Attractions of Vinnytsia

The Holy Transfiguration Cathedral was built in the 18th century as the Dominican Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded in 1624 by the head of the Dominican monastery Kalynovskyi.

The defensive temple in the Baroque style was part of the Mury fortification system. In 1832, it was handed over to the Orthodox clergy and consecrated as an Orthodox church.

Until 1990, it was used as an organ music hall. From 1990 to 2018, it was the cathedral of the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Since December 2018, it has been under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Holy Virgin Mary of Angels Church of the Capuchin Order was built in Vinnytsia in an unusual Tuscan Baroque style during the eldership of Lyudoviku Kalynovskyi.

For the construction, Kalynovskyi allocated the funds he received as a result of a lawsuit with Count Potoski, as well as part of his estate. In the 19th century, the monastery was closed by the Russian authorities and turned into a barracks, but the church remained active as a parish church. The temple was already closed by the Soviet authorities at the beginning of 1931. During the Second World War, it was active and was closed again by the Soviet authorities in 1961, after the death of priest Martseliy Vysokinskyi.

Now the church of the Holy Virgin Mary of Angels is again an active church of the Catholic order of the Friars Minor Capuchins. Excursions to the dungeon of the monastery are conducted.

In 2023, a monument to Saint James was erected near the Holy Virgin Mary of Angels Church, symbolizing the starting point of the Camino Podolico - the Podilya way of Saint James.

The imposing five-story building of the Savoy Hotel appeared on the central street of Vinnytsia at the beginning of the 20th century.

During the Soviet-Ukrainian war of 1917-1920, the Directory of the Ukrainian People's Republic of Symon Petlyura was temporarily located here, then the headquarters of the First Ukrainian Soviet Division of Mykola Shchors.

During the Second World War, the hotel was heavily damaged by artillery fire and air raids. As a result of the fire, the 6th attic floor was destroyed, and only the walls and ceilings remained of the hotel. The building was restored after 9 years - in 1953.

Currently, the Vinnytsia Appeals Administrative Court is temporarily located in the premises of the Hotel Savoy, while the renovation works are ongoing. Reconstruction of the attic floor, which burned down in 1944, is planned. They promise to open a museum on the first floor of the renovated Hotel Savoy.

The Jesuit monastery in Vinnytsia was founded in 1610 by the Bratslav elder Valentiy-Oleksandr Kalynovsky.

By 1617, the construction of a complex of monastic buildings with a Jesuit church was completed. Together with the Dominican monastery, it became part of the Vinnytsia Castle complex, which was named "Mury".

At the same time as the church, a Jesuit collegium was founded, under which a significant part of the monastery building was allocated. The walls of the church are 1.5 meters thick. Small rectangular windows are pierced in them. On the river side, the walls are reinforced with three powerful buttresses.

In 1907, the church building was converted into a gymnasium, then the city archive was placed there.

The Literary and Memorial Museum of Mykhaylo Kotsyubynsky was opened in Vinnytsia in the house where the future writer was born and lived until he was 33 years old.

The estate was built by his grandfather Maksym Abaza at the beginning of the XIX century, having acquired land on the outskirts of Vinnytsia, in Zamostia.

In 1926, on the initiative of the writer's brother, a restoration was carried out and a museum was established. The exposition is built on a monographic principle and is located in five rooms of Kotsyubynsky's parents' house. The exhibits (lifetime editions, translations, paintings) consistently reveal the writer's creative path and his public activities.

The National Museum-Estate of Mykola Pyrohov is located in a picturesque park on the shore of a lake on the southwestern outskirts of Vinnytsia. It was opened in 1947 in the "Vyshnya" estate, where during the last 20 years of his life the outstanding scientist, surgeon, creator of military field surgery Mykola Pyrohov lived and worked.

Pyrohov purchased the "Vyshnya" estate from the heirs of the doctor of medicine Hrykolevskyi in 1859. He organized the abandoned farm, built a new house and pharmacy, planted an orchard. Here Pyrohov received patients and performed complex surgical operations.

The museum's main exhibition about Pyrogov's life and activities is housed in a one-and-a-half-story manor house. In particular, the interior of the office with the furniture of those times has been recreated. Personal belongings of the scientist, awards, books, surgical instruments, photos of family members are presented.

Nearby is a pharmacy museum with the interiors of the reception and operating room. The main elements of the exposition are the figures of the pharmacist, paramedic, patients and Mykola Pyrohov himself. The exposition also contains ancient scales, copies of prescription forms, textbooks on pharmacology.

The estate is located on the territory of a memorial park with an area of 6 hectares. Its decoration is an age-old linden alley, which was Mykola Pyrohov's favorite place for walks. Two huge fir trees, planted in 1862 by Pyrohov himself, have been preserved.

1.5 kilometers from the estate, in the former village of Sheremetka, there is the Nicholas Church-mausoleum, where the embalmed body of Pyrohov is kept. The initiator of the embalming was his wife - Oleksandra Pyrohova. The body was placed in a crypt, over which a church was built in 1882–1885 according to the project of architect Viktor Sychuhov. Today, the church-necropolis is a historical monument of national significance.

The main building of the Vinnytsia Trade and Economics Institute is the building of the former real school, built in 1889 at the expense of the merchant Tsal Vaynshteyn.

The project was developed by architect Mykola Chekmarov. In 1897, the left wing was completed. Due to its architectural style and variety of decor, this building stood out prominently in the development of the central part of Vinnytsia.

In 1881, the outstanding Ukrainian writer Mykhaylo Kotsyubynskyi passed the external exam for the title of public teacher in the Vinnytsia real school.

During the First World War, a hospital operated here. In Soviet times, party educational institutions were located in the building of a real school. In 1968, a branch of the Kyiv Trade and Economics Institute was opened.

The wooden church of Saint Nicholas in Vinnytsia with a bell tower on a huge stone foundation is one of the best examples of the Podillya school of wooden folk architecture.

In 1746, a place was chosen for the construction of the Saint Nicholas Church on the opposite bank of the Pivdeniy Buh from the central part of the city, on the territory of the Old Town, at the foot of the mountain where the old Vinnytsia castle once stood.

The temple is distinguished by archaic architectural elements - hewn walls and vaulted galleries resting on pillars. The belfry, placed on the corner of the granite retaining wall, could serve as a tower from which two walls of the fortification could be shot through in the event of an enemy attack.

In Soviet times, the premises of the Saint Nicholas Church housed a museum of local history. In 1970, restoration was carried out.

The largest floating light and music fountain "Roshen" in Europe was opened in 2011 in Vinnytsia on the embankment opposite the Kemp (Festival) Island, next to the Roshen factory.

The Vinnytsia fountain is considered a unique hydrotechnical structure. The height of its central jet reaches 65-70 meters, the frontal spread is about 140 meters, and the dimensions of the projection screen formed by splashes and water dust are about 16 by 45 meters.

The light and music fountain "Roshen" is mounted on a floating platform 95 meters long. The dance of shaped jets from 277 nozzles and other water effects are provided by 67 pumps that pump water directly from the Pivdennyi Buh River. The lighting effects are created by 560 underwater lights and laser beams.

The night show of water and light accompanied by music takes place in the warm season (from the end of May to the end of September) every evening with three programs. During the day, the Vinnytsia fountain "Roshen" works in the mode of a static show, in the evening - in the mode of a show with light effects.

The original brick water tower with a clock, located in the pedestrian zone of Vinnytsia, is considered a hallmark of the city.

The Vinnytsia Tower was built according to the project of the architect Hryhoriy Artynov as the basis of the city's water supply system (it is mistakenly considered a fire hydrant).

During the Second World War, the Artynov Tower was an observation point for the progress of hostilities on the outskirts of the city. In the post-war years, it was converted into apartments for waterworks employees.

Since 1993, the Museum of the memory of soldiers who died during the hostilities in Afghanistan in 1979-1989 has been located here.

When visiting the Artynov Tower, you can climb to the upper observation deck. Since 2016, the clock on the tower performs melodies five times a day: at 09:00 - the national anthem of Ukraine, at 12:00 "Oh, don't go, Hryts", at 15:00 - "Podolyanochka", at 18:00 - "Shchedryk" by Mykola Leontovych, at 21:00 - Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" (anthem of the European Union).

The Mury in Vinnytsia have long been called the complex of defensive structures of the Jesuit monastery with a church, collegium and dormitory, surrounded by a fortress wall.

According to the decision of the Bratslav mayor Valentyn-Oleksandr Kalynovskyi, in 1610-1624, Jesuit monks built a monastery, which became the main defensive structure of the city and acted as a feudal castle. The defense complex also included a Dominican church, which later became the Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration. In 1907, the building of the Jesuit church was converted into a gymnasium.

Today, the Vinnytsia Regional Museum of Local Lore is located in the former cell building, and the regional archive is located in the collegium building. The complex occupies a block bounded by Soborna, Mury and Monastyrska streets. Part of the buildings of Mury is in a state of emergency.

The most preserved fragments of the fortress walls with a corner tower can be viewed from the back side of the monastery, going down from Soborna Street to the intersection of Mury Street and Monastyrska Street.

The Vinnytsia Tram Museum is located on the territory of the tram depot of the Vinnytsia Tram and Trolleybus Administration.

Opened in 2013 to the centenary of the Vinnytsia tram.

The exposition of the museum presents photos and exhibits related to the history of tram traffic in the city and the development of the transport company. In particular, you can see samples of composters and tram tickets of different times.

Next to the exhibition hall there is an exhibition of tram cars that worked on the routes of Vinnytsia in different years. All passenger retro cars can be ordered for an individual city tour. You can also order a tram-cafe "Lucky" for celebrations.

The noble estate of the Polish magnates Groholsky is located in an ancient landscape park with an area of 32 hectares, laid out in the 18th century on the outskirts of Vinnytsia, in Pyatnychany (the current district of the city).

The castle-palace was built on the order of Michal Groholsky, the son of Bratslav judge Franziska Xavier Groholsky. Works on the reconstruction of the park were carried out by the Ukrainian landscape architect Dionysiy Mikler.

The two-story palace is made in the style of early classicism with defensive elements. Nearby there are two outbuildings, a pavilion and a water tower stylized as a medieval one.

Currently, the estate is occupied by an endocrinological dispensary and a polyclinic, visits are limited. Part of the building has been restored.

Vinnytsia Regional Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after Mykola Sadovsky was founded in 1910 on the initiative of the city public.

The building, designed by Vinnytsia architect Hryhoriy Artynov, was erected and equipped in 11 months. The decorations were made by the Basovsky studio in Odesa, which designed the Oleksandriysky Imperial Theater.

Until 1917, only visiting actors performed on the stage of the Vinnytsia Theater. The local troupe was created in 1920 by Hnat Yura. Such prominent masters as Amvrosiy Buchma, Oleksiy Vatulya, Volodymyr Sokyrko, Feodosiya Barvinska began their creative career here. Even during the Second World War, the theater did not stop its work.

In 1957, after a successful tour in Moscow, the theater was named after the luminary of the Ukrainian stage, Mykola Sadovsky.

One of the best modern productions is considered to be the lyrical comedy "The House Where God Spent the Night".

The three-story building of the Vinnytsia Regional Universal Scientific Library named after Valentyn Otamanovskyi was built in 1936.

The decision to build the first city library in Vinnytsia was made back in 1902. The construction was timed to the 50th anniversary of Mykola Hohol's death and at first the library was called "Hohol Library". In 1907, the first two-story public library building was opened.

After the Bolshevik coup, it was replenished with nationalized books from private libraries. Since 1925, the Vinnytsia Central Library has been named after the biologist Klyment Timiryazev. In 1936, it was transferred to a new three-story building.

During World War II, the main building of the library burned to the ground. Only in 1955, the building was reconstructed and the library started working normally again.

In 2022, the library received a new name "Vinnytsia Regional Universal Scientific Library named after Valentyn Otamanovskyi". Today, the Vinnytsia Regional Library not only has a large number of books, but also has access to them online.