Kyiv’s art gallery scene has been blooming over the last several years. Less known, however, are museums that give tourists and newcomers a sense of Ukraine’s vast and vibrant history.
The capital’s museums exhibit all kinds of artifacts exploring Ukraine’s long history from ancient times up to the present.
The Kyiv Post has picked out some of the best historical museums to visit in Kyiv. They all provide English translation of the exhibited artifacts’ descriptions.
Historical Treasures
This museum offers a rare collection of archaeological research findings. An affiliate of the National Museum of History of Ukraine, it is part of the museum complex located on the territory of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery.
The Museum of Historical Treasures displays a number of precious items including jewelry, weapons, outfits and ritual items that belonged to nomadic tribes like the Cimmerians, Scythians and Sarmatians that mostly lived on the territory of today’s Ukraine in the B.C. era. One of the most famous artifacts that the museum possesses is the gold pectoral, a detailed necklace worn by Scythian kings. Found in Ukraine in 1971, the pectoral dates back to the 4th century B.C.
Apart from that, the museum exhibits the treasures of nomadic pastoral tribes that lived on the Ukrainian lands in the 3rd‑13th centuries and of the Golden Horde, which ruled in Ukraine until the 15th century. There is also a number of relics from the Kyivan Rus period such as fancy jewelry and weapons.
Museum of Historical Treasures. 9 Lavrska St. Tue-Sun. 10 a. m. — 4:45 p. m. Closed on the last Friday of every month. Hr 30 for adults. Tour in English for a group of one to three — Hr 500, for three and more — Hr 150 per person
Pyrohovo
A major part of Ukrainian history was village life, which has been charmingly depicted in literature and films. Pyrohovo, or the National Museum of National Architecture and Daily Life, is located in the Kyiv suburbs. It gives visitors a chance to experience Ukrainian peasant life in the 16th‑20th centuries. The 150-hectare outdoor museum exhibits around 300 architectural objects, including houses where villagers used to live, churches, windmills and much more. The exhibits were brought to Kyiv from all over Ukraine in 1969–1976, before the museum opened. They represent seven ethnocultural regions of Ukraine.
Visitors can not only view the houses from the outside, but also enter and examine the interiors. The houses are fully furnished with tables, shelves, various household items and even embroidered towels, offering an understanding of what everyday life was like for peasants and what traditions they followed. The outdoor museum is especially appealing in spring and summer and during the traditional festivities held on its territory. Those include such holidays as Christmas, Ivana Kupala, Independence Day and more.
Pyrohovo. Akademika Tronka Street. Thu-Tue. 10 a. m. — 6 p. m. Hr 50 for adults, Hr 30 for children
People walk around Pyrohovo, or the National Museum of National Architecture and Daily Life, which exhibits around 300 architectural objects representing seven ethnocultural regions of Ukraine, on July 11, 2018. (UNIAN)
Holodomor Museum
This museum is dedicated to the darkest page in Ukraine’s history, the Holodomor, an artificial famine ordered by Josef Stalin and carried out in 1932–1933. The museum aims to honor the memory of at least 3.9 million Ukrainians who starved to death. Some historians claim there were up to 10 million victims. The museum also educates its visitors about the genocide and serves as a warning about human rights violations.
The Holodomor Museum’s permanent exhibition offers a look at the mechanism of the genocide: how it was carried out by confiscating food from Ukrainians. One of the museum’s halls displays household items that Ukrainians used back in the 1930s. A large portion of the exhibition is dedicated to statistics from the National Book of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holodomor, which lists those who starved to death by oblasts.
Apart from the permanent exposition, the museum often hosts temporary exhibitions connected to the history of the tragedy. It is currently exhibiting a project called “Voices from Overseas,” which brings together the photographs and letters of witnesses to the Holodomor who moved to Australia and still live there. “The smiles of already Australian elderly people hide the stories of Ukrainian children who survived the genocide,” the exhibition’s description reads. The project will be displayed until Oct. 22.
Holodomor Museum. 3 Lavrska St. 10 a. m. — 6 p. m. Closed every second Tuesday of the month. Hr 30 for adults. Tour in English — Hr 280
National Museum of History of Ukraine
Ukraine’s biggest historical museum tells the country’s story from its very first mention in the history books up to the modern day. Its huge three-story building is divided into sections by period, starting with the Stone, Chalcolithic and Bronze ages. The permanent exhibition focuses on momentous times in Ukrainian history, such as the Cossack Era. It offers relics like the hat of one of the most important hetmans of the Zaporozhian Host, Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Apart from that, the museum invites visitors to dive into the country’s significant revolutionary past, including the 1917–1921 Ukrainian War for Independence, an armed conflict between a number of political and military players. The significance of that period of time is connected to the establishment of the Ukrainian revolutionary parliament headed by politician and historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky. His foreign passport is displayed in the museum.
The halls dedicated to the Soviet era exhibit a number of artifacts from Ukrainians’ everyday life under the regime, including placards, photographs, documents, factory employees’ workwear and more. At the end of the tour, visitors have a chance to explore Ukraine’s fight for independence in the waning days of the Soviet Union and the country’s modern history as an independent state.
National Museum of History of Ukraine. 2 Volodymyrska St. Mon-Fri. 10 a. m. — 6 p. m. Sat-Sun. 11 a. m. — 7 p. m. The last Friday of every month: 10 a. m. — 2 p. m. Hr 75 for adults. Tour in English for a group of one-three — Hr 500, for four and more — Hr 150 per person.
Mezhyhirya
This museum is dedicated to a significant aspect of modern life in Ukraine: corruption. Mezhyhirya is located right outside of Kyiv in Novi Petrivtsi village. It wasn’t supposed to be a museum. It was the mansion of former President Viktor Yanukovych, who enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle there until he fled the country during the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2014. The 140-hectare residence used to be a state property before Yanukovych transferred it into his private ownership. It became a museum after Yanukovych was ousted and activists and journalists entered the mansion to look for evidence of his crimes against the country. Mezhyhirya was later turned into a national park, which is open to the public.
The residence has much that will amaze visitors: its huge territory and enormous luxury buildings, including a guest house believed to have been built for Russian President Vladimir Putin. It also gives a hint at the fancy entertainment Yanukovych used to enjoy, including his own zoo, a duck farm, several lakes and more. It serves as a visual reminder of why many Ukrainians suffer from poverty. It is recommended to spend a whole day in Mezhyhirya: rent a bicycle or segway and dive deep into the world of corruption.
Mezhyhirya. Novi Petrivtsi. 19 Ivana Franka St. Winter. 8 a. m. — 5 p. m. Spring, fall. 8 a. m. — 7 p. m. Summer. 8 a. m. — 10 p. m. Hr 100–120 for adults, Hr 50 for children. Bicycle — Hr 100–150 per hour, Segway, Seev — Hr 400–500 per hour
