Cultural sightseeing in Ukraine

Ukraine can be proud not only of the fertile soils and expanses of its steppe, but also of its cultural wealth that can be seen by visiting museums, cathedrals, squares and other places that eloquently portray the country’s complicated history and demonstrate its culture in all its glory. The National Art Museum of Ukraine which is located in Kiev is the largest art museum in the country. Here guests will see works of Ukrainian artists and masters of several eras: icons, paintings, sculptures and other works of art. The museum organizes guided tours in several languages. There is a souvenir shop and a workshop here, where adults and children are taught to paint pictures.

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kiev is a large, majestic building that holds within its walls historical documents and artifacts from ancient times to the present day. The collection continues to grow still. Here you can see the past of the country, and look at the present through the eyes of modern Ukrainians through photos, weapons, tools, clothing and much more. The unique museum “Pysanka” is located in the city of Kolomyia. Several thousands of beautiful Easter eggs are housed in the building, part of which is a painted egg. The museum is dedicated to the Ukrainian art of decorating Easter eggs, but there are exhibits from all over the world among its collection.

At the border of the Kirovograd region is sited the Strategic Missile Forces Museum. The museum consists of the formerly secret land and underground buildings of the Soviet era that had to do with nuclear weapons. Inside, everything is as it was in those tense times when the officers who were working here were ready to put the weapon into use at any moment. Visitors will be able to control the launch of missiles independently using equipment that simulates a military situation. There is a pharmacy of the 18th century in Lviv, which became a museum in the 1960s. The institution continues to operate simultaneously as a pharmacy and a museum. The large collection of the museum contains ancient medicines and devices, a rare herbarium and other interesting exhibits. You can also buy here “Iron Wine”, medicine with iron, useful for blood. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The Museum of Folk Architecture and Life, Uzhhorod Zakarpattia, is not a museum in the usual sense of the word. Here, the guests of Uzhhorod will see not a building with a large collection of exhibits, but many buildings that are themselves exhibits. These are ancient buildings, among which there is a church, residential buildings and a mill. The museum tells about the life of several ethnic groups of Zakarpattia. There are icons of the 17th century, dishes and other exhibits in the museum. Space enthusiasts should visit the Museum of Cosmonautics named after S. P. Korolev in Zhytomyr. The house-museum of Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the chief engineer of the Soviet space program, tells about his life. In the main building of the museum there is a huge number of exhibits related to space, among which is lunar soil.

The Jesuit Church in Lviv was built in the 17th century by Catholic monks. Its construction took two decades. Inside the church is decorated with frescoes and sculptures. According to legend, here, in the dungeon, wanders the restless ghost of a monk, who was imprisoned to pray for his transgressions, but instead sold his soul to the Devil. There is the magnificent Holy Annunciation Cathedral in Kharkiv, with beautiful frescoes and icons. It was opened at the very beginning of the last century and still impresses the guests of the city.

The Olesko Castle is located in the Lviv region. In this 14th-century building that stands on a hill, once lived the great polish king John III Sobieski. In the 19th century, it was damaged by an earthquake, after which it was restored. At the moment there is an art museum in the castle with hundreds of wonderful exhibits from the 10th to 18th centuries: paintings, decorations and sculptures. Visitors can find ancient statues in the garden. In Poltava there is a snow-white monument-colonnade called the Rotunda of Peoples Friendship or the White Gazebo. It was opened in 1909, built in memory of the Battle of Poltava in 1709. The columns look like a horseshoe shape. This is a kind of tribute to the legend, according to which a local resident shod Peter the Great’s horse, which decided the outcome of the battle.

The Khotyn Fortress, originally of the 10th century, stands on the bank of the Dniester. It was rebuilt several times till the 16th century. The fortress is interesting not only for its history, but also for a non-drying wet spot on one of the walls. According to one legend, during the siege of the fortress, a girl decided to collect water for the soldiers from the river. As the girl climbed on the wall, the enemies saw her and hit her with arrows, and as a result she splashed some of the water on the wall. According to another version, the prince’s daughter was bricked in the wall, as she did not want to marry the man she did not love. It is believed that this stain from her tears would not dry out until the poor prisoner is reunited with her lover.