Attractions of Opishnia

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 house of Krychevsky-Lebishchak in Opishnia is the premises of the former Opishnia Pottery Demonstration Point of the Poltava Provincial Zemstvo (Zemsky Pottery School).

It was built in 1916 in the style of Ukrainian Art Nouveau according to the project of the outstanding architect and painter Vasyl Krychevskyi, the author of the Ukrainian Trident, with the participation of Yuriy Lebishchak, an instructor of pottery production, technologist-ceramist from Galicia.

For many years, the Krychevsky-Lebischak House was the center of pottery life in Opishnia. In 1925, the Opishnia Ceramics Industrial School was opened here, in 1929, the "Art Ceramics" potter's workshop was formed, then the Opishnia School of Art Ceramics Masters, then shop No. 1 of the Opishnia Factory "Art Ceramics" operated.

Since 1986, the building has been owned by the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery in Opishnia. The Wall of Pottery Glory of Ukraine and the Krychevsky Art Family Museum are open. There are exhibitions: "Pottery Visions of the Country", "Modern Ceramics of Ukraine, "Ceramics of the Opishnia Art Nouveau", etc. An exhibition of the works of the Krychevsky family has been opened.

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 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.

The memorial house-museum of the world-famous potter Oleksandra Seliuchenko in Opishnia tells about the life and creative path of the honored master of folk art of Ukraine, one of the most outstanding masters of traditional clay zoo- and anthropomorphic sculpture of small forms.

She was born in 1921 in a family of simple potters and lived all her life in Opishnia, only once leaving her native village for a while. Oleksandra Seliuchenko is considered an unsurpassed master of traditional Ukrainian clay toys.

In the museum, you can familiarize yourself with her works and the technology of making clay products at home.

An old potter's kiln used by a ceramist has been preserved in the courtyard of the manor.

The memorial museum-estate of the famous potter Oleksandra Seliuchenko in Opishna is a subdivision of the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery.

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 Memorial Museum-Estate of Potter Vasyl Omelianenko was founded in 2025 in the Opishnia house, where he lived, worked and dreamed of creating a museum of his own pottery. All his working tools and devices, household items, and household items are preserved intact here.

Vasyl Omelianenko (1925-2021) was born and lived all his life in Opishnia. He was not a hereditary potter and did not have a professional education, but he mastered the technique of making clay toys on his own and mastered the basic techniques of working on a potter's wheel. From an amateur potter, he grew to an Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine, laureate of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine, member of the National Union of Masters of Folk Art of Ukraine and the National Union of Artists of Ukraine. His works became the hallmark of Opishnia pottery and glorified Ukrainian folk art in the world.

An exhibition using multimedia technologies has been created in the Vasyl Omelianenko Museum-Estate, which presents traditional Opishnia clay zoomorphic dishes and sculptures of the artist. There is a wide array of written and audiovisual ceramological sources about his life and work: documents, publications, photographs, videos, etc. The personal belongings of the master have become part of the exhibition.

The Memorial Museum-Estate of the Potter Vasyl Omelianenko is part of the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Potteryin Opishnia.