Attractions of Kyiv region

The Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of the Middle Dnipro Region is the first and one of the largest open-air museums in Ukraine. It was founded in 1964 on the initiative of historian and ethnographer Mykhaнlo Sikorskyш. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

The building of the museum imitates the planning of a classic Ukrainian village with a square in the middle. There are about 300 exhibits in the picturesque park area of 25 hectares on the outskirts of Pereyaslav. Almost half of them are authentic wooden temples, peasant houses and windmills of the XVII-XIX centuries, transported here from different parts of the region. 20 peasant yards with residential and farm buildings represent the life of representatives of various professions and segments of the population of Middle Dnipro Region - from the house of a poor peasant to the hunting lodge of Count Horchakov. The interiors feature more than 20,000 exhibits: works of folk artists, tools, household items, archaeological materials, documents, photographs.

Among the most valuable architectural monuments: the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin (early XVII century) and the bell tower (mid-XVIII century) from the Right Bank Kyiv region; the Church of Saint George (mid-18th century) from the Pereyaslav region, immortalized by Taras Shevchenko in the sepia "Andrusha"; forest border - a house of forest protection (late XIX century) from Kyiv Polissya; inn (early XIX century.) from the city of Pereyaslav.

There are 13 thematic museums in some monuments and exposition pavilions: Museum of the History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts of the Kyiv Region, Museum of Ukrainian Rites, Museum of the Ukrainian Towel, Museum of the History of Forestry in the Middle Dnipro Region, Museum of the History of Beekeeping in the Middle Dnipro Region, Museum of Bread, Museum of the Post Station, Museum of the History of Folk Land Transport in the Dnipro Region, Museum of space, Mykola Benardos Museum, Sholom Aleichem Classics of Jewish Literature Museum, the Polissya District Memorial Museum.

The archeological department exhibits reconstructions of dwellings of the Late Paleolithic, Chernyakhiv culture, Ancient Kyiv, Cossack era, as well as lapidary with stone stelae and burial structures of different epochs.

The decoration of the museum is the natural landscape of the Tatar mountain, with skillfully inscribed in it artificial ponds, streets, courtyards, gardens, orchards and pastures, which give it vitality and special comfort.

The Geological Museum of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is located in the premises of the Institute of Geology of KNU.

The museum was founded in 1834 as the Mineralogical Office of the Department of Mineralogy and Geognosy of the University of Saint Volodymyr. The materials of the liquidated Volyn Lyceum, Lutsk Gymnasium and Vilnius University became the initial foundation for it. After the paleontological collection was added in 1997, the current Geological Museum was created.

The exposition is located on an area of 880 meters. The Geological Museum has departments of general geology and geological processes, history of the Earth and paleontology, mineralogy and petrography, geology and minerals of Ukraine.

The exposition of the museum demonstrates the position of the Earth in outer space, the peculiarities of its structure and development, the evolution of the organic world. About 10,000 samples of minerals, rocks, precious and decorative stones, fossilized remains of fauna and flora, among which many are unique, are exhibited.

The famous Kyiv "House with Chimeras" is one of the most extravagant creations of the architect Vladyslav Horodetskyi (he lived in this building until 1920).

The house is located on a steep cave slope, has three floors on one side, and six on the other. The facades are decorated with intricate sculptures on the themes of ancient myths and hunting, which served primarily as an advertisement for a new building material - cement. The legend attributes the gloomy sculptural subjects to the grief of Horodetskyi for his daughter who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.

In Soviet times, the building was a communal building, then a hospital of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Currently, it is a small residence for receptions of the President of Ukraine. Excursions are organized by the Kyiv History Museum. The Administration of the President of Ukraine is located opposite.

The Intercession Church in Fastiv is a masterpiece of Ukrainian wooden architecture in Central Ukraine.

It was built in 1740 on the site of the ancient temple, founded by the famous Fastiv colonel Semen Paliy. The three-log Intercession Church is distinguished by harmonious proportions and completeness of forms. An arcade gallery surrounds the temple along its perimeter.

In 1781, the temple bell tower was built. In Soviet times, a thorough restoration was carried out.

On June 23, 2022, the Intercession Church officially transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The palace in Baroque style was built in Klov (present-day Lypky), in the possessions of the Kyiv Pechersk Monastery, to house the honored guests of the Lavra.

The authors of the project were the German architect Yohan Schedel and the Ukrainian architect Pero Neelov, the construction was supervised by the self-taught serf architect Stepan Kovnir. In 1863, the third floor was completed. The interior was painted by Ukrainian artists in 1757.

Klovsky Palace was never destined to serve its purpose - representatives of the royal court who visited Kyiv did not stay here. The palace briefly housed the Lavra printing house, later a military hospital. Later, various educational institutions were located in it, and in Soviet times - museums.

In recent years, the building was completely restored, and it housed the Supreme Court of Ukraine. The walls and ceiling were decorated with sculptures of ancient Roman and ancient Greek gods of justice and fairness. The furniture is made according to the author's drawings in the style of the middle of the 18th century.

Excursions are planned.

The central square of the Lower City, on the site of which was the main market of ancient Kyiv.

In the 13th-18th centuries, Kontraktova Square was the administrative center of the city and the venue for the Contract Fairs, the Magistrate's building with the Voytova Tower was located here, with which the decisions of the city authorities were announced (it was built in 1714, burned down in 1812).

In the center of the square is the Guest House (1809-1811), where merchants who came to fairs stayed. Nearby is the "Samson" fountain (1754), which was part of the ancient water supply and attracted pilgrims with the legend of the healing properties of its water. The square also houses the Contract House (1815-1817), which served as a venue for concerts and balls.

The tall bell tower of the Greek Church of Saint Catherine (1741), restored in the 1970s, stands out. Its premises now belong to the National Bank.

The private landscape park for family recreation "Dobropark" opened in 2020 on the outskirts of the village of Motyzhyn near Kyiv.

This is one of the most modern dendrological parks of Ukraine, created by a well-known Ukrainian entrepreneur and public figure, head of the Folk Ukraine project, Ihor Dobrutskyi.

Seasonal flower plantations, creative flower photo zones, small architectural forms and a tourist service complex with a restaurant and food court are located on 300 hectares of man-made landscapes with hills and Lake Monet.

The "Dobropark" season traditionally opens at the end of April with an exposition of millions of colorful tulips. In the summer, a garden of petunias and begonias will open here, and later the "Lavender Paradise" with an area of ​​8 hectares will bloom.

Various festivals and fairs are held, planting material is sold. On the territory of "Dobropark" you can rent a cottage or a tent in a glamping - a comfortable camping site with terraces and a view of the lake.

The infrastructure of "Dobropark" was significantly damaged during hostilities in the spring of 2022 during the Russian-Ukrainian war, but the park continues to receive visitors.

Mariyinskyi Palace is one of the most beautiful palaces in Ukraine.

The imposing building in the Baroque style was built in 1750-1755 according to the project of the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli for the empress Yelyzaveta Petrivna, who personally chose the place for it. During the highest visits to Kyiv, members of the royal family stayed here, including Catherine II, who visited Kyiv in 1787. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the palace served as the residence of the governor-generals of the Kyiv province.

Currently, the Mariyinskyi Palace is the ceremonial residence of the President of Ukraine, where receptions at the highest level take place. Many decorated interiors in the style of classicism with baroque and renaissance elements, antique furniture, chandeliers, paintings by famous artists, and wall paintings have been preserved.

Initially, the main facade faced the City (Royal) Garden, laid out in 1748 by order of Empress Elizabeth. On the opposite side of the palace (the current front) is the broken Mariyinskyi Park, which bears the name of Empress Mariay Oleksandrivna. A scandalous high-rise building was erected on the territory of the park, which became the highest (above sea level) residential building in Kyiv.

The manor-museum of the writer Marko Vovchok is a branch of the Museum of the History of Bohulavshchyna.

Prominent Ukrainian writer Mariya Vilinska, who entered the literature under the pseudonym Marko Vovchok, lived in the Bohuslav region for almost 8 years (first in the city, and then in the house of Count Branytsky in neighboring Khokhitva). She came here with a man who was appointed forester. The story "Sly Khayimka" was written on Bohuslav motives.

The only museum in Ukraine, Marko Vovchok, was opened in half of the house where she lived. In the exposition - original things of the writer, embroidery, letters.

The most famous and most visited tourist object of Vytachiv is Mohyla Mountain, better known recently as Knyazhyi Shpyl (Prince's Spire) or Horodyshche. It is located in the south-eastern part of the village. This is one of the highest Dnipro cliffs (190 meters above sea level), which has become the hallmark of the village of Vytachiv thanks to stunning panoramas, modern legends and developed tourist infrastructure.

Data from archeological researches indicate that a 12th century barrow gravedigger is located at this place. Some local historians believe that it was at this place that the historic Vytychiv snem (congress of ancient Rus princes) took place, at which peace was concluded between Svyatopolk Izyaslavych, Volodymyr Monomakh, David and Oleh Svyatoslavych.

Mohyla Mountain does not have a protected status, although in some sources this place is mistakenly called the National Scientific and Cultural Reserve "Novhorod Svyatopolchyi Settlement" or "Vytych Settlement".

In 1991, Ukrainian writer and philosopher Oles Berdnyk laid the cornerstone of the future Church of Ukraine-Mother at this place during the Second Congress of the Ukrainian Spiritual Republic. Before the third congress held in Vytachiv the following year, a wooden windmill and a chapel designed by Taras Shevchenko were erected. The Berdnyk chapel appears in the film "Bohdan Zynoviy Khmelnytskyi" (2004). On the lower terrace of the mountain, the remains of the scenery of Orysya's hut from the film "The Guide" (2014) have been preserved.

The "Vytach" wood-fired craft bakery offers sourdough bread near the windmill. There is a car parking lot, places for rest with tables and barbecues, a public toilet. A stylized private estate also attracts attention.

More than 100 realistic figures of prominent figures of Ukrainian history are presented in the exposition of the innovative museum "Making of Ukrainian Nation" in Kyiv.

It is located on the territory of the National Museum of History of Ukraine in the Second World War, on the back of the pedestal of the Motherland.

During the two-hour tour, visitors will get acquainted with the centuries-old history of the Ukrainian nation and its protagonists: kings and hetmans, military and scientists, artists and athletes.

The exposition consists of 25 plot compositions that model various historical scenes or reproduce real events in the history of Ukraine in chronological order: prehistoric period from Trypillya culture to the early Slavs, Kyivan Rus (Princess Olha, Svyatoslav the Brave, Volodymyr the Great, Yaroslav the Wise), Cossack era (Prince Kostyantyn Ostrozky, Dmytro "Bayda" Vyshnevetsky, Petro Konashevych-Sahaydachny, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ivan Vyhovsky, Ivan Mazepa and Pylyp Orlyk), periods of nation revival (Hryhoriy Skovoroda, Taras Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrayinka, etc.), of Ukrainian Revolution (Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, Symon Petlyura, etc.), of liberation movements (Stepan Bandera, Andriy Melnyk, Roman Shukhevych), of modernity (Ihgor Sikorsky, Mykola Amosov, Vyacheslav Chornovil, Bohdan Stupka, etc.).

Each installation is accompanied by interactive audio and video content combined with special effects that immerse the viewer in the atmosphere of the era. Dioramas, multimedia stands, interactive screens, maps, holograms are presented. Media guides in eight languages are available to visitors. The installations are specially designed as photo locations. Separate stands are adapted for children. There are recreation areas, cafes, souvenir shop.

According to the project "Inclusive Travels in Ukraine: accessibility of museums of Ukraine", this innovation Museum with three-dimensional sculptures of figures in the history of Ukraine has a barrier-free exhibition space.

The Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts in Bohuslav is a department of the Museum of the History of the Bohuslav Region.

It is located in the oldest civil building in the city, which locals call "Kamyanytsya". This archaic massive two-storey building with external wooden stairs was erected in the XVIII century for the Jewish religious school. The thickness of its walls reaches 1.2 m, the building has deep basements.

During the Second World War, the Gestapo was located here, then the Museum of Komsomol Glory.

Now in the restored "Kamyanytsya" there is an exhibition of modern local decorative and applied art - the work of Dybynets potters and masters of artistic weaving. In particular, the longest woven towel in Ukraine with a length of almost 105 m, created in 2017 in honor of the 985th anniversary of the founding of Bohuslav, is on display.

To view the exhibit, visit the nearby Bohuslav History Museum.

The Museum of the History of the Bohuslav Region is considered to be one of the most creative historical museums in small towns of Ukraine.

It is located in a two-story building of the former ministerial school in 1907.

The exposition presents an interesting collection of archaeological finds of the Paleolithic era, household items of Scythians and ancient Slavs, ancient Rus jewelry, Cossack relics, photographs and documents of the Ukrainian Revolution.

The original is decorated with exhibition halls in the spirit of its time. First, visitors enter a cave of the Stone Age, then go from the Scythian burial to the wooden frame of Bohuslav Castle, then find themselves in the interiors of a village house and a burgher house, where the iron stairs fall into the era of industrialization.

The branches of the Museum of the History of the Bohuslav Region are the Museum of Modern Decorative and Applied Arts, the Ivan Soshenko Memorial Museum-Estate, and the Marko Vovchko Memorial Museum-Estate.

The National Botanical Garden named after Mykola Hryshko was established by the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on an area of 130 hectares in the territory of Zvirynets, where in ancient times one of the country princely residences was located, and in later times - one of the forts of the Kyiv fortress.

Landscape and botanical areas reflect the flora of different parts of Ukraine, the collection of plants includes more than 10,000 species. Exotic tropical and subtropical plants are presented in the Orangery complex.

The park is especially popular in the spring, during the flowering of lilacs (more than 200 species).

The Holy Trinity Ionine Monastery, located on the territory of the garden, was founded in 1864, until 1917 it was the largest monastery in Kyiv after the Lavra. It belongs to the 11th-century Zvyrinets cave hermitage (Lomakivska Street, 22).

The constructivist building of the National Center "Ukrainian House" appeared at the foot of Volodymyrska Hill in the center of Kyiv in 1982.

The building was intended to house the Kyiv branch of the Central Lenin Museum, which occupied these premises from 1982 to 1993. In 1993, the exposition of the former museum was dismantled, and the building was handed over to the newly created center "Ukrainian House".

From 2004 to 2012, the exhibition of the Kyiv History Museum was temporarily housed here, which was "evicted" from the Klovsky Palace, and now occupies a new building on Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street.

Currently, the National Center "Ukrainian House" provides services for the organization of summits, symposia, congresses, congresses, conferences, presentations, scientific-technical and trade-industrial specialized and international exhibitions, business forums, literary and artistic promotions, concerts, screenings films, corporate parties, balls, art exhibitions, openings. He is a permanent partner of the Kyiv ethnic music festival "Folk Virtuosi" and in December 2019 started his own holiday festival "DoDomu for Christmas", which the organizers plan to make an annual event.