Attractions of Kyiv region

The "Oleksandriya" State Dendrological Park of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was established in Bila Tserkva in 1793 by the crown hetman Frantsishek Ksaveriy Branytskyi and named after his wife Oleksandra.

Park was considered one of the best in Europe. The plan was developed by the French park developer Muffo. The park ''Oleksandriya" covers more than 200 hectares, has 25 reservoirs, and has 2,500 species of plants, including those from South America, China, and Japan: red oak, tulip tree, Kobus magnolia, Japanese rhododendron, and others.

The basis for planning the arboretum is the Great Lawn, from which a network of alleys, decorated with park architecture and sculptures, runs for 20 kilometers: "Romantic Ruins", "Chinese Bridge", "Lion" spring and others. The "Echo" colonnade has unique acoustics: a word spoken in a whisper at one end of the colonnade is heard at the opposite end. According to legend, Prince Potemkin-Tavriyskyi is buried under the Rotunda.

The summer palace of the Branytskys was destroyed during the Soviet period, but the "Ball Pavilion" has already been restored in its original form.

In the garden "Wall" (year 1816) with an area of 3.5 hectares, surrounded by a stone wall 3 meters high, more than 300 varieties of fruit and berry crops from all continents of the world are grown (tours with tastings are held).

The highest point of the park "Oleksandriya" is Paliy Hill, on which a monument to Semen Paliy is erected.

The building of the "Economic Yard" now houses the directorate and Living Nature, Flora and Fauna Museum of the Park "Oleksandriya", which features marble park sculptures. You can buy seedlings here.

The National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" (NTUU KPI) is one of the oldest and largest technical universities in the world.

At the time of creation, it consisted of 4 departments. The first buildings were built according to the project of the architect Hieronim Kitner. Dmytro Mendeleev was the first chairman of the examination commission. Currently, the university has more than 30 faculties and institutes, and more than 40,000 students study at the same time.

Building No. 6 houses the State Polytechnic Museum named after Borys Paton - the only institution in Ukraine that presents the history of the formation of the main branches of domestic technology and Ukraine's contribution to the history of the development of technology in the world. 13 sections are located in 9 halls, the collection includes more than 10,000 exhibits, of which 3,000 are on permanent display.

In 2008, the History of Aviation and Cosmonautics named after Ihor Sikorskyi department of the museum opened in the restored premises of the former aviation and automobile workshops. In the "Aviation" section, the main emphasis is on the history of the birth of this industry in Ukraine. The basis of the section "Cosmonautics" is the collection of the museum of veterans of the Baikonur cosmodrome. A monument to Ihor Sikorskyi was erected.

In 2012, in the university park in front of Building No. 1 of KPI, the sculpture "Steps of Knowledge" was installed - a seven-meter stack of books topped with an academic cap.

The Literary Memorial House-Museum of Taras Shevchenko sheds light on the Kyiv period of the poet's life.

It is located in the house of the official Ivan Zhytnytskyi, built in Kyiv in 1835 on the former Goat Swamp (now Maidan Nezalezhnosti). The poet lived here from the spring of 1846 until his arrest on April 5, 1847.

The Kobzar Museum was created in 1928, now it is a branch of the Taras Shevchenko National Museum. The fund collection consists of unique values: memorial items of Shevchenko, his etchings, autographs, photographs, the first works of the poet.

Mykhaylo Sazhyn's watercolors, unique engravings of Kyiv landscapes, 19th century photos, works of outstanding artists on the Shevchenko theme, works of decorative and applied art are presented.

According to the memories of contemporaries, the room in which Shevchenko lived has been recreated. Special attention is drawn to the poet's desk, where unique exhibits are presented: a pen, a quill, an inkwell, a coffee pot, Taras Shevchenko's flask, a pipe given to the poet by Mykola Kostomarov.

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 Pereyaslav, 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 of "Testament".

The Trypillia Ethno-Historical Complex is located in a picturesque place above the Dnipro Bay in the village of Trypillia in the Kyiv region, opposite Divych Hill. This is a private museum and entertainment institution of a modern format, which in an interactive form introduces the history and culture of Ukraine from the earliest times.

Back in 2006, the famous collector Oleksandr Polishchuk together with the architect Volodymyr Lazorenko, the artist Anatoliy Haydamaka and the historian-fiction writer Yuriy Shylov opened the private historical and archaeological museum "Ancient Aratta-Ukraine" at this place. The basis of his exposition was Polishchuk's personal collection of household items of Trypillia culture.

After a long break, the museum reopened in 2023 in a new format. The exposition on three floors introduces the archaeological findings on the territory of Kyiv region and the intangible cultural heritage of the region.

On the first floor of the museum, you can visit the Ukrainian room and the handmade hall, where ancient looms, spindles, as well as a large collection of ancient embroidered shirts, towels, and carpets are presented. Fossils of the first living organisms and animals that were found on the territory of Ukraine are exhibited in the hall of the Ediacaran period. The exhibition of Cucuteni-Trypillia culture presents ceramics of the Trypillia type (mostly passportless and unattributed). The exhibition hall is currently exhibiting the Motanka dolls of the craftswoman Yuliya Petrenko.

The Residence-Museum of Saint Nicholas opens in a separate building in winter. There is a cafe with a fireplace in the Ukrainian style, where children's master classes, tea ceremonies, themed events are held, lunches are offered to the order of tourist groups. In addition to regular excursions, the museum conducts quests. The souvenir shop sells handmade products.

With the beginning of the full-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Trypillia ethno-historical complex found itself at the epicenter of enemy hostilities due to its proximity to strategic objects (in particular, the Trypillia TPP). The museum building repeatedly suffered from blast waves during massive Russian missile attacks on nearby energy infrastructure. The museum suffered the greatest damage in the spring of 2024 after a critical strike on the Trypillia TPP. The blast wave damaged the roof, broke out windows, and caused cracks in the facade, which is decorated with unique Trypilly paintings. Despite the damage to the building itself, the main valuable artifacts were preserved. The administration and volunteers made efforts to preserve the damaged areas so that precipitation would not destroy the interior interiors and remains of ceramics.

"Museum on Wheels" is the Museum-Wagon of Union of the UNR with ZUNR, located at the "Fastiv" railway station together with the ancient steam locomotive.

In a similar staff car of the UNR Directory, negotiations took place at the end of 1918 between the leaders of the Ukrainian People's Republic, Volodymyr Vynnychenko and Symon Petlyura, on the one hand, and a delegation of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic, led by Kost Levytsky and Lonhyn Tsehelsky.

It was here on December 1, 1918 "pre-entry" agreement on the intention to unite the population and territories of the UNR and ZUNR into a single state. The Act of Unification was solemnly proclaimed a month and a half later, on January 19, 1919, on Sophia Square in Kyiv.

The exposition of the "Museum on Wheels" presents documents and photographs that tell about these events, money and postage stamps of those times. The interior and atmosphere of Petlyura's staff car were recreated.

You can visit the museum only by prior arrangement. Every year on the Day of Reunification, ceremonial events are held near the museum in Fastiv.

The museum wagon stands directly next to the railway tracks of the Fastiv-1 station. Since railway junctions are priority targets for hostile Russian attacks, the museum is constantly in a high-risk zone. Fortunately, as of today, the Union Museum Wagon in Fastiv has not suffered direct physical damage as a result of hostilities or missile strikes. Due to the threat of shelling and proximity to a strategic facility, access to the wagon may be restricted during air raids or during periods of heightened regional tensions.

The memorial museum of the famous academician, outstanding architect, founder of the Ukrainian Academy of Architecture, Volodymyr Zabolotny, is located in Pereyaslav in a house 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 Water Information Center "Water Museum" was organized in Kyiv in 2003 in the premises of ancient water towers and reservoirs on a hill in the City Garden (formerly the Tsar's Garden).

The exposition of the Water Museum acquaints visitors with the nature of the water cycle, water intake technology, water supply and sewerage. You can take a trip along the sewer to the treatment facilities of the Bortnychy aeration station, observe the melting of glaciers, the formation of rain and the eruption of the geyser.

For children, the Water Museum offers the opportunity to change the riverbed, play with soap bubbles, test the power of a water pump, and touch live fish.

The Private Local Lore Museum "Zinchenko Manor" was opened in 2021 by the family of Viktor and Lyubov Zinchenko in their native village of Derevyana near Obukhiv. Initially, it was called "Kutok Museum" (Kutok is the part of the village where the museum is located).

The ethnographic exposition is located in the restored country house of Viktor Zinchenko's parents, built in 1934. The interior preserves the atmosphere of a traditional Ukrainian hut of the first half of the 20th century.

A traditional stove painted by a local folk artist occupies a prominent place in the house. Ceramic and wooden dishes are displayed on the bowls. Ancient paintings, icons, and photographs hang on the walls. A large collection of embroidered towels and embroidered towels is presented (some of them are embroidered by the hostess herself). Household items are exhibited in the halls: kerosene lamps, irons, nightstands, scythes, etc.

In winter, the Residence of Saint Nicholas operates on the basis of the "Zinchenko Manor".

Church of Saints Borys and Hlib in Pereyaslav was built in the early XIX century on the site where in 1015 by order of Svyatopolk Okayannyi was killed Prince Borys, son of Volodymyr the Baptist, who became one of the first Rus saints.

The first shrine at the confluence of the Alta and Trubizh was erected by the will of Prince Volodymyr Monomakh. In 1125, according to the chronicles, Monomakh died "near his favorite church built on the Alta, seventy-two years from birth." After some time Borys and Hlib Church was destroyed by the Polovtsians, but in 1806-1839 it was rebuilt in the style of classicism.

The Church of Saints Borys and Hlib in Pereyaslav is an architectural monument of national importance. The main shrine is a stone cross that pours myrrh, made in 1664 by the folk craftsman Kharko Bespaly. In fact, the Saints Borys and Hlib Church was built around it. The anointing of the cross began in the 1980s.

To mark the 1000th anniversary of the deaths of Saints Borys and Hlib, an eight-meter wooden cross has been erected on the church grounds.

The historical and local lore museum "Parent's House" was created in 2016 at the Maslivka Agrarian Vocational College named after Prokip Harkavyi.

The main exposition tells about the stages of creation and development of the educational institution since 1920. Historical documents, old photos, awards, items of clothing, fragments of weapons from the Second World War are presented here.

Other chapters are devoted to the nature of Kyiv region, the ancient agrarian culture of Ukrainians, the history of the village of Maslivka from the the Cossacks time, agricultural technologies of different eras, life and lifestyle of the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, and the peculiarities of traditional Ukrainian cuisine. Ancient embroidery, embroidered towels, handkerchiefs, artistic and decorative products, household items, work tools are exhibited.

The Maslivka Agrarian Institution History Museum "Parent's House" organizes tours and art events.

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.

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 Yefrem Pechersky, 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 Taras Shevchenko National Museum in Kyiv is the leading center of Shevchenko studies and the richest treasury of works by the most famous artist of Ukraine.

Here is the largest collection in Ukraine of his paintings and graphics, as well as manuscripts of his poetry, rare photographs of the poet and his friends, the first editions of Shevchenko's works with his autographs, personal belongings of Kobzar. In total - 4 thousand exhibits in 24 halls.

The main museum exhibits are the originals of Shevchenko's most famous paintings: "Odaliska", "Kateryna", "Mariya", "Gypsy fortune teller", a portrait of Anna Zakrevska, several self-portraits. Also of great interest to visitors is the portrait of the poet Vasily Zhukovskyi by Karl Bryullov, which was drawn in a lottery to buy Taras from the serfs.

The exposition of the National Museum of Shevchenko is located in a mansion of the XIX century, which once belonged to the patron and businessman Mykola Tereshchenko. After the reconstruction in 2014, the interior of the museum turned into a modern cultural and artistic center, where interactive exhibitions, children's and educational programs are practiced.

The Shevchenko National Museum also includes the Shevchenko Literary Memorial House-Museum and the Memorial Museum "House at Priorka", which were opened in burgher houses where the poet lived in 1859 during a visit to Kyiv.

Palace and park complex in Yahotyn, on the shores of Lake Supiy, founded by Hetman of Ukraine Kyrylo Rozumovskyi in the XVIII century, expanded and arranged by his son Andriy Rozumovskyi.

The granddaughter of Hetman Varvara Ryepnina-Volkonska received Yevhen Hrebinka, Mykola Hohol, and Taras Shevchenko here. Preserved homesteads became part of the Yahotyn State Historical Museum.

In the outbuilding where Shevchenko lived in 1843, the interiors were restored and a museum was established. Personal belongings of Shevchenko and Ryepnins, paintings about Shevchenko's stay in Yahotyn, as well as a painting by an unknown Italian artist "Blind with a boy" from the personal collection of the Ryepnins. In the park - Shevchenko's favorite gazebo.

An art gallery is located in the preserved part of the palace. Works by Mykola Hlushchenko, Tetyana Yablonska, Serhiy Shyshko and others are presented. The pearl of the collection is the most complete collection of paintings by folk artist Kateryna Bilokur - more than 70 works: paintings, watercolors, graphics, sketches, sketches, sketches, early and unfinished works.

Monuments to Mykola Hohol, Kateryna Bilokur, and Sviatoslav Richter have been erected in front of the building.