Attractions of Sumy region

In 1965, the Spadshchansky forest northwest of Putivl was declared a historical and cultural reserve, since it was here in 1941 that the famous partisan unit of Sydor Kovpak was created, which fought against the German occupiers during the Second World War.

As a result of the active actions of Kovpak's detachment, a large partisan region was created in Sumy region and nearby areas, on the territory of which 24 detachments and 127 groups (about 18,000 partisans) operated in 1942. Kovpak's unit fought 18,000 kilometers behind the enemy's rear, fought on the entire territory of Ukraine from Putivl to the Carpathians.

The memorial complex in the Spadshchansky Forest opens with the "People's Avengers" stele, then the "Alley of Heroes" leads to the "Guerrilla Glory" monument. The partisan stronghold with 9 dugouts was reconstructed: headquarters, bathroom, kitchen, dugouts of scouts, miners, 2nd, 4th, 5th operational groups, personal dugout of Sydor Kovpak. There is a mass grave near the shrine.

Also there are the main objects of the memorial complex "Spadshchansky Forest": the Museum of Partisan Glory and the Museum of Weapons and Military Equipment. The museum presents personal belongings of partisans, samples of weapons, photographs, documents, etc. A cannon that was in service with the Kovpak army and a German T-III tank captured by them are installed near the museum.

In 2019, the Museum "Soviet Park" opened on the territory of the complex. Soviet monuments, busts and sculptures collected from the Sumy, Poltava and Chernihiv regions are presented here. Among them are monuments to Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Kotovsky, Shchors, Frunze, Chapaev and others.

It is part of the Putyvl State Historical and Cultural Reserve.

The State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Posullia" unites a whole complex of historical and cultural monuments of the Romny and Nedryhailiv districts of Sumy region, located in the basin of the Sula River, including historical museums, an ethnographic complex, a number of memorable places and natural monuments.

The administration of the reserve is located in the city of Romny, in a 19th-century building, next to the Romny Museum of Local Lore. The reserve also includes the Nedryhailiv Museum of Local Lore, the Petro Kalnyshevsky Museum with the architectural and ethnographic complex "Old Village", the Oleksa Yushchenko Estate Museum.

The museum fund of the reserve consists of about 40 thousand exhibits that introduce the historical past and present, nature, ethnography, and artistic heritage of the Posullia region.

The "Posullia" reserve also takes care of objects of historical and cultural heritage and natural reserve fund of local and national importance, including the complexes of Scythian mounds, the Siverianske settlement Monastyryshche, the Mammoth Monument at the site of a Paleolithic site in the village of Kulishivka, the geological monument - Zolotukha Mount, etc.

Museum of History of Sumy State Pedagogical University named Anton Makarenko was founded in 1962 and is a subdivision of the department of social and cultural work of the SumSPU.

The museum has collected more than 8,000 exhibits that tell about the founding of the school in 1924, the periods of World War II, postwar reconstruction and development of education in the region to this day.

A separate exposition is dedicated to the creative heritage of the outstanding teacher, one of the founders of the system of child and adolescent education Anton Makarenko, who was a native of Sumy region.

The sculpture "Sweet Teeth Babies" on Voskresenska Street was installed in Sumy for the 355th anniversary of the city. This is a tribute to the sugar industry of the Khayitonenko family, thanks to which the city achieved prosperity in the 19th century.

The monument was created by sculptors Oleh Prokopchuk and Volodymyr Bukov. A bronze boy is eating sugar from a bag on a chair, and a girl is standing next to him. Any passer-by can join them by sitting down on a free chair.

On the same day, a monument to refined sugar was opened on Pokrovska Square in Sumy.

The museum of the glorified commander of the Sumy partisan unit Sydir Kovpak was opened in 1971 at the Hlukhiv Technical School of Mechanization (now the Hlukhiv Agricultural Technical Institute).

The museum reflects the history of the partisan movement in Sumy region during the German occupation of 1941-1943. In particular, materials and maps are presented about three raids of Kovpak troops in Sumy region, a raid on Right Bank Ukraine, the famous Carpathian raid, as well as Polish and Niemansky raids.

One of the rarities is a wooden German sign "Caution: Kovpak!", which was hung in the places of action of the partisans.

Personal belongings of Kovpak and members of his family can also be seen, including his famous trophy Hungarian officer's fur coat.

The first full-size monument in Ukraine to the outstanding Ukrainian poet and public figure Taras Shevchenko was erected in Romny in 1918 (according to other sources, in 1919).

The city of Romny at that time was already under the control of the Bolsheviks, who actively supported the cult of the "revolutionary poet". The author of the monument is the famous sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze. The sculpture, which depicts Shevchenko sitting in a thoughtful pose, is considered the most "human" monument to the poet.

A model of this monument has been installed in Kyiv, on Andriyivsky Descent.

The Taras Shevchenko Museum was created at the educational complex of the village of Shechenkove in Sumy region due to the fact that the outstanding Ukrainian poet visited here in 1859.

In the then Hyrivka, Shevchenko stayed for several days at the estate of the Lazarevsky family. Here he worked on some poetic works, among them - "Oh, on the mountain the rose blooms". He also painted a portrait of the hostess - Afanasia Lazarevska.

The museum was founded in 1961 as Taras Shevchenko's school literature room. The main exposition is dedicated to Taras Shevchenko's connections with the Lazarevsky family.
Among them are photocopies of family documents, a portrait of historian Oleksandr Lazarevsky, and the memoirs of his son.

The ethnographic corner presents household items that peasants used during Shevchenko's lifetime: jugs, plates, towels, etc.

The monument to Ukrainian weapons was erected at the entrance to the village of Shapovalivka in 2009 in honor of the 350th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Konotop.

The memorial sign is an artistic composition of Cossack sabers cutting through a shield, mounted on a low pedestal, and symbolizes the victory of Cossack weapons over the enemy. The inscription on the monument: "Here the glory of Ukrainian weapons was forged! Erected in honor of the 350th anniversary of the glorious victory of the army of Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky in the Battle of Konotop".

The authors of the monument: sculptors Mykola Mazur and Bohdan Mazur, architect - Volodymyr Bykov.

On the opposite side of the sign is a memorial chapel, which was also built for the 350th anniversary of the victory of the Ukrainian army in the Battle of Konotop.

A bust of Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky is installed in the center of the village of Shapovalivka.

The People`s Museum of History of the Village of Ulanove was founded by a local school teacher, Petro Kyselenko, in 1959 as a school history and local history museum on a non-profit basis.

The museum is located in a separate building with a total area of ​​over 500 square meters.

The museum's collections include about six thousand exhibits, including more than five thousand originals, which are presented in 7 exhibition halls. Among the exhibits are valuable historical documents, photographs, rare editions of books, posters, leaflets, newspapers, paleontological, archaeological, numismatic collections, three thousand folders-funds of personalities of famous people of Sumy region. The museum has a library fund, which has more than four hundred copies, a newspaper collection, which has more than three thousand titles.

In April 2025, the museum was damaged by the Russian bombing of the village of Ulanove.

The village park in Velykyi Bobryk was established in 1815 on the territory of the estate of the landowner Yelyzaveta Rakhmanova.

The dominant feature of the park is a 35-meter-tall spruce tree, planted during the foundation of the park by the landlady's son, General Hryhoriy Rakhmanov, a participant in the war with Napoleon in 1812.

In addition to several 250-300-year-old patriarchal oaks, an alley group of lindens, several spruces, two pines, an ash, etc. have been preserved. The manor house has not been preserved.

The Peoples Museum of the Vilshana Village History in Sumy Region has been operating at the Vilshana Lyceum since 2002. It was created on the initiative of local educators.

The exposition tells about the ancient history of the region, the foundation and development of the village of Vilshana, the Holodomor of 1932-1933, the events of World War II, the Chornobyl tragedy, etc.

The museum collection, assembled with the participation of schoolchildren, has over 800 exhibits. These are numerous antiques, fragments of weapons and military equipment, historical documents, old photographs.

A special exhibit is the flag brought by school graduate Oleksandr Zayika from the area where the joint forces operation was conducted in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Literary Museum of Writers Leonid Poltava and Yosyp Dudka operates in the village of Pustoviitivka at the Pustoviitivka Secondary School named after Petro Kalnyshevsky.

The institution opened in 2006 as a memorial museum of the poet, publicist, and public figure Leonid Poltava to mark the 85th anniversary of his birth. The museum's exposition introduces the life and creative path of Leonid Poltava, editions of his books in English and Ukrainian, family photos, performance posters, opera and operetta librettos, collections of badges, key chains, coins, stamps, envelopes, and personal belongings of Leonid Poltava, which were donated to the museum by his family from New York.

Later, a museum exposition was opened to mark the 95th anniversary of the birth of Yosyp Dudka - a famous poet and teacher of Romny region, an extraordinary person, and an ardent patriot of his land.

A small one-story manor house in Lebedyn was built in the first half of the 19th century by the Zalesky brothers.

In 1859, Taras Shevchenko stayed at the Zalesky estate.

Until the end of the 20th century, the premises of the former Zalesky estate housed a local history museum. Now the building is empty, restoration is needed.