Attractions of Berdychiv

The Berdychiv City History Museum is located in the center of the city of Berdychiv in one of the wings of the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites - the former house of priests.

In addition to the main exposition, which tells about the history of the city of Berdychiv, in the museum you can visit various thematic exhibitions.

The Berdychiv Museum of Jewishness was opened in 2015 in the premises of the City Children's Library.

The exposition in two halls tells about the life of Berdychiv Jews, about the history and traditions of the Jewish people, as well as about the tragic events of the Holocaust during the Second World War.

The exhibits were provided by residents of Berdychiv, in particular, the city's Jewish community.

The museum of the English writer Joseph Conrad (Yuzef Kozhenovsky), a native of Berdychiv and a Pole by origin, was opened in 2015 in the complex of the Monastery of the Barefoot Carmelites.

The exhibition materials were shared by the Adam Mitskevych Museum of Literature (Warsaw), the Jagiellonian Library (Krakow), the Beineke Library (Yale University), the Central Maritime Museum (Gdansk), and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (England). Professor Zdzislav Nayder (Poland) also provided materials from his own archive.

The main exhibit is a fragment of the hull of the ship Otego, captained by Joseph Conrad. Interactive technologies are widely used in the exhibition.

The visit is free.

The monastery-fortress of the Discalced Carmelites in Berdychiv is the All-Ukrainian Sanctuary of the Mother of God of the Holy Scapular.

The majestic architectural complex with defensive walls, towers and a magnificent baroque church was founded in the 16th century as a castle of the Tyshkevych, who owned these lands since the 14th century.

In 1630, Voivode Yanush Tyshkevych, after his remarkable rescue from Tatar captivity, donated the castle to the Catholic Order of the Discalced Carmelites. The construction of the monastery lasted from 1634 to 1632. In the 18th century, it was reconstructed according to the project of Yan de Vitte, who built the upper church of the Holy Trinity above the lower church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

The main shrine is the miraculous icon of the Mother of God Berdychivska, given to the monastery by Yanush Tyshkevych. In 1997, a copy of the icon was consecrated and crowned by Pope John Paul II. Her sanctuary (holy storage) is the upper temple. The parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary operates at the sanctuary.

The Catholic Church of Saint Barbara was built in Berdychiv in 1826 according to the project of the architect Antoniy Prushynskyi on the site of the old wooden church built by the Radzyvill princes in 1759.

In 1850, the famous French writer Onore de Balzak married Evelina Hanska, Countess of Verkhivnya, in the church of Saint Barbara (a memorial plaque is installed on the facade).

In addition, the church of Saint Barbara is known for the fact that in 1824-1825, while staying at the court of the Radzivill princes, the young Fryderyk Shopen played and learned to play stringed instruments in the church from Professor Zhyvniy.

Next to the church is the grotto of the Virgin Mary.

In Soviet times, the church premises were used as a gym.

Now the temple is active.

Saint Nicholas Cathedral, the main Orthodox church of Berdychiv, was built on the site of the wooden church of Saint Nicholas, which was built in 1748 by the efforts of the owner of the city, Varvara Zavish.

The church kept an ancient icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was considered miraculous.

The stone temple in the late baroque (rococo) style was built and consecrated in 1908. The interior is richly decorated with paintings. In 1996, Berdychiv's Saint Nicholas Church received the status of a cathedral.