Attractions of Stryi

The triptych monument "Awakeners" in Stryi is dedicated simultaneously to three of the most outstanding literary figures of Ukraine, whose work gave impetus to the awakening of Ukrainian national self-awareness in the people: Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko, and Lesya Ukrayinka.

Authors of the sculpture: Vasyl and Volodymyr Odrekhovski. The monument consists of three full-length bronze sculptures, which are placed in arch niches under a common high openwork three-sided white marble arch. The monument is crowned with a decorative eye bell, which symbolizes the call for the unification of the nation.

The memorial museum of the artist Petro Obal in Stryi was opened in 2005 as a department of the local history museum "Verkhovyna". The basis of the collection was the collection of the artist's daughter, Vira Obal.

Part of the exhibition in the first hall is the artist's memorial working corner: a table, a bookcase, in which there are some books from the Obal family library and objects of applied art. The presented documents include a diploma and a certificate of graduation from the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, a certificate of secondary education, a certificate of a gymnasium professor, photographs, early drawings of the artist.

In the second hall, works from the time of imprisonment and the stria period of Obal's work (1950–1980) are exhibited. Letters to Oha's wife, written from prisons in Kazakhstan, as well as a drawing of a barrack in which the artist's workshop was located, deserve attention.

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the main Greek-Catholic church of Stryi.

The history of the shrine originates from the church of the Franciscan monastery, known since 1608. In 1785, the Austrian authorities liquidated the Catholic monastery and handed over the religious building to the Ukrainian community.

The wooden Assumption Church was the oldest in Stryi, but due to its poor condition, it was dismantled and a new church was built on this site. The relics of Blessed Petro Verhun are kept here. The main shrine is the miraculous Lesko icon of the Mother of God.

The memorial museum-manor of the family of the outstanding Ukrainian politician, leader of the OUN, Stepan Bandera, was opened in Stryi for the 101st anniversary of his birth. It is part of the Stryi Local Lore Museum "Verkhovyna".

The exhibition, which is mostly devoted to the school years of young Stepan, is located in the house of his grandfather Mykhaylo Bandera, where he lived while studying from 1919 to 1927 at the Stryi Gymnasium.

Also, the exposition of the house-museum tells about all the members of the large Bandera family, each of whom in one way or another participated in the struggle for Ukrainian independence. Documents, photographs, personal belongings are presented.

A square named after Stepan Bandera has been opened in front of the house.

The current building of the Stryi City Council was built at the end of 1886 by the Austrian authorities as a district court complex with a prison. Under Polish rule, the building retained its profile, and during Soviet times it housed the city council.

In 1990, still under Soviet power, the national yellow-blue flag was raised on the flagpole above the city council for the first time in Ukraine.

A memorial to the victims of repression was opened on the territory of the former prison

The memorial complex "Fighters for the Freedom of Ukraine" was opened in 2005 on the territory of the former Stryi city prison, which operated from 1898 to 1963. It is part of the Stryi Local Lore Museum "Verkhovyna".

The exposition of the unique museum-prison is devoted to political prisoners tortured here in different periods by the Austro-Hungarians, the Polish authorities and the Soviet regime. The most terrible page of history is the mass execution of political prisoners in 1941 before the retreat of the Red Army.

The memorial complex includes a symbolic wrought-iron fence, fragments of walls with barred windows, a watchtower, an entrance arch with a crown of thorns, a two-story museum building, a mourning wall, a sarcophagus tomb, and a Pieta monument.

The Museum "Unconquered" in Stryi opened in 2022 during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The exposition of the museum consisted of war trophies of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which were brought by fighters of the "Karpatska Sich" battalion.

In the museum, you can see various types of weapons, equipment of the Ukrainian military, as well as clothing and protection of the occupiers, many photos and "unpacking" of the Russian dry ration.

The elegant Gothic church-sanctuary of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin is considered a symbol of the city of Stryi.

The Roman Catholic parish was founded in the city by King Kazymyr the Great in the 14th century. The parish church of the Nativity of the Virgin was built in 1425. Several times the Gothic temple was destroyed by fire. In 1891, the last major restoration was carried out, an organ was installed.

In 1939, the temple was closed, but the building was preserved during Soviet times.

In 1995, the church was declared the Sanctuary of the Mother of God, the Patroness of Human Hopes, and in 2001, Pope John Paul II consecrated the icon of the Mother of God of Stryi.

The memorial museum of public figure Olha Bachynska was opened in 2001 as a department of the of Stryi Museum of Local Lore "Verkhovyna". It is located in the elegant house of the Bachynskys in Stryi, which was purchased in 1912 by Olha's husband, Ilarion Bachynskyi.

The exhibition highlights the life path of Olha Bachynska, who was the first Ukrainian woman of Galicia to head an important economic institution - the directorate of "Maslosoyuz". In addition, she collected a large collection of folk clothes and embroidery, which she exhibited in Vienna in 1915.

Part of Bachynska's collection is presented in the museum. Worthy of attention are samples of Ukrainian embroidery, embroidered shirts, woven socks, photos of Bachynska in national dress, some of her personal belongings.

In the second room, the situation that existed here during Bachynska's life is reproduced. Family furniture, household items of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, documents about Bachynska's many years of work as part of the "Maslosoyuz" directorate and her social activities are presented.

The corner one-story building at the intersection of Mykola Mikhnovsky Street and Mykola Hohol Street in Stryi differs from the surrounding typical buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries with bas-reliefs and sculptures on the facades.

Since 1952, the sculptor Kostyantyn Levchenko, the author of more than a hundred sculptures, has lived here, some of which are exhibited in museums in Canada, France, the Czech Republic, Romania and Ukraine, in particular in the Stryi Museum of Local Lore "Verkhovyna".

Levchenko's house houses 12 of his sculptures, including "Jesus Christ", "Donechka", "Taras Shevchenko", "John Paul II", "Mykola Hohol", "Mother of God", "Sich Riflemen" and others.

The Great Synagogue in Stryi was built in 1817. The bars of the gate are made in the shape of a menorah.

In Soviet times, it was a food warehouse. Currently, the synagogue building is in a dilapidated state, and restoration is not planned yet.

The building of the former Stryi gymnasium was built at the beginning of the 19th century, although the gymnasium itself was opened only in 1872 as the Stryi Imperial Higher Real School.

In 1919-1927, the future leader of the OUN, Stepan Bandera, and other notable persons studied here.

Today it is the Stryi Lyceum No. 7. A monument to Stepan Bandera is installed in front of the building.

The Stryi Museum of Local Lore "Verkhovyna" is located in the former house of the Stryi lawyer and public-politician Yevhen Olesnytsky (built in 1899), which at the beginning of the 20th century was a center of Ukrainian culture and public life.

The museum's funds include 26,000 storage units. The exhibition consists of three sections: nature, ethnography, and history of the region.

The history section informs about the oldest settlements on the territory of the region, the history of medieval Stryi, the Opryshky movement. Covers the history of Stryshchyna during the period of Austrian occupation, the events of the First World War, the struggle of the locals for the Ukrainian state.

The most valuable exhibits: ancient books, icons, Boykiv and Hutsul Easter eggs, as well as Cossack and Opryshky weapons. A separate exposition is devoted to the activities of the UPA.

The Verkhovyna Museum of Local Lore includes:
- Memorial complex "Fighters for the Freedom of Ukraine";
- Bandera family Memorial Museum-Manor;
- Olha Bachynska Memorial Museum;
- Artist Petro Obal Museum.

Volodkevych's Villa in Stryi is called a romantic house in the Art Nouveau style, built at the beginning of the 20th century by the family of a local lawyer. This miniature castle is one of the most interesting architectural monuments of Stryi.

After 1939, the Teacher's House was located here. During the Nazi occupation, the building was used by penal authorities. Currently, the Volodkevych Villa houses the Center for Professional Development of Pedagogical Workers.

In five rooms on the second floor, the Museum of the Literary and Art Association "Waves of Stryi" is located. It was founded in 1976 by the Ukrainian writer and public figure Vitaliy Romaniuk, who headed the literary and artistic association "Waves of Stryi".

The exposition presents more than 500 different works of art: embroidery, art glass, painting, graphics, sculpture. The literary part of the exhibition consists of a selection of works by Stryi writers who were members of the "Waves of Stryi" association.