Attractions of Pochaiv

The Pochaiv History and Art Museum was founded in 1959 on the initiative of Andriy Andriyuk as a museum of atheism. Later, it was repurposed into a museum of spiritual culture, then a museum of the history of Christianity. In 2000, it became the historical and artistic department of the Ternopil Regional Art Museum, and in 2002 it became an independent historical and artistic museum.

Having changed several premises, the museum is now located in an old bank building in the center of Pochaiv.

The main exhibition is devoted to the history of the Pochaiv Lavra, sacred art of Volyn, Taras Shevchenko's stay in Pochaiv.

The Holy Spirit Pochaiv monastery was revived in the place where the monk Methodius, who came from Athos, who is considered the founder of the Pochaiv Lavra, settled in the 13th century.

The complex includes three churches: the Holy Spirit, Saint Seraphim of Sarov and All Saints. There is a miraculous icon, the relics of Saint Methodius and other shrines.

Belongs to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Holy Assumption Pochaiv Lavra is one of the largest shrines of the Orthodox world, the second most important on the territory of Ukraine after the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

Legend attributes the founding of the first skete to the Athos monk Methodius. Around 1240, Kyiv monks appear on Pochaivska Hill in the neighborhood, escaping from the Tatar invasion (the name is associated with the Pochayna River, where Prince Volodymyr baptized the people of Kyiv). According to legend, a sign from above was the appearance of the Mother of God in a pillar of fire. The imprint of the Virgin Mary's foot remained on a stone, from under which a healing spring flowed.

Today, the relics are inside the grand Assumption Cathedral (1783, architect Gottfried Hoffmann). In the main altar, there is a miraculous icon of the Mother of God, donated to the monastery in 1597 by its founder - landlady Anna Hoyska. The parishioners want to attach themselves to the relics of Saint Iov, who was the abbot of the monastery during the confrontation with the Union in the 17th century.

The current magnificence of the laurel is largely due to the donations of Kaniv's elder Mykola Potoski, it was supported by the Russian tsars.

Excursions are conducted, visitors should dress appropriately: men in pants, women in skirts and with their heads covered (scarves and skirts can be rented).

The monastery is leased by the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.