Attractions of Chernivtsi district

The Local Lore museum complex named after Ivan Topalo in Staryi Vovchynets is the largest peoples local history museum in the region.

The village museum was founded in 1957 by Ivan Topalo, a resident of Staryi Vovchynets, a local school history teacher.

For more than half a century of existence, the museum has collected a rich collection - more than 8,000 exhibits reflecting the nature and history of the village. In particular, the reconstruction of a Bukovyna hut of the first half of the 20th century, peasant tools, earthenware, samples of Bukovyna embroidery are presented.

Of particular interest is the rich collection of Bukovyna Easter eggs - more than 3,000 copies.

The beautiful building of the Chernivtsi Academic Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after Olha Kobylyanska was built according to the project of Viennese architects Ferdynand Felner and Herman Helmer.

The facade is decorated with sculptural compositions based on ancient Greek mythology, and marble busts of outstanding figures of world and Ukrainian culture are installed in the side niches. Above is a statue of Melpomene. The interiors are made in a neobaric style.

The grand opening of the theater took place on October 3, 1905 with a performance of Frants Shontan's play "Mariya Tereziya". Since then, operas, operettas, dramatic and comedic performances of Ukrainian and Western European classics have been demonstrated on the stage. Great masters of the European opera and drama scene performed here: Enriko Karuzo, Fedir Shalyapin, Solomiya Krushelnytska, Oleksandr Moissi and many others.

The Natural History Museum of the Yuriy Fedkovych National University of Chernivtsi was established in 2012 on the basis of the collections of zoological and geological-geographical museums of the university, which began to be collected in 1876.

The unique exhibits include 19,000 specimens of animals, most of which are of historical value. In particular, a collection of tropical butterflies collected during expeditions of the late XIX - early XX centuries. Also on display is a 27-meter blue whale skeleton, a New Zealand gutter, a helmet-bearing cassowary, an African ostrich skeleton, a bison, a gray lizard, a Bukovynian blind, an Aesculapian snake, a protopterus, and more.

Collections of minerals and petrographic specimens are collected from regions around the globe, and some of extraterrestrial origin, there are many unique specimens and nuggets.

An amazing Orthodox church in terms of architecture, outwardly reminiscent of romantic castles.

The residents of the village of Toporivtsi received permission to build a new Saint Illya Church from Emperor Frants-Yosyf in 1911, when the old Saint Illya Church ceased to accommodate all parishioners.

It was built in 1914 under the direction of German and Czech architects in traditional Romanian architectural forms. A clock is installed on one of the towers.

Currently, the New Saint Illya Church belongs to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The museum complex of Old Believers in Bila Krynytsia was opened in 2011.

The exhibition, located on the second floor of the wooden cottage, includes household items of Bukovyna Old Believers, traditional clothes of different times, old photos with views of the village, books and magazines about Old Believers.

The complex also includes living rooms where the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Old Believer Church stays during his visits to the Bila Krynytsia, a refectory kitchen.

The Olha Kobylyanska Literary Memorial Museum in Chernivtsi was opened in the house where the writer lived for more than 10 years.

The exposition is located in five halls. Three of them reveal Kobylyanska's life and creative path, and two of them recreate the situation that existed during her life (study and bedroom).

The cozy historical street of Olha Kobylyanska in the center of Chernivtsi is the main city promenade – a walking area for citizens and tourists.

The street originated in the middle of the 18th century as a road from Chernivtsi to the village of Molodiya, but its main construction dates back to the 19th century, when it was named Panska. In those days, the street was considered one of the most prestigious in the city, which fully justified its name. State institutions, commercial banks, expensive restaurants and residences of wealthy citizens were located here.

In 1940, the Soviet authorities renamed the street in honor of the prominent Bukovyna writer Olha Kobylyanska.

By the 600th anniversary of the city, which Chernivtsi celebrated in 2008, many old buildings were restored, the street took on a modern European look. The houses here have mainly two to four floors. They are built in the styles of classicism, modernism and eclecticism. Shops, cafes and restaurants are located on the first floors.

The authentic cobbled paving has been preserved on the street. Globular maples are planted along it and benches are installed. Popular photo locations are the wrought-iron carriage, the sculpture "The Janitor with Roses" and the "Monument to the Unknown Corruptor".

Every Saturday with the first dusk, the theatrical event "The Light of Panska Street" is held, during which lanternists light the first lantern.

The estate house with a park at the entrance to Storozhynets from the Berehomet side was founded in the 19th century by representatives of the influential Flonder family, who owned half of the town at the time.

In 1880, they built a two-story palace with a balcony on the second floor, a red tile roof, and a watchtower.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Flonders sold the estate to the Jewish landowner and philanthropist Mikhael Orenshtayn, who in 1912 laid out the 17.5-hectare Storozhynets Arboretum.

The park has collected almost 1,000 species of trees and shrubs from around the world, most of which are exotic. On the territory of the Storozhynets Arboretum, there are two ponds, a botanical site, a 5-hectare nursery, an artificially reproduced Carpathian landscape and open enclosures with roe deer, peacocks, pheasants, guinea fowls and wild ducks.

Since 1945, the Storozhynets Forestry College has been operating on the basis of the Arboretum.

The room-museum of the singer Orest Rusnak was opened in Dubivtsi in 1995 in the village school building next to the Assumption Church.

The singer's father Manoliy served as a priest in this church, and he himself sang in the church choir as a child together with his brother Denys Rusnak, who later became a conductor. Orest Rusnak became famous as an outstanding tenor, the "Ukrainian Caruso".

The museum mainly presents photographs and newspaper clippings. Of the three museum stands, one is dedicated to Orest Rusnak, the second to Denis Rusnak, and the third to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Orest Rusnak's birth.

The palace in the romantic style was built in the village of Vikno in 1809 by the Austrian Baron de Zotte, who owned the village.

A massive two-story building with columns and a 17-meter-high crenellated tower resembles medieval European castles.

Around the palace there is a park with the Alley of Lovers (28 species of rare trees).

Since Soviet times, a children's music school has been located here, and a library is located in the tower. Partial restoration has been carried out.

The former Palace of Justice in Chernivtsi now serves as the premises of the regional government - the Chernivtsi Regional Council and the regional state administration.

The pompous building was built in 1904-1906 according to the project of the architect Frants Skovron. The walls are lined with colored bricks with ceramic inserts. The main facade is decorated with sculptures of Themis, the goddess of justice, and Nemesis, the goddess of retribution.

The main entrance is guarded by two lions, for which the Palace of Justice was nicknamed the "House with Lions".

The only pharmacy in Chernivtsi, which has been operating continuously for over 100 years, is located on the ground floor of a solid building on the historic Olhy Kobylyanskoyi Street.

The building was built in the early twentieth century in the style of neoclassicism by order of the Shymonovych family.

The pharmacy was opened in 2003 as a museum. Ancient interiors have been preserved, furniture has been restored, various exhibits have been collected - pharmacy equipment and utensils.

The Society for the Development of Musical Culture in Bukovyna was established in 1862, and 15 years later a building with a concert hall was built specifically for it.

The project was developed by the city architect Emil fon Rehius, the construction was supervised by the imperial-royal construction advisor Aloyiz Bulirts. The painting of the hall was done by the famous Viennese artist Karl Yobst, who at that time painted the residence of the Bukovyna metropolitans.

In 1940, the Chernivtsi Regional Philharmonic was founded in this building. The composition of the Philharmonic named after Dmytro Hnatyuk currently includes: academic chamber orchestra, academic symphony orchestra, academic chamber choir, concert group of soloists "Music Enlightenment", duet "Pysanka", folk music ensemble "Play", folk-rock band and children's vocal studio "Fairytale world".

In 2020, the Philharmonic building was equipped for people with disabilities.

The hall of organ and chamber music of the Philharmonic is located separately, in the premises of the Armenian Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

"The Colonel's House" is one of the first stone residential buildings in Chernivtsi. Built in 1782, it was named after its first resident.

At the end of the 19th century, an officer's casino was located here. In the Romanian period, the building was called the "Officer's Club". During the Soviet era, the premises were used by the "House of Political Enlightenment".

Since 1983, the Chernivtsi Regional Academic Puppet Theater has been located here. During its existence, the theater performed more than 100 performances. The performances "Buka", "How the fox tricked the bear", "Baby elephant" are considered the best.

The one-story building of the Novoselytsia railway station was built in 1905.

It was from here in 1915 that the American writer-publicist John Reed began his famous journey through the Russian Empire, described by him in the book "War in Eastern Europe".