Attractions of Ovruch

Saint Basil's Cathedral is the oldest temple in the city of Ovruch.

It was built in 1190 by Prince Ryuryk Rostyslavovych on the site of a wooden temple built in memory of Prince Oleh Svyatoslavovych, who died in 977. The construction was supervised by the ancient Rus architect Petro Mylonig, one of the four architects of the pre-Mongol period, whose names have been preserved in history.

In terms of architecture, the temple is close to Sophia of Kyiv. Kyiv, Smolensk, and Grodno techniques are used in the exterior decoration, creating a strict and at the same time rich decoration of the temple.

In 1321, the Saint Basil's Church in Ovruch was almost completely destroyed by the Lithuanians, restored at the beginning of 1909 by the famous architect Oleksiy Shchusev (for this work he received the title of academician of architecture). Paintings on non-canonical subjects were performed by the outstanding artist Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. Fragments of Old Rus frescoes have also been preserved.

Nearby is the women's Saint Basil's Monastery, built in the Pskov architectural style at the same time as the temple was restored. The complex includes a cell building and a bell tower.

A granite cross was erected for the 1000th anniversary of Saint Basil's Church.

The Ovruch historical and local history museum "Drevlyans Sources" has been operating since 2006 at the Center for Children's and Youth Creativity of the Ovruch City Council.

In the ethnographic hall, items from the traditional life of Polishchuks are presented, including unique towels-curtains with Drevlyans patterns. A prominent place is occupied by icons, one of which was made in 1904 in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

The next exposition introduces the ancient Polissya crafts - needlework and linen weaving. In particular, a real shipboard and shipboard equipment, as well as an ancient loom, are presented.

The last museum room contains materials about schooling in Ovruch region from the time of Kyivan Rus to the present day, as well as about prominent people of the region. The interiors of the classroom and pioneer room are reproduced here, old textbooks are presented, including the 1861 primer by Taras Shevchenko.

The Ovruchchyna History Museum was founded in 1975 at the Ovruch House of Culture. Currently, the museum is located in a historic two-story building next to the City Park.

The exhibition in three halls reveals the culture and history of the region, starting from the Paleolithic period. Among the unique exhibits are tools of primitive people, an medieval Drevlyan sword  of the XII-XIII centuries, a Cossack pistol and a powder magazine of the end of the XVIII century.

Documents of repressed compatriots, letters of Ostarbeiters deported to Germany during the Second World War, personal belongings of people who left their homes after the accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, photos of Ovruchans who participated in the Revolution of Dignity and the Russian-Ukrainian war are preserved.

In the ethnographic department, the everyday objects of Polishchuks are exhibited, in particular, traditional clothes and shoes, woven and embroidered towels, wooden products of folk craftsmen. The interior of the 19th century village house "Polissya room" has been recreated.

The white stone Savior and Transfiguration Cathedral in Ovruch was rebuilt in 1993 on the site of a church destroyed during the Soviet era.

Back in the 17th century, there was a Jesuit church here, which later became a Uniate church, and in the 19th century, it was rebuilt into an Orthodox church.

The Transfiguration Cathedral was restored in a new architectural form.

Part of the relics of Saint Macarius the Wonderworker of Kaniv are preserved in the cathedral.