Attractions of Kyiv region

The large museum quarter between Saksahanskoho, Zhylyanska, Pankivska and Lva Tolstoho streets in Kyiv unites the museums of several outstanding Ukrainian families who lived here at the same time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Kosach, Lysenko, Starytsky, Tobilevych.

The district of Pankivshchyna was then called the Latin quarter, because the Kyiv intelligentsia lived here: professors and students of Saint Volodymyr University, doctors, engineers, artists.

The outstanding composer, the founder of Ukrainian classical music, Mykola Lysenko, was the first to settle in building No. 95. In the apartment where he lived the last 18 years of his life and wrote his main works, the interiors of the hall, study, dining room and living room are recreated, where even today you can hear the magical sounds of the Lysenko grand piano.

The writer and theater actor Mykhaylo Starytsky lived in the neighboring house No. 93 with his wife Sofiya, daughter Mariya and son Yuriy. The exposition of the Starytsky museum consists of a memorial apartment, where the interiors of the living room, dining room, office of Starytsky and the room of the eldest daughter Mariya are reproduced, as well as the exposition "Continuation of family traditions", which is dedicated to the life and creative path of the writer's children and grandchildren.

The Lesya Ukrayinka Museum was created in building No. 97, where the Kosach family lived for a decade and Lesya herself occasionally visited. In fact, the editorial office of the magazines "Native Land" and "Moloda Ukraina" was based here, the editor-in-chief of which was the mother of the poetess Olha Kosach from the Drahomanov family (literary pseudonym - Olena Pchilka). The seven halls of the literary exposition tell about the life and creative path of Lesya Ukrayinka, about the Drahomanov and Kosach families, the circle of friends and associates of the poetess.

The museum of one of the luminaries of the Ukrainian theater, Panas Saksahansky from the Tobilevych family, will be opened in the memorial building No. 96 on Zhylyanska Street after its restoration.

In the course of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, on October 10, Russia once again carried out a massive missile attack on Kyiv. One of the Russian rockets hit near the Museum of Outstanding Figures of Ukrainian Culture. The houses of outstanding figures suffered significant damage. Extremely valuable unique artifacts from the museum collection were not damaged because they were secured in advance, but there is damage in the museum premises.

The Museum of the History of the Bohuslav Region is considered to be one of the most creative historical museums in small towns of Ukraine.

It is located in a two-story building of the former ministerial school in 1907.

The exposition presents an interesting collection of archaeological finds of the Paleolithic era, household items of Scythians and ancient Slavs, ancient Rus jewelry, Cossack relics, photographs and documents of the Ukrainian Revolution.

The original is decorated with exhibition halls in the spirit of its time. First, visitors enter a cave of the Stone Age, then go from the Scythian burial to the wooden frame of Bohuslav Castle, then find themselves in the interiors of a village house and a burgher house, where the iron stairs fall into the era of industrialization.

The branches of the Museum of the History of the Bohuslav Region are the Museum of Modern Decorative and Applied Arts, the Ivan Soshenko Memorial Museum-Estate, and the Marko Vovchko Memorial Museum-Estate.

The historical and memorial museum of Mykhaylo Hrushevsky in Kyiv was opened in 1992 in a three-story building, which the Hrushevsky family purchased in 1908.

The outstanding Ukrainian historian, politician and public figure, chairman of the Central Council of the Ukrainian People's Republic Mykhaylo Hrushevsky lived here for many years together with his brother Oleksandr, daughter Kateryna and nephew Serhiy Shamray. Many figures of the Ukrainian revolution of 1917-1921 visited Hrushevsky here.

In the premises of the House of Hrushevskys, the authentic environment has been preserved: interior decor, staircase, parquet, window fittings, wooden terraces. The exposition presents pieces of furniture, household items, personal documents, manuscripts, a complete collection of Hrushevsky's works and publications under his editorship.

Two rarities are presented in the daughter's room - a photo portrait of the historian, presented to him by his students on the day of his 60th birthday, and a painting portrait of Kateryna Hrushevska painted by Ivan Trush.

Also in the exhibition you can see a clock from Mykhailo Hrushevskyi's office, English porcelain and Mezhyhirya faience from the collection of the Hrushevsky family.

The museum is located in a closed courtyard (entrance through an arch), surrounded by a garden, which was the decoration of the manor during the time of the Hrushevskys.

The museum regularly holds evening events "Coffee stories of the Hrushevskys" and others.

A monument to the outstanding theater and film actor Mykola Yakovchenko was erected in 2000 to the 100th anniversary of his birth in front of the Ivan Franko Theater, where he worked for a long time.

The talented comedian Yakovchenko, who starred in more than 60 films, was awarded the title of Honored and People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR. All-Union fame was brought to him by the roles of Prokop Svyrydovych Sirko ("Behind two hares"), Lopaty's friend ("The Queen of the Gas Station"), Kindrat Perepelytsya ("Maksym Perepelytsya"), Patsyuk ("Evenings on a farm near Dykanka").

The bronze monument by Volodymyr Chepelyk depicts an elderly artist sitting on a bench with a newspaper in his hands, wearing a funny cap, a bow tie and barefoot sandals. Nearby was his beloved dog and best friend, the dachshund Fan-Fan, with whom Yakovchenko spent all his free time from rehearsals and performances. The popularity of the monument is evidenced by the polished knees of the artist and the back of the dachshund.

A copy of the sculpture was installed in the actor's homeland in Pryluky - in front of the City House of Culture, where he began his career.

The National Botanical Garden named after Mykola Hryshko was established by the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on an area of 130 hectares in the territory of Zvirynets, where in ancient times one of the country princely residences was located, and in later times - one of the forts of the Kyiv fortress.

Landscape and botanical areas reflect the flora of different parts of Ukraine, the collection of plants includes more than 10,000 species. Exotic tropical and subtropical plants are presented in the Orangery complex.

The park is especially popular in the spring, during the flowering of lilacs (more than 200 species).

The Holy Trinity Ionine Monastery, located on the territory of the garden, was founded in 1864, until 1917 it was the largest monastery in Kyiv after the Lavra. It belongs to the 11th-century Zvyrinets cave hermitage (Lomakivska Street, 22).

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 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 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 National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv is one of the most famous opera and ballet stages in Europe.

The building was built in the style of the French Renaissance on the site of the city theater that burned down in 1896. In 1911, Russian Prime Minister Petro Stolypin was assassinated here in front of Mykola II and the public.

In the park there is a monument to the author of classical Ukrainian operas, Mykola Lysenko.

The schedule of the Kyiv Opera Theater includes more than 50 performances by composers from different countries and eras: Verdi, Rossini, Chaykovskyi and others. Among the most successful productions of the theater troupe: "Swan Lake", "Rigoletto", "Romeo and Juliet" and others. The operas "Zaporozhets by the Danube" by Semen Hulak-Artemovsky and "Natalka Poltavka" by Mykola Lysenko enjoy constant popularity.

The elegant building of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, which now adorns the European Square in Kyiv, was built in 1882 by architect Volodymyr Nikolayev as a club of the city's Merchants' Assembly.

Balls, charity events, concerts took place here. The columned hall of the Philharmonic Hall has unique acoustics, Chaykovsky,i Rakhmaninov, Shalyapin performed here.

In 1991-1996, a full-scale restoration was carried out.

The magnificent 19-domed Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv is the oldest architectural monument of Rus, one of the largest Christian churches of its time, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site.

The temple complex of the Sophia Monastery is located in the historical center of Kyiv, on Starokyivska Hill, within the City of Prince Yaroslav.

According to the latest research, Saint Sophia Cathedral was founded by the Kyiv prince Volodymyr the Great in 1011, and it was built no later than 1018. Earlier it was believed that the cathedral was erected in 1037 in honor of the victory of Yaroslav the Wise over the Pechenegs, as indicated in the Tale of Bygone Years. A grandiose building for those times with a very complex structure was built by Byzantine craftsmen on the model of the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Constantinople.

The temple acquired the current Ukrainian Baroque style during the reign of Hetman Ivan Mazepa as a result of the reconstruction initiated by Metropolitan Petro Mohyla, carried out in the 17th century by the Italian architect Oktaviano Manchini. The interiors have preserved priceless ancient Rus mosaics and frescoes, including the iconic mosaic image of the Mother of God of Oranta.

Saint Sophia Cathedral was the main temple of the Kyiv state, under its arches ceremonial entrances to the grand prince's throne, church cathedrals and receptions took place. Buried in the church are Prince Yaroslav the Wise, his wife Iryna (Ingigerda) and son Vsevolod with his family, Prince Volodymyr Monomakh, and many Kyiv metropolitans. A valuable source of historical information is numerous ancient graffiti, which can be considered an unofficial chronicle of the Saint Sophia Cathedral and the entire Rus-Ukraine of the 11th-18th centuries.

Today the National Reserve "Sophia of Kyiv" unites 77 architectural monuments. Around the cathedral there are monastic buildings of the 17th-18th centuries: the house of the metropolitan, the fraternal building, a bursa, a refectory, a bakery, cells and a hotel. The complex is surrounded by a wall with Zaborovskiy gates and a southern entrance tower. The bell tower, which serves as the main gate, is open to the public.

On the square in front of the bell tower, there is the grave of Volodymyr, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, who was buried at the entrance to Sophia on Black Tuesday, July 18, 1995 after a violent clash between believers and police.

There is also a tactile model of the cathedral with relief plaques in front of the entrance. The reserve is made more accessible thanks to an inclusive information center.

Separate objects of the reserve are the Golden Gate, Saint Andrew's Church and Saint Cyril's Church in Kyiv, the Genoese Fortress in Crimea.

The date of the foundation of the wooden Nativity of Christ Church in Podil is established by tradition. It was first mentioned in written sources in 1520.

The stone structure of the Nativity of Christ Church was built on Kontraktova Square in 1809-1814 according to the project of architect Andriy Melenskyi.

In 1861, the people of Kyiv said goodbye to Taras Shevchenko's ashes, which were transported from St. Petersburg to Kaniv.

The Nativity of Christ Church on Podil was destroyed by the Bolsheviks in the middle of the 20th century and restored in 2003 in its original form.

The church in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (Nicholas the Good) in Kyiv was founded at the beginning of the 17th century by the hetman of the Zaporizhzhia Army, Matviy Kushka (Samiylo Kishka), to thank God for his rescue from Turkish captivity.

According to one of the versions, the "good" church was nicknamed for its neighborhood with the almshouse. In 1716, the temple was rebuilt in stone, and a stone bell tower was erected nearby. In 1800-1807, according to the project of the architect Andriy Melenskyi, a new stone temple in the style of classicism was built on the site of the fallen church. In 1913, the writer Mykhaнlo Bulhakov married his first wife, Tetyana Lappa, in the church of Nicholas the Good.

The temple was destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1937, but the bell tower was preserved. In 1992, an altar was installed in the bell tower, and it was consecrated as the Church of Saint Nicholas. The congregation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church conducts divine services there.

The "Oleksandria" State Dendrological Park of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was established in 1793 by the crown hetman Frantsishek Ksaveriy Branytskyi and named after his wife Oleksandra.

Bila Tserkva Park was considered one of the best in Europe. The plan was developed by the French park developer Muffot. The park covers more than 200 hectares, has 25 reservoirs, and has 2,500 species of plants, including those from South America, China, and Japan: red oak, tulip tree, Kobus magnolia, Japanese rhododendron, and others.

The basis of the planning is the Great Lawn, from which a network of alleys, decorated with park architecture and sculptures, runs for 20 kilometers: "Romantic Ruins", "Chinese Bridge", "Lion" spring and others. The "Echo" colonnade has unique acoustics: a word spoken in a whisper at one end of the colonnade is heard at the opposite end. According to legend, Prince Potemkin-Tavriyskyi is buried under the Rotunda.

The summer palace of the Branytskys was destroyed during the Soviet period, but the "Ball Pavilion" has already been restored in its original form.

In the garden "Moor" (year 1816) with an area of 4 hectares, surrounded by a stone wall 3 meters high, more than 300 fruit and berry crops from all continents of the world are grown (excursions with tastings are held).

The highest point of the park is Paliy Mountain, on which a monument to Semen Paliy is erected.

The building of the "Economic Yard" now houses the directorate and Living Nature, Flora and Fauna Museum of the Park "Oleksandriya", which features marble park sculptures. You can buy seedlings here.