Attractions of Poltava region

The Museum of Boiled Borscht and the Museum of Living Bread were opened in Opishnia on the basis of the green tourism estate "Lyalyna svitlytsya" during the ethno-festival "Living Bread" in 2020.

The owner of the estate, Olena Shcherban, prepares daily borscht for guests according to a new recipe, of which she knows at least 365. Among them are wedding, funeral, winter, summer, white, brown and many others.

In one of the houses of the ethnic estate there is a collection of pots from different regions, stags, as well as a traditional oven in which dishes are prepared. Ingredients added to borscht in different regions of Ukraine are also presented.

The monument to the writer Mykola Hohol in Poltava was erected in 1934, although it was created before the Bolshevik coup of 1917.

In 1913, the city public of Poltava began to collect funds for a monument to their outstanding compatriot, and 2 years later, the sculptor Leonid Posen handed over the sculpture made by him to the city. The sculptor depicted Hohol sitting in thought with a book in his hand.

The monument was planned to be erected on the square in front of the drama theater, but the First World War stood in the way of these plans. Under the Bolsheviks, they initially did not want to erect a monument for ideological reasons, since Hohol came from a noble family. Only in 1934, the monument took its current place on the boulevard part of Mykoly Hoholya Street.

The National Museum-Reserve of Mykola Hohol was created in the village of Hoholeve (formerly Vasylivka, Yanivshchyna), where the writer spent his childhood and youth.

The museum was opened for the writer's 175th birthday.

The estate is recreated from photographs, drawings, plans, letters and memories of contemporaries, as the original buildings burned down during World War II. The parents' house and the wing with Hohol's office have been restored, the ponds, the romantic grotto on the shore and the age-old garden have been preserved.

In the recreated interiors of the living room, dining room and bedrooms, there is an exhibition that gives an idea of the Hohol era and tells about the writer's life and work. In particular, the first editions of Hohol's books, original portraits, some interior items, personal belongings of the writer and members of his family are presented.

In the park opposite the museum is the grave of Hohol's parents.

In the warm season, starting from the month of May, night theatrical performances are held.

The memorial museum-estate of potter Mykola Poshyvailo was opened in 2025 in his native house in Opishnia on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the master's birth. The institution is a department of the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery.

Mykola Poshyvailo was born in 1930 into an artistic family of potters Havrylo and Yavdokha Poshyvailo. He inherited from his parents the Opishnia pottery traditions and love for the craft. For many years he worked as a creative master at the "Artistic Ceramics" factory. He received the title of Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine, was a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, a member of the National Union of Masters of Folk Art of Ukraine, and a laureate of the All-Ukrainian Literary and Artistic Prize named after Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky. In his later years, he conducted master classes for visitors to the reserve.

A space of memory has been created in the house of Mykola Poshyvaylo, in which not only things, ceramics and archives are preserved, but also the spirit of creativity itself. A large collection of the master's original works is presented.

Myrhorod Museum of Local Lore was organized on the initiative of the famous artist and ethnographer Opanas Slastion (Slastyon), who worked for a long time in Katerynoslav with the famous historian Dmytro Yavornytsky.

The exhibition presents a variety of materials about the history of Myrhorod. The museum is located on the site where in the XVII-XVIII centuries. was Myrhorod fortress. In memory of this, in 2007 a Square of Cossack Glory was opened in front of the museum building, a monument to the Myrhorod Cossacks and a Cossack cannon were erected - a memorial sign on the site of the Myrhorod Fortress (sculptor Dmytro Korshunov).

The museum is named after its founder - Myrhorod Museum of Local Lore named after Opanas Slastion.

The National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery was founded in 1986 in Opishnia. This ancient village in the Poltava region has long been famous as the largest center of Ukrainian ceramic masters, the pottery capital of Ukraine.

The reserve has united a significant collection of works by folk potters and ceramic artists, creating a national treasury of Ukrainian pottery art. Today, it has a unique collection, numbering over 60 thousand units of preservation.

The main territory of the museum-reserve is well-maintained, decorated with examples of monumental clay sculpture, has many beautiful photo locations, places for recreation and an observation deck with a view of the ancient Slavic settlement of Opishna.

The National Open-Air Gallery of Monumental Clay Sculpture presents over 300 exclusive works of art by potters from Opishnia, including winners of the Taras Shevchenko Prize, as well as masters from other regions and abroad who participate in annual festivals of monumental ceramic sculpture.

The exhibition hall presents particularly valuable exhibits (dishes, children's toys, tiles, decorative panels), a large collection of books about pottery.

The youngest visitors will like the unusual inhabitants of "Ceramland" - a territory where you can meet a giraffe that eats clouds, a flock of cheerful ducklings, a baby mammoth and a dog-bench, a wind blower and surprised fish.

All visitors to the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery receive a whistle as a gift. By prior arrangement, it is possible to meet a master who will demonstrate the art of working on a potter's wheel. The museum cafe "Horniatko" and a souvenir shop operate on the territory.

The National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery includes:
- Krychevsky Art Family Museum;
- Poshyvailo Potter's Family Memorial Museum-Estate;
- Oleksandra Seliuchenko Memorial Museum-Estate;
- Mykola Poshivailo Memorial Museum-Estate;
- Vasyl Omelianenko Memorial Museum-Estate;
- Leonid Smorzh Memorial Museum-Estate (Miski Mlyny village);
- Honcharia Ethnovillage (Mali Budyshcha village).

The Poltava Literary and Memorial Museum of Panas Myrny is located on the outskirts of Poltava, at the end of the former Tretya Kobyshchanska Street.

It was here in 1903 that the writer bought a small one-story house, where he lived for the last 17 years of his life. He was visited by Lesya Ukrayinka and Olena Pchilka, Mykhaylo Kotsyubynsky and Vasyl Stefanyk, Mariya Zankovetska and Mykola Lysenko.

In 1940, a museum was opened in the estate. More than 150 manuscripts of Panas Myrny and his brother Ivan Bilyk, about 1,000 personal belongings of the writer's family, books, documents and photographs are collected in seven rooms. The writer's son Mykhaylo Rudchenko managed the museum for over 20 years.

In 1951, a monument to Panas Myrny was erected in the yard of the manor - a bronze bust of the writer on a labradorite pedestal.

In 1989, a literary exposition was opened in the new premises.

Poltava Museum of Local Lore after Vasyl Krychevsky is located in the former building of the present places of the provincial zemstvo.

The building of the provincial zemstvo was built by the architect Vasyl Krychevsky in the Art Nouveau style with elements of the Ukrainian folk style (this fact caused dissatisfaction of Emperor Mykola II). The interior painting was made by prominent artists Serhiy Vasylkivsky and Mykola Samokysh. The facade is decorated with coats of arms of county towns of the province.

The foundation of the exposition of the local history museum in Poltava was laid in 1891 by the scientist Viktor Dokuchayev. Today there are more than 300,000 exhibits in 40 museum halls and vaults. Among the rarities - the ancient Egyptian collection, works of ancient and oriental art, Cossack relics.

The Poltava Local Lore Museum after Vasyl Krychevsky is temporarily closed for restoration.

The Poshyvailo Potter's Family Memorial Museum-Estate is dedicated to representatives of one of the oldest pottery dynasties of Opishnia.

A collection of pottery by masters of the Poshyvailo dynasty and works of other types of folk art are presented.

During the tour, guests are introduced to the history of the creation of the manor museum, the interiors of the house, and family photos.

The Memorial Manor-Museum of the Poshyvailo Family in Opishnia is a subdivision of the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery.

The Saint Nicholas Church in Dykanka is the ancestral temple-tomb of the Kochubey family.

The church was built in 1794 by count Viktor Kochubey on the territory of the count's estate, on the site of the old wooden church of the 17th century. According to legend, there was a stump on this place, on which the icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker appeared. Before this image, the mother of Mykola Hohol prayed for the health of her future son, named the child in his honor.

When constructing the Nicholas Church, the architect Mykola Lviv used the style of Moravian rotunda churches. The internal volume is covered by a complex double dome system with petals of glass frames that open in the summer. When singers in choirs sing, it seems that the sound comes from heaven. Also a unique system of air heating and ventilation of premises.

The stained oak iconostasis and fragments of the original painting have been preserved. The belfry above the gate is made in the style characteristic of Catholic churches.

In the basement there is a crypt with original sarcophagi, in which several generations of Kochubeys rest.

In Soviet times, a museum of atheism was opened in the premises. Currently, the Nicholas Church is active and is used by the UOC community of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Nearby, there are 800-year-old Kochubey oaks, planted at the entrance to the former princely estate from the Poltava side.

The Savior and Transfiguration Church in Velyki Sorochyntsi is the temple-tomb of Hetman Danylo Apostol.

It was built in 1732 in the Ukrainian Baroque style popular on the Left Bank of Dnipro. According to one of the versions, the project of the temple was developed by the outstanding Ukrainian architect of the 18th century, Stepan Kovnir, the author of several buildings of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Klovsky Palace in Kyiv. It was built by local masons. Initially, the Sorochynskyi temple had nine baths, but after one of the fires, four baths had to be removed.

The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior is distinguished by the richness of the decoration of its facades. Its interior is decorated with a unique seven-tiered filigree carved linden iconostasis with dimensions of 17 by 20 meters and more than a hundred icons, crowned with a double-headed eagle.

In 1809, the future writer Mykola Hohol was baptized in the Transfiguration Church in Velyki Sorochyntsi.

Hetman Danylo Apostol, who died in 1734, is buried in the crypt under the church, as well as his wife Ulyana, his daughters and son, Myrhorod colonel Pavlo Apostol.

A monument to Danylo Apostol is located next to the Savior and Transfiguration Church.

The Savior Church (Spaska Church) is one of the oldest churches in Poltava, an example of traditional Ukrainian architecture.

The exact date of foundation is unknown. The first mentions of the Savior chapel of the Transfiguration Church are found in the 17th century. The official date of construction is considered to be 1705, when Savior chapel was rebuilt at the expense of Colonel Ivan Iskra as an independent wooden temple on the site of the burned-down Transfiguration Church.

According to legend, after the victory over the Swedes on the field of the Battle of Poltava, Peter I, who was resting in the house of Colonel Kelin next to the temple, offered a prayer of thanks for saving the city here.

In 1845, a stone tent was built over the church, and two years later a small stone belfry was erected. In 1849, a monument to the resting place of Peter I was erected nearby.

A monument to Taras Bulba, the hero of Mykola Hohol's work of the same name, was erected in Keleberda to mark the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth.

The bronze sculpture depicts the Zaporizhzhian chieftain Bulba sitting on a stone with a pipe in his mouth on a high rocky promontory and looking thoughtfully at the wide expanse of the Dnipro. A horse grazes next to him, and a Cossack cannon stands nearby.

The authors of the sculptural composition are artist Volodymyr Chepelyk and his son, sculptor Oleksiy Chepelyk.

Nearby is the Transfiguration Church (2005) and a monument to the soldiers who died during the crossing of the Dnipro in 1943.

The Triumphal Arch in Dykanka is the village's business card, the only surviving civil structure of the Kochubey family estate.

The ceremonial entrance to the estate was decorated with a classic triumphal arch in honor of the arrival in Dykanka of Emperor Oleksandr I, whose close associate was Prince Viktor Kochubey.

Triumphal Arch was built by the architect Luyidzhi Ruska to commemorate the victory over Napoleon in 1812, it was decorated with copper bas-reliefs with battle scenes.

The Museum of Ukrainian Wedding was opened in 2008 in the House of Culture of the village of Velyki Budyshcha near Dykanka.

The exhibition presents wedding dresses of different times, household items, embroidered shirts and towels.

In addition to a tour of the museum, there is an offer to perform a Ukrainian wedding ceremony.