House on Pechersk in Kyiv.

The museum tells about the development of military affairs over many centuries: the Cimmerian-Scythian period, Kyivan Rus, the Cossack era, the First World War, the National Liberation Struggle, the Second World War, the Cold War, the formation of the armed forces of independent Ukraine.

The exposition is based on authentic weapons that were used in different historical eras on the territory of modern Ukraine. In the halls of the museum, you can view military chronicles, documentary and artistic military-historical films.

The museum also conducts patriotic education classes, where you can independently disassemble and assemble automatic firearms.

The National Museum "Chornobyl" is a multifunctional historical and cultural institution that preserves and tells the story of the nuclear accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 as the most severe radioecological catastrophe of the twentieth century.

The museum was opened in 1992 at the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the historic building of the Fire Tower of the early XX century, which originally housed the Podolsk Fire Department, and later the Kyiv Regional Fire Department, which coordinated the liquidation of the Chornobyl accident.

The exposition covers an area of 1100 square meters has more than 7 thousand exhibits: declassified documents, secret cards, photographs, special devices, personal belongings of the liquidators, items from the exclusion zone.

Perceptions are expanded by modern audiovisual and information media, art installations. The current three-phase diorama "Chornobyl NPP before, during and after the accident" is presented, as well as the current model of the 4th power unit of the Chornobyl NPP. The electronic "Book of Memory of the participants of the liquidation of the Chornobyl accident" is supported.

The museum offers excursions in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German, audio guides, tours to the Chornobyl zone from the museum's partners.

The exhibition halls of the museum are located on the second floor of the building. In order to ensure comfortable movement through the territory of the "Chornobyl" museum for visitors in wheelchairs, the possibility of using an electric lift from the first floor is provided. The main video locations of the museum exposition are adapted to the needs of visitors with hearing impairments.

The National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine "Pyrohiv" gives an opportunity to feel the Ukrainian national flavor and all the diversity of nature and ethnic cultures of different regions of Ukraine.

The country's largest open-air museum (open-air museum) with an area of 133 hectares was founded in 1969 on the southern outskirts of Kyiv, on the relief territory of the ancient suburban village of Pyrohiv, from which it received its informal name.

Among the various landscapes reminiscent of the pastoral hills of the Dnipro, and the steep Carpathian Mountains, and dense Polissia forests, and dry southern steppes, scattered typical of these regions hamlets with authentic wooden buildings of the XVIII-XX centuries. All of them were brought from different parts of the country: temples, houses, outbuildings. In total, more than 300 buildings.

The compositional center of the complex is a group of windmills on a hill above the Singing Field. The landscape panorama is complemented by wooden churches, the oldest of which is the Church of Saint Paraskeva in 1742 from the village of Zarubyntsi in Cherkasy region. The church of Saint Michael the Archangel may be even older - radiocarbon dating dates some of its parts to 1528.

Authentic interiors with ethnographic collections are recreated in the houses of traditional peasant yards, which give an idea of typical occupations and life of different ethnographic groups of Ukrainians: Bukovyna, Volyn, Hutsuls, Podilia, Polishchuky, Slobozhanshyna and others.

You can taste the most popular dishes of Ukrainian cuisine (borsch, kulish, dumplings), prepared according to traditional recipes, in an existing tavern or ham. There is also a food court on the main avenue, which offers popular street food.

During the traditional folk festivals (Kolodiy, Easter, Green Holidays, Ivan Kupala, Pokrova) the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine "Pyrohiv" organizes folk festivals, concerts and performances with the participation of folk groups.

Themed festivals and fairs are held regularly.

The history of Ukrainian literature from the 11th century to the present day is represented by the National Museum of Literature of Ukraine.

It opened in 1986 in the historic building of the Pavlo Galagan College, which housed one of the best private schools in pre-revolutionary Kyiv. The building in the style of late classicism was erected in 1871 by architect Oleksandr Schille at the request of public figure and philanthropist Hryhoriy Galagan, who lost his only son Pavlo early.

The interior of the two-story mahogany library by Italian masters, which has survived almost to this day, was particularly refined. Today, the library has an exhibition on the history of the school, which was called the "school of academics." In particular, the outstanding Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko, who in May 1886 married Olha Khoruzhynska in the house church of Saint Paul at the college, worked here.

11 stylized halls correspond to the historical eras of Ukrainian literature and introduce visitors to the literary process in Ukrainian lands from ancient times to modern times. More than 5,000 valuable exhibits are presented, including unique old prints, manuscripts, lifetime editions of works by Ivan Kotlyarevskyi, Taras Shevchenko, Panteleymon Kulish, Mykola Kostomarov, Ivan Franko, Mykhaylo Drahomanov, manuscripts of Lesya Ukrainka, Mykhaylo Starytskyi, Pavlo Tychyna, Maksym Rylskyi, Vasyl Simonenko, personal belongings of Panas Myrny, Ivan Nechuy-Levytskyi, Marko Vovchok, Oles Honchar, Ulas Samchuk, magazines and almanacs of the 19th-20th centuries, works of famous artists, documentary materials.

The Sokyrynetsky nativity scene from the estate of Hryhoriy Galagan, a box with a mobile puppet theater, is of great interest to visitors.

The National Museum of Medicine of Ukraine was established in Kyiv in 1973 on the basis of the Anatomical Theater of Kyiv University.

The museum building was built according to the project of the famous architect Oleksandr Beretti in 1853.

The exposition demonstrates the development of medicine in Ukraine from ancient times to the present day. In addition to traditional stands with photos, books, medical instruments and drugs, original interiors with portrait figures of famous scientists and doctors, as well as dioramas dedicated to the most outstanding events in Ukrainian medicine, are presented.

In the exposition of the museum, works of Ukrainian fine art on this topic are also widely presented.

The Museum of Medicine of Ukraine is considered one of the largest and original medical museums not only in Ukraine, but also in all of Europe.

The greatest treasury of Ukrainian antiquities of all time is the National Museum of History of Ukraine (NMHU), located in the historic heart of Kyiv, on the ramparts of the Kyiv Dytynets (Citadel).

The museum was founded in 1899 and officially opened in 1904 as the Kyiv Art, Industry and Science Museum. It was originally housed in a museum building built by architect Vladyslav Horodetsky, which is now occupied by the National Art Museum. The first museum department of archeology was headed by the discoverer of Trypillia and Chernyakhiv cultures, a prominent Ukrainian archaeologist Vikentiy Khvoyka.

After the Second World War, the historical museum moved to the current building in the style of classicism, which was built on Starokyivska Hill in 1937-1939 for the art school. Today, the National Museum of History of Ukraine is one of the leading museums in Ukraine in terms of the number and importance of collections. Its stock collections number about 850 thousand exhibits. These are world-famous archeological and numismatic collections, ethnographic collections, collections of weapons, monuments of decorative and applied arts, manuscripts, old prints, paintings and graphics, relics of the Ukrainian national liberation movement of the twentieth century. They are located in 33 halls and reflect the history of Ukraine from ancient times to the present.

In particular, you can see the mysterious binoculars of Trypillia vessels, an anthropomorphic idol of pit culture, an iron Scythian sword with a golden handle from the Bielsko settlement. The diorama "Kyiv of the X-XIII centuries" gives a clear idea of the medieval city. The grand royal carriage of Empress Elizabeth Petrivna, which she presented to Kyiv Metropolitan Raphael Zaborovskyi, impresses with its luxury. The pride of the National Museum of History of Ukraine is the holographic exhibition "Golden Treasury of Ukraine", where you can see in detail the hologram of the famous golden Scythian pectoral. The largest numismatic collection of the museum in Ukraine has 120 thousand units.

In addition to classic tours, the National Museum of History of Ukraine offers author's themed tours, theatrical tours with a deep immersion in the atmosphere of the era, interactive children's tours and quests. The museum shop offers historical publications, postcards, souvenir plates, magnets, etc.

Admission to the museum is free every last Monday of the month.

The grandiose memorial complex of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War was built in Kyiv in 1981 on the Pechersk Hills above the Dnipro, for which the terrain was significantly changed.

Since then, a colossal statue of the Motherland (62 m high, 102 m with a pedestal, weighing about 500 tons) has become a visual landmark of Kyiv next to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The author of the monument is the sculptor Vasyl Boroday. The unique all-welded steel construction is made of special stainless steel and assembled by means of the special crane. According to legend, the sword in the statue's hand was shortened at the request of the Kyiv metropolitan to make it lower than the cross of the Great Lavra bell tower. On an inclined elevator you can climb to a circular observation deck on a pedestal (37 m), and then - on a vertical elevator to chest level and up the stairs to the upper edge of the shield (92 m), which is significantly swaying in the wind.

In August 2023, the Soviet coat of arms on the shield of the Motherland monument was replaced by a Ukrainian trident. The renaming of the monument to Mother Ukraine is being discussed.

The Motherland Pedestal is the main exposition of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. In 16 halls on three floors there are materials that reveal the themes of hostilities, strategies for survival in war and postwar, genocide, the struggle for independence between the two totalitarian regimes. Visitors walk the "Road of War" past a number of museum artifacts, art installations and multimedia panels.

For the first time in the world museum practice, the museum has created a permanent exhibition "Ukraine - Crucifixion" about the war in real time and during the ongoing war. With the help of original objects and photos, the terrible realities of full-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine were presented.

In total, the memorial complex covers an area of over 11 hectares. The way to the museum passes through the main square with the Alley of Hero Cities and sculptural compositions "Forcing the Dnipro" and "Transfer of Weapons", the gallery of heroes of the front and rear, the bowl of "Fire of Glory", an exhibition of military equipment of different times. On the back of the pedestal there is an interactive historical museum "Formation of the Ukrainian Nation".

Every last Tuesday of the month is a day of free admission to the War Museum for all categories of visitors (except for the Mi-24 helicopter and Li-2, MiG-23 aircraft exhibits).

According to the project "Inclusive Travels in Ukraine: accessibility of museums of Ukraine", this one of the most visited museums in Ukraine provides a high level of accessibility for people with disabilities.

The National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide in Kyiv preserves the memory of the victims of a terrible crime against the Ukrainian people, organized by the Bolshevik government in 1932-1933 by creating an artificial mass famine in Ukraine.

Founded in 2008 as the National Museum "Memorial to the Victims of the Holodomor in Ukraine", it was also called the National Museum "Memorial to the Victims of the Holodomor".

The memorial complex authored by the People's Artist of Ukraine Anatoliy Haydamakais located on the Dnipro cliffs in the Par k of Eternal Glory in Pechersk in Kyiv. Through a symbolic entrance past two sculptures of angels, visitors enter the "Mill of Fate" square with a touching sculpture of a girl with spikelets in her hands "Bitter memory of childhood."

The center of the memorial is the "Memory Candle", surrounded by crosses resembling the wings of a windmill, with sculptures of storks on top. The sides of the candle are decorated with ornaments of crosses resembling Ukrainian embroidery.

The Museum Hall performs the functions of a museum. Here are 19 volumes of the "National Book of Memory of the Holodomor Victims", memorials to the victims of the tragedy, archival documents, photographs, eyewitness accounts and maps of the project "Digital Atlas of the Holodomor". On the interactive touch screens you can see the results of decades of research by historians about the places of mass burial of Holodomor victims.

Visitors are invited to watch a modern video in the technique of 3D mapping, use an audio guide in 34 languages, tactile layouts.

The construction of the second stage of the memorial is underway, which will house the main museum part of the complex.

According to the project "Inclusive Travels in Ukraine: accessibility of museums of Ukraine", this impressive memorial to the victims of the artificial famine of 1932-1933 is one of the most inclusive museums in Ukraine.

National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Military Achievements (former State Museum-Reserve "Battle for Kyiv 1943") in Novi Petrivtsi recreates the situation of the famous Liutizh military operation to liberate the capital of Ukraine from Nazi invaders in 1943-1944.

Defensive structures, dugouts, military equipment, and an exhibition of uniforms and weapons have been preserved on an area of 9 hectares.

Impressive diorama "Battle for Kyiv. Lyutizh bridgehead. 1943." opened in 1980.

Every year before the Day of Remembrance and the Day of Liberation of Kyiv, theatrical performances take place on the territory of the museum, which recreate the battles for Kyiv.

In 2022, a new exhibit - the Russian Mi-35N helicopter - appeared in the exposition of the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Military Achievements. It was on February 24, the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, that a Russian Mi-35N helicopter (RF-13024) was shot down by a soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine over the Kyiv Reservoir. The helicopter was part of an air attack on the military airfield in Gostomel, Kyiv region. In May 2022, the downed helicopter was raised from the bottom of the Kyiv Sea.