Kyiv celebrated its 1530th birthday last year with, among others, the re-appearance of the city’s history museum following nine years of displacement.
It opened last summer and has since hosted a permanent exhibition, which covers events dating to the Kyivan Rus period up to modern times that took place in the city, as well as the historic figures that drove them.
Kyiv’s history museum dates to 1978 when it was established inside the Klovsky Palace, an 18th-century building located in the heart of the city. It was once one of Kyiv’s top landmarks.
But it was closed in 2003 to make way for the Supreme Court, following a government resolution and all the showpieces were locked up in Ukrainsky Dim (Ukrainian House), the capital’s exhibition center.
Nine years later it found a new home inside a modern four-storey building near the capital’s main avenue Khreshchatyk.
“The museum has come back to life,” says Liudmyla Moroz, the deputy head of scientific and cultural activities. “It’s great we’ve got a building in the city center.”
The place has already become popular with tourists and locals alike. According to Moroz, more than 20,000 people have visited the museum since it opened in August, and the same number of visitors attended various temporary exhibitions.
The museum’s main exhibition, called Kyiv and Kyivans, occupies 1,400 square meters and is housed on two floors. It is conveniently divided into eras, with the Kyivan Rus, Soviet and modern period comprising the bulk.
Apart from clothing, pottery and some everyday items used by ancient residents of Kyivan Rus, a rare collection of silver coins made in the 10th century under Volodymyr the Great and ancient military outfits are on display in the museum. The gilded statue of Saint Archangel Michael which decorated the building of the Kyiv magistrate in the 18th century is another gem of the museum’s collection. So is the prayer book printed in 16th century by Ivan Fedorov known as the first Ukrainian printer.
The modern section features awards showing Ukraine’s latest achievements in sports and in other fields, while the Soviet period displays a collection of clothing, musical instruments, photo cameras and paintings. It also includes documents showing the role of political leaders, scientists and artists of that period for the history of Kyiv and Ukraine in general.
“I really like this museum. It is like a record of Kyiv history from ancient to modern times,” said Ian Lo, a student from Singapore who came to the museum with a group of friends on the day the Kyiv Post visited it.
The museum offers guided tours in English, French, Ukrainian and Russian. Moreover, it is equipped with plasma screens and other multimedia technology providing additional visual and audio information for visitors.
“There is no museum in Kyiv with such a huge amount of plasma screens,” says Moroz. “Some showpieces that didn’t make it into the exhibition are shown on the screens, she adds.
However, even ultramodern equipment and a new building in the city center are not enough for the museum to operate effectively and house its entire collection, which includes more than 200,000 showpieces.
“A pale part of the museum’s collection is on display here. The museum holdings are still housed in Ukrainsky Dim,” Moroz says. “The city administration has promised to give us the other (roomier) building but we don’t know when it’s going to happen.”
Kyiv History Museum and Exhibition Center
7 Bohdana Khmelnytskogo St.
(044) 520-28-26
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Monday)
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Tuesday-Thursday)
10 a.m. – 8 p.m. (Friday, weekend)
Hr 30, Hr 15 for kids, students
Hr 50-100 (guided tour for a group)
Hr 120 (guided tour for a group of 20), Hr 150 for a group of 30
For reservations call (044) 223-98-92
The first Monday of the month is free of charge
The building also holds numerous arts and crafts master classes, and currently displays a large collection of traditional New Year decorations.
For more info visit www.facebook.com/museyhistory
Kyiv Post staff writer Anastasia Forina can be reached at [email protected]
