Attractions of Pereyaslav

National historical and ethnographic reserve "Pereyaslav" is one of the largest historical and cultural reserves of Ukraine. It unites 24 museums, more than 370 monuments of history and architecture, about 3,000 hectares of the territory of the Pereyaslav city and its surroundings.

The reserve was founded in 1979 by the outstanding Ukrainian historian, ethnographer, museologist, archaeologist, Hero of Ukraine Mykhaylo Sikorsky on the basis of the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi State Historical Museum - now it is the Taras Shevchenko "Testament" Museum, and part of the reserve's administration is also located here.

Today, the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav" covers a whole complex of monuments of the cultural heritage of the historical city of Pereyaslav of different eras, starting from the Pereyaslav Child with the remains of the Prince Michael's Cathedral, including the architectural monuments of the Cossack era in the city center and ending with the administrative and residential buildings of the end 19th - early 20th centuries.

The most popular object of the reserve is the Folk Architecture Museum of the Middle Dnipro Region (Open-Air Museum, skansen), where authentic examples of ancient Ukrainian housing, as well as defensive, economic, administrative and religious buildings of the past are presented. There are 13 separate museums on the territory of the skansen, including the Museum of the Ukrainian Towel, the Museum of Ukrainian Rites, the Museum "Postal Station" and others.

The administration of the reserve, the scientific part and the excursion bureau are located in one of the former premises of the Ascension Monastery, next to the Hryhoriy Skovoroda Memorial Museum. Here you can order a sightseeing tour of the city of Pereyaslav.

The architectural ensemble of the Saint Michael's Monastery is located on the territory of the Episcopal Court of the Pereyaslav Dytynets (Citadel). 

This fortification at the confluence of the Alta River and the Trubizh River was the historical core of medieval Pereyaslav in princely times. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

Saint Michael's Cathedral of the XI century, built on the initiative of the Bishop of Pereyaslav, the Reverend Ephraim of Pechersk, under Prince Volodymyr Monomakh was the largest church in the city. Many Pereyaslav princes were buried there (the tomb has not survived).

The cathedral was destroyed by the Mongol-Tatars during the storming of Pereyaslav in 1237. Now you can see the later Saint Michael's Church, revived on ancient foundations by Pereyaslav Colonel Fedir Loboda in the middle of the XVII century. as a small wooden temple, and a century later rebuilt in stone in its present form. At the same time, a defensive bell tower with an entrance gate was erected. As a result of secularization in 1876, the church became a parish, received the status of a city council.

Under Soviet rule, Saint Michael's Church was closed and the dome torn down. Until recently, it housed the Museum of Folk Costume of the Dnipro region. The interior has preserved paintings of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Since 2010, the monastery complex has been in use by the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, the men's monastery of Archstrateg Michael was opened in it. Instead of the authentic dome recorded in Taras Shevchenko's painting, the religious community erected a dome-model of a 12th-century church above the church.

The monastery shares the territory with the Museum of Architecture of Ancient Rus Pereyaslav, which was opened in 1982 on the initiative of the founder of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav" Mykhaylo Sikorskyi. The outline of the temple destroyed by the Mongols is lined with stone around the perimeter of the church, and the original masonry and mosaics are available for viewing in the covered pavilion in the courtyard of Saint Michael's Monastery. There is also a model of an ancient Rus cathedral.

The remains of other structures of the baby are hidden underground. There is a memorial sign in honor of the ancient Rus chronicler Sylvester, one of the authors of the "Tale of Bygone Years", and several other sculptures.

In 2023, the Economic Court of the Kyiv region made a decision based on the lawsuit of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav", according to which the oldest shrine of Pereyaslav should return to the use of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve and obliged the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate to vacate the premises of the Saint Michael's Church.

The Museum of "Testament" in Pereyaslav is dedicated to the most famous work of the outstanding Ukrainian poet-prophet Taras Shevchenko. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

The exposition is located in an old wooden house built in 1820, which belonged to the family of Pereyaslav doctor Andriy Kozachkovskyi. It was there that Shevchenko visited him during his stay in Pereyalav, and it was here on December 25, 1845, during a serious illness, that he wrote his program poem, which became a call to the liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people and a message to his descendants.

The house reproduces the preliminary planning and interiors of the guest room where the poet lived, living rooms, libraries, Kozachkovsky's office. For a long time, a historical museum was located here. Much of his exposition is preserved and now reveals in chronological order the history of the Pereyaslav region of the Cossack period through the prism of its understanding by Shevchenko.

The most interesting exhibits belong to the Cossack era: ancient weapons, Cossack jewels, personal belongings of Cossack leaders, copies of important documents of the time. In particular, the personal sword of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, presented to him by the Polish King Yan Kazymir, is presented. You can also see the hetman's mace of the XVIII century, bunchuk of the XVII century, colonel's pirnach, squid of the hetman's clerk, etc.

Three literary and artistic halls tell about Taras Shevchenko's studies at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, the poet's early work, as well as his acquaintance with many Pereyaslav residents and personally with the owner of the house, about the "Pereyaslav Kobzar Autumn" - the period of a real creative rise of the artist.

In front of the estate grows an acacia tree planted by Shevchenko together with Kozachkovskyi. There is a souvenir shop in front of the museum.

The Museum of the Famous Academician, Outstanding Architect, Founder of the Ukrainian Academy of Architecture Volodymyr Zabolotny is located in a building that belonged to the Zabolotny family. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

The exposition includes unique items from Volodymyr Zabolotny's collection: paintings by Western European artists, luxurious vases, a library (over 5,000 volumes). Here are the works of the architect himself - a model of the Verkhovna Rada building, furniture designed by him, watercolors and oil landscapes.

The two-story building, in which the Zemstvo administration of Pereyaslav was located, stands out with features of late classicism. Now it houses school No. 2.

Opposite is the elegant, skillfully decorated building of the former women's gymnasium (now also the building of school No. 2), which is compositionally connected with the building of the Zemstvo administration into a single architectural whole.