Attractions of Zaporizhzhia region

The municipal institution "Polohy Museum of Local Lore" of the Polohy City Council has been located in the manor house of the Sandomyrsky merchants in Polohy since 1968.

The museum fund has more than 12 thousand historical monuments. In six halls there are expositions: "Nature of Polohy region", "Archeology and settlement of the region", "Our region at the beginning of the XX century", "Polohy region on the eve and during the Second World War", "Modernity of the native land".

The pride of the museum collection are stone idols of the Polovtsian period, archeological finds during the excavation of mounds, household items and agricultural equipment of the first settlers, photos and documents testifying to the construction of the Katerynynska Railway and the founding of the city  Polohy.

The exposition is complemented by dioramas "Development of the Polohy deposit of kaolins and refractory clays" and "Kinsko-Rozdorivske reservoir", as well as recreated interiors of a peasant house, houses of a middle-class family, apartments of a railway worker.

The palace and park complex in Vasylivka, on the basis of which the historical and architectural museum-reserve "Popov's Manor" was created, received the popular name "Popov's Castle".

The grandiose palace was built in 1894 (probably according to the project of the architect Mykola Benois) in the style of neo-romanticism with elements of Gothic and Baroque and was reminiscent of medieval European castles in architecture. The main building had a ballroom, mirror rooms, a library with rare books, a picture gallery with originals by Titsian, Goya and Rembrandt.

In Soviet times, most buildings were dismantled for building materials. The crenellated walls with a gate, two outbuildings, a carriage house, a stable, and a watch tower have been preserved. The monument is in a state of disrepair, a residential building and a boarding school are located on its territory.

A museum of the manor's history has been opened in the western wing, where, in particular, Bryullov's paintings are presented. Recently, the clearing of the palace basements and other dungeons, where tours began, was completed.

During the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the buildings of the Popov estate were damaged, and the museum exhibits were looted by the Russian occupiers.

Private open-air zoo "Safari" was created in Berdiansk in 2004 by entrepreneur Ihor Kalchenko.

It occupies an area of 2.5 hectares at the very beginning of the Berdianska Spit.

The territory is well planned: aviaries, ponds, an alpine hill, rest areas, cafes.

Berdiansk Zoo "Safari" has about 60 species of exotic animals. 36 of them are listed in the International Red Book. So, during the existence of the zoo, 6 Far Eastern leopards were born here, of which there are only 40 left on the planet. 6 lion cubs, 4 Ussuri tiger cubs, 4 monkeys and others were also born. All animals have spacious enclosures and are well cared for.

At the entrance to the territory of the "Safari" zoo, you can buy feed for independent feeding of animals.

Saint Andrew's Cathedral was built in 2000 at the expense of the Motor-Sich company and other patrons.

It is located on the site of an unremarkable cinema, which was adjacent to the passage of motor builders. Until 2000, the Saint Andrew's religious community of the city met in the converted cinema hall.

The temple is made in the form of a cross with a large central dome and two small domes on the sides. Nearby is a high bell tower.

The Melitopol Men's Monastery of Saint Sava the Sanctified is one of the newly created monasteries of Ukraine. The decision to create it was made in 1994.

The Melitopol Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist actually became the courtyard of the monastery, and the governor's permanent stay there moved the monastery from the village of Terpinnia there as well. In May 1995, the construction of the first one-story building began. In 2005, the construction of the new temple was completed. The central side altar was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Ghosts of Humility", the northern one in honor of the Beheading of John the Baptist, and the southern one in honor of the heavenly patron of the monastery, Saint Sava the Consecrated.

It belongs to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate. In September 2022, during the Russian occupation of Melitopol during the Russian-Ukrainian war, the monks of the monastery of Saint Sava the Consecrated openly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine and gave their monastery to the Russian occupiers to organize a pseudo-referendum. The Security Service of Ukraine collected evidence of the monastery abbot's collaborative activities, and in December 2022 personal sanctions for a period of 5 years were introduced against the head of the monastery Oleksandr Prokopenko and six other figures of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The con-catheral sanctuary of God the Merciful Father is the only Catholic temple in Zaporizhzhia.

The Roman Catholic parish existed in Oleksandrivsk (Zaporizhzhia) even before the revolution, but in the 1930s the Catholic church was closed and later destroyed.

Since 1999, a new church has been built in the city. A cornerstone taken from the Basilica of Saint Peter the Apostle in Rome was laid in its wall. In 2004, the consecration ceremony of the temple of God the Merciful Father took place (the only one under such an address in Eastern Europe).

The building is rectangular, divided internally by rows of columns and pillars into an odd number of longitudinal parts (3 naves) with lighting from upper windows and an apse niche in the altar part. Classically strict interior decoration.

Sobornyi Avenue in Zaporizhzhia is one of the longest avenues in Europe - 11 kilometers (with the DniproHES dam - 13 kilometers).

It runs from the Zaporizhzhia-1 railway station to the DniproHES dam. The residential quarters of "Sotscity" in the area of the dam are considered to be one of the best examples of urban planning art of the pre-war USSR. The project of this architectural ensemble in 1932 received a gold medal at an exhibition in Paris. Several buildings of pre-revolutionary Oleksandrivsk have been preserved in the area of Peremohy Street.

In 1952, the avenue, which connected fragments of several old streets, was named after Lenin. In 2016, it was renamed Sobornyi (Pokrovsky Cathedral is located on it).

A classic industrial panorama of the industrial part of the city opens from the bridge over the ravine of the Kapustyanka River. Along Sobornyi Avenue there are several squares with fountains, many restaurants and cafes. Most of the administrative buildings, educational institutions and cultural institutions of Zaporizhzhia are located here.

The Museum of Ethnography of the Peoples of Southern Ukraine was established in 1997 at the Faculty of History of Zaporizhzhia National University.

Several generations of student historians managed to collect one of the best collections of tiles, household items and relics in the territory of Steppe Ukraine. 

In 2015, the Museum of Soviet Life was opened in the adjacent room. Among its exhibits are furniture, household items and appliances of the 20th century. The clothes of those times are hung in the closets, a place is reserved for costume jewelry, cosmetics, and perfumes of the Soviet era. Featured record player collection, post-war magazines, record phone collection, radio, and more. Many family letters, photographs, documents, and certificates are also exhibited.

The museum complex of the Zaporizhzhia National University also includes the ZNU Zoological Museum and the Water Museum.

The Technical Progress History Museum of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University was opened in 2016 on the occasion of the celebration of the 116th anniversary of the establishment of the educational institution.

The museum in it was started back in 1970, when the first museum room of the then Zaporizhzhia Mechanical Engineering Institute was opened.

The current exposition demonstrates the stages of development of science and technology in Zaporizhzhia from the 18th to the beginning of the 11th century. Instruments, computing devices, radio communication devices, electronics of various periods of the 20th century are presented. The history of the technical university is told by photos and certificates of graduates of the last century, literature and interior elements from the time of the establishment of the institution, layouts, models and projects of graduates.

The central exhibit of the museum is the ZAZ-965 "Zaporozhets" car - one of the first to roll off the assembly line of the then "Komunar" plant (now "AvtoZAZ") in 1960.

The Motor Sich Museum of Technology in Zaporizhzhia was opened in 2012.

The museum is located in the former building of the station of young technicians near the territory of Motor Sich - one of the world's largest enterprises for the production of aircraft engines.

The basis for the creation of the Aviation Museum was the National Museum of Enterprise History, opened in 1980. The exhibition presents aircraft engines manufactured by PJSC "Motor Sich", from the first reciprocating star-shaped aircraft engines to modern turbojet engines, as well as models of the first aircraft and helicopters. etc.

Upstairs is an exposition of 26 models of retro motorcycles, as well as consumer goods produced by the plant: chainsaws, motoblocks, milk separators, wind farms, etc.

A Mi-24 transport and combat helicopter with a Motor Sich engine has been installed at the entrance to the aviation museum building.

In February 2023, exhibition exhibits were removed from the Technology Museum in order to protect the residents of the surrounding buildings from a Russian rocket attack.

The "Phaeton" Museum of Technology and Retro Cars in Zaporizhzhia is the only publicly accessible museum of a similar profile in Ukraine.

A private collection of rare vehicles of domestic and foreign production of the middle of the last century was collected and restored by members of the car club "Phaeton".

On an area of about 1,000 square meters in six halls, more than 250 units of active automotive equipment from the 1930s and 1960s are exhibited.

The exposition of the museum of retro cars presents cars "Dodge", "Willis", "Ural-ZiS", ZiS-5, ZiS-6 ("Katyusha"), etc. All cars are on the move, have repeatedly participated in exhibitions and races.

Visiting the museum exposition and workshops is possible with a tour on prior request, in groups of 10 to 20 people.

The monument "Glory to the tomato!" installed in 2009 on the central square of Kamyanka-Dniprovska.

In this way, the residents of the city expressed their gratitude to the vegetable-feeder, in the cultivation of which the entire district specializes. The installation of the tomato monument was initiated by the director of the Kamyanka-Dniprovska Forestry State Enterprise Hryhoriy Karpiy.

It took about 10 bags of cement to create the tomato monument, and the huge tomato weighs 600 kilograms. The red-painted tomato looks very appetizing, townspeople and guests of Kamyanka-Dniprovska are often photographed next to it.

The Vilniansk Museum of Local Lore was opened in 1971.

More than 2,000 items are stored in the museum's collections. 7 halls are open to visitors.

The "Settlement" hall shows the history of the region from the earliest times to the 19th century.

In the "Beginning of the 20th Century" hall, household items, tools, and documents of this period are exhibited.

Other halls tell about revolutionary events, the history of the Taras Shevchenko plant, and the events of the Second World War.

Temporary exhibitions exhibit the works of local artists, craftsmen and lovers of decorative and applied arts.

The entertainment and educational water center "Water Museum" opened in 2021 at the Engineering Educational and Scientific Institute of the Zaporizhzhia National University.

The exposition characterizes the hydrosphere of the planet Earth, informs about the water resources of Ukraine, introduces the geological structure of the earth's crust and the process of water filtration, demonstrates the technological schemes of wastewater treatment at treatment plants, teaches rational water use, etc.

From the exhibition sections, you can highlight a 3D model of the town, which demonstrates the water cycle in nature, an experiment site (mini-laboratory), an exposition of water purification methods, as well as a photo location.

Tours are held on Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. and at 12:00 p.m. Pre-registration is required to visit.

The museum complex of the Zaporizhzhia National University also includes the ZNU Zoological Museum, the Museum of Ethnography of the Peoples of Southern Ukraine and the Museum of Soviet Life.

The Private Museum of the History of Weapons in Zaporizhzhia is located in the city center.

The exposition is based on the personal collection of entrepreneur Vitaliy Shlayfer.

The museum presents the following types of historical weapons of different times and peoples: submachine guns, rifles, shotguns, pistols and pistols, swords, sabers, swords, axes, chain mail and more. In total, more than 4.5 thousand units.

The museum conducts examination, evaluation and restoration of antique weapons.

The exhibition is located in the premises of the weapons store "Diana".