Attractions of Kyiv region

The Zhukivtsi History and Local Lore Museum bears the name of its founder, teacher and local historian Petro Topchiy. It was on his initiative that the original two-story museum building was erected in Zhukivtsi in 1984.

Today, the exposition in four halls includes more than 8,000 exhibits covering the entire historical heritage of the village. In particular, the materials of Trypillia and Chernyakhiv cultures, as well as a large ethnographic collection, are presented.

Near the museum building, in 1990, the Shevchenko`s Milestone was erected in memory of Taras Shevchenko's stay in Zhukivtsi on the way from Bohuslav to Trypillia in 1845. A T-74 tractor was installed in the yard in honor of the farmers work.

The Zhukivtsi History and Local Lore Museum named after Petro Topchiy is a branch of the Obukhiv Local Lore Museum.

A monument of garden and park art, the Zhurivsky Arboretum was created in the 19th century by Kyiv vice-governor Arkadiy Kochubey for his wife Sofiya Vyazemska.

The manor had a 40-room palace with a hall of mirrors and a library. A picturesque avenue led from the palace to the pond. 382 species of trees and shrubs grew in the park. In particular, cedar, larch, oak, and Manchurian walnut were imported from East and South Asia.

Currently, 150 species of trees remain, including larch, thuja, suga, rubber tree. A 400-year-old giant oak and an age-old black pine in the form of a lyre, as well as a trident pine, have been preserved. Of the manor buildings, only the kennel building has survived.

Happy Animal Park "12 Months" (Zoo "XII Months") is located 40 kilometers from the center of Kyiv on the highway to Dymer, between Demydiv and Lytvynivka.

On the territory of 16 hectares, there are aviaries built according to modern technologies. You can see more than 100 species of animals in the zoo. Among its inhabitants are a white lion and a lioness, a white tiger, giraffes, a black jaguar, a red wolf, cheetahs, puma, hyenas, Kamchatka bears, various monkeys, a rhinoceros, antelope kanna, bison, alpacas and others. Indian elephants are expected to arrive.

For children, there is a petting zoo in "12 Months", where you can interact with donkeys, lambs, mini-cows and other domestic animals. A large playground and a pirate ship have been prepared for active children's recreation.

In the center of the complex, next to the pond, there is a restaurant in the style of a fairy-tale castle, similar to the Bavarian castle Noyshvanshtayn - the prototype of Snow White's castle from Disney cartoons. Many animals can be hand-fed.

Russian-Ukrainian war

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, in February 2022, the "!2 months" zoo immediately found itself under Russian occupation, at the epicenter of hostilities, and was actually cut off from the outside world. For more than a month, in extremely difficult conditions without light, gas and fodder, under constant enemy fire, seven employees of the park cared for the animals and saved most of them. Unfortunately, several animals died due to the stress of the explosions - they could not withstand the sounds of shells flying over the park and exploding.

Currently, the Happy Animal Park "!2 Months" has resumed its work and welcomes visitors.

Archangel Michael Zvirynets cave monastery is an ancient Rus underground abode founded in the 10th-11th centuries on the territory of Zvirynets - the country hunting grounds of Prince Vsevolod of Kyiv.

The monastery was destroyed by the Polovtsy in 1096-1097. The caves were opened in 1888 by the Ukrainian artist Dmytro Zaychenko.

The internal arrangement of the complex is similar to the caves of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. A small cell was discovered near the entrance to the caves, to the left of it - a straight underground corridor with 40 burial niches. A cave church was also discovered. In the caves, cypress boards from tombs, slate slabs and plinths, remains of felt and leather shoes, ceramics and other things were found. Old Rus drawings and inscriptions have been preserved on the walls, including the famous Zvirynets Cross, which became the most popular Orthodox symbol of the Moscow Patriarchate in Kyiv.

At the end of the 19th century, the monastery was partially restored as a hermitage of the Saint Jonas Monastery with the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Today it is an independent Archangel Michael monastery in Zvirynets.