Attractions of Chernihiv region

The Mena Museum of Local Lore was founded in 1950 as a museum room of local lore materials on the initiative of teacher Volodymyr Pokotylo and local historian and collector of antiquities Dmytro Kalibaba. In 1968, it received the status of "People's Museum", in 1972 it became the historical department of the Chernihiv Historical Museum. since 1982 - the Mena Museum of Local Lore. In 2011, the museum was named after one of the founders - Volodymyr Pokotylo.

The museum funds include about 17 thousand exhibits, which are located in four halls with a total area of ​​120 square meters. The archaeological collection contains over 2 thousand items, including two bronze hinged neck hryvnias (2nd century BC - 2nd century AD), bronze bracelets and a fibula of the 6th-7th centuries, a fragment of a sword of the 10th century. The museum houses interesting numismatic and ethnographic collections (everyday objects of peasants, landowners, as well as samples of clothing and embroidery of the 18th–19th centuries).

The exposition "Spiritual Shrines of the Mena region" is dedicated to the history of the Domnytskyi and Maksakivskyi monasteries and churches of the Mena region. There are sections dedicated to prominent compatriots and famous figures whose lives and activities are connected with the Mena region.

The environmental and local history organization "Mizhrichynska Pushcha" is the main center for the development of ecotourism in the territory of the Mizhrichynskyi Regional Landscape Park with a center in the village of Otrokhy. It was created in 2013 by the famous ecologist Andriy Sahaydak, who headed the Mizhrichynsky Regional Landscape Park for a long time.

The central estate of the organization is located on the southern outskirts of the village, on the edge of the forest next to the Bondarivske Swamp. Here you can visit the Polissya Forestry Museum, which introduces the traditional life of the Polishchuk people and their occupations: bird breeding, wickerwork, hunting, fishing. The exposition also tells about the history of forest protection.

From the central estate "Mizhrichynska Pushcha" eco-trails begin, laid through the territory of the Mizhrichynsky Regional Landscape Park. One of them leads to the Holy Lake - a swampy reservoir, where a rare snow-white water lily blooms at the end of May. On the ecological trail "Zhuravlyna" you can meet a beaver hut, a partisan hideout, a pagan temple, see traces of wild animals, etc.

In addition to educational excursions, master classes on survival in natural conditions are offered, organization of recreation by the fire on the shore of a forest swamp, etc.

The Chernihiv Literary and Memorial Museum-Reserve of Mykhaylo Kotsyubynsky was opened in 1934 on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the writer's birthday at the initiative of his family - the younger brother of Mykhaylo Khoma Kotsyubynsky became the first director of the institution.

The memorial part of the exposition is located in the one-story wooden house in which Mykhaylo Kotsyubynsky lived from 1898 to 1913. Here he wrote the stories "Fata morgana", "Intermezzo", "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" and others, hosted many famous representatives of the creative intelligentsia, including composer Mykola Lysenko and writer Borys Hrynchenko.

In the house, the environment that existed during the writer's life is recreated, including a desk with writing utensils and other furniture. The writer's memorial library has more than 1,500 books, including the first editions of his works. Photographs, manuscripts, notebooks, and letters are also presented.

The literary part of the exposition is located in a separate three-story building designed by the outstanding Ukrainian monumentalist artist Anatoly Haydamaka. The decoration of the exposition is the wooden composition "Tree of Life" or "Krynytsia Kotsyubynsky", which permeates all three floors of the building. It has the appearance of a four-sided pillar, on each face of which are carved illustrations of Kotsyubynskyi's works.

Part of the manor is the memorial garden of the Kotsyubynsky family, where more than 200 types of plants are grown, including trees that the writer personally planted. The garden beds are decorated with the writer's favorite flowers: roses, mallows, and poppies. There are also exotic subtropical plants - agaves, which the writer admired in Italy. In the summer, tea parties are held on the veranda of the Kotsyubynsky family's house overlooking the garden.

During the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the Chernihiv Literary Memorial Museum-Reserve of Mykhaylo Kotsyubynsky was hit by shelling. The memorial building and 36 museum exhibits were damaged, including Kotsyubynsky's chess pieces, a grand piano, and some furniture. Restoration has been carried out.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin in Kozelets is considered one of the most beautiful Ukrainian Baroque monuments in the country.

This magnificent temple with a magnificent decoration and a beautiful iconostasis was built in 1752-1763 by the order of Nataliya Rozumovska (Rozumikha) to thank God for the happy fate of her sons Oleksiy and Kyrylo, who occupied a high position at the court of Empress Elizaveta.

The authors of the project are considered to be the students of the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli - Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi and Andriy Kvasov, but it is possible that Rastrelli himself had something to do with the project. It is possible that the grandiose seven-tiered carved iconostasis 27 meters high was created with his participation.

In the lower part of the temple is the warm church of Adrian and Nataliya - the tomb of the Rozumovskys, where its founder is buried.

The five-domed church impresses with its size and rich decoration, uncharacteristic for the Ukrainian hinterland. According to legend, in clear weather you can see Kyiv and Chernihiv from the 50-meter-high belfry at the same time, but the ascent to the belfry is not allowed recently due to the emergency condition of the stairs.

Nizhyn cucumbers, which made the city of Nizhyn famous, became popular during the reign of Empress Catherine II, who ordered to supply them to the imperial court, which was carried out until 1917.

In Soviet times, the products of the Nizhyn cannery also enjoyed constant popularity due to the special crunch and characteristic taste of local cucumbers, which is explained by the properties of the local soil and a special pickle, the recipe of which, according to legend, was brought to Nizhyn by the Greeks. Currently, Nizhyn pickles are exported to 70 countries around the world. 2

In 2005, a monument to the Nizhyn cucumber was erected in front of the central entrance to the Nizhyn Cannery. The vegetable sculpture is made of green Italian granite. He is depicted lying on a salting barrel standing in a cellar for preserving.

The Literary Memorial Museum of Oleksandr Dovzhenko was opened in the film director's homeland in Sosnytsia.

He was born in 1894 in a large rural family in the village of Vyunishche within the current urban-type settlement of Sosnytsia. From there he went to study at the Hlukhiv Teacher's Institute, then to Zhytomyr and pre-revolutionary Kyiv.

His complex biography included service in the troops of the Ukrainian People's Republic, detention in a Bolshevik concentration camp, joining the Communist Party, Polish captivity, work at the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, etc.

Dovzhenko gained worldwide fame as the founder of the Ukrainian National School of Cinematography after the release of his famous films "Zvenyhora" and "Zemlya", the latter of which is now included in the lists of the best films of all times and nations.

Creation of the director's museum in Sosnytsia began in 1957, after his death. Dovzhenko's parental house has been preserved, in which the atmosphere that surrounded him in his youth is reproduced. Collections of his short stories and film stories are presented in the literary exhibition.

An impressive, expressive monument to Dovzhenko (1974, sculptor Anatoliy Fuzhenko, architect Anatoliy Ihnashchenko) was installed in the courtyard of the estate.

The historical and memorial museum of Pavlo Tychyna was opened in the village of Pisky in 1981 in the house where the future poet was born in 1891 and where he spent his childhood years.

Pavlo Tychyna's parental house was recreated according to the drawings of the architect Oleksandr Nozdrin and the memories of the poet's sister (the original burned down during the Second World War). There is a village stove, a kerosene lamp, makitras and other household items.

A monument to the poet was erected in the yard, next to the well.

The museum's exposition continues in the adjacent room: first editions of books, photographs, personal belongings. Several stands tell about the public and political activities of the poet-academic, who was the Minister of Education of Ukraine, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR.

The Pyatnytska Church in Chernihiv is a classic monument of ancient Rus architecture.

The church in honor of Saint Paraskeva Pyatnytsa, the patroness of trade, was built at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries on the main market square of the city. Until 1786, it was the main building of the Pyatnytsky Monastery. By that time, it had already been rebuilt several times and was a seven-bath temple in the Baroque style.

During the Second World War, the Friday Church was destroyed. In 1962, it was completely restored in the original ancient Rus style according to the project of architects Petro Baranovskyi and Mykola Kholostenko.

From the outside, the Pyatnytska Church building has the appearance of a slender tower, almost square in plan, topped by a slender bathhouse, which, thanks to the original transition from the rectangle of the base to the dome, creates a characteristic feature of dynamic upward striving and pyramidal completion.

The church is active and belongs to the Chernihiv Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. It is part of the National Architectural and Historical Reserve "Ancient Chernihiv".

On August 19, 2023, in the course of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, as a result of a Russian missile attack on the center of Chernihiv, the Pyatnytska Church suffered significant damage. The explosive wave from the impact of the Iskander missile in the premises of the theater, located nearby, hit the church when the festive service was ending. The blast wave knocked out the windows, pieces of the rocket flew into the church, and damaged icons (including the icon of the patron saint of the church, which was lying on the altar).

The oriental-style palace with Gothic elements was built in Vyshenky in the 18th century by the famous commander, field marshal, and president of the Little Russian College, Count Petro Rumyantsev-Zadunayskyi.

Located on a hill above a pond, the building, vaguely reminiscent of medieval castles, is successfully integrated into the landscape. It is believed that the author of the project could be the architect Dzhakomo Kvarenhi or the Russian architect Vasyl Bazhenov.

The retired field marshal created a whole complex of palaces and entertainment facilities on the territory of his estates. Here he received Catherine II during her trip to the Crimea.

Part of the Rumyantsev-Zadunayskyi Palace was dismantled in the 19th century by order of the landowner Suddiyenko, who settled here. During Soviet times, a pioneer camp was placed on the territory of the manor. Today it is a children's health camp "Suzirya". Restoration is planned.

Saint Anthony's Caves at the foot of the Boldyni Hills are the oldest shrine in Chernihiv, a unique monument of underground cult architecture of the 11th-19th centuries. It is part of the Trinity-Elijah Monastery and is part of the National Architectural and Historical Reserve "Ancient Chernihiv".

The first cave Christian temple and monastery in Chernihiv was founded by the monk Anthony of Kiev (Anthony of the Caves) in 1069, when he left the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra he founded and returned to his homeland.

Now the Elijah cave complex has several tiers of underground galleries, a chapel, cells and three underground three-part churches. The entrance to the caves is to the left of the Saint Elijah church of the 12th century. Through it you can get to the cave part with a total length of 315 meters with the underground temples of Saint Anthony, Saint Theodosius and Saint Nicholas Sviatosha.

Archaeological excavations continue in the Saint Anthony's Caves, but most of it is equipped for visiting, excursions are held here. Visitors are especially intrigued by the legend of the ghost of a monk, who supposedly sometimes appears at the end of one of the side corridors.

On the mountain above the monastery are the Slavic mounds Bezimennyi and Gulbyshche, as well as the grave of Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky with a monument.

The wooden Cossack Saint George Church was founded in Sedniv, probably in the pre-Mongol period.

It is located at the height of the Crown Castle tract, in the center of the ancient settlement of Snovsk. In its current form, this richly carved church was rebuilt without a single nail in 1745 and is considered one of the best works of Ukrainian folk architecture.

In this church, dedicated to George the Victorious, the Cossacks of the Sedniv Hundred of the Chernihiv Regiment sanctified their sabers before military campaigns.

At first, George's Church was single-domed. Two additional baths were added in the course of the restoration carried out after the fire.

There is a version that the initial filming of key episodes of the popular Soviet film "Viy" based on the novel of the same name by Mykola Hohol took place in the interior of  George's Church, but the working material was not liked by the management of "Mosfilm", and all interior scenes were later shot in Moscow, in specially constructed scenery. .

The Saint Nicholas Desert Rykhly Monastery was founded in 1666 by Chernihiv colonel Vasyl Mnogogrishny.

In 1757, a small Nicholas Church was built, and in 1754-1760, the five-bay Saint Nicolas Cathedral. In 1767, at the expense of Hetman Ivan Samoylovych, a belfry was built with the over-gate church of John the Baptist. There was also a cave complex that has partially survived to this day. In 1749, the Okhtyrka colonel Fedir Kachanivsky presented the monastery with a unique guardian ark, which was on the main throne of the Rykhly Monastery until 1922, and then was transferred to the Chernihiv State Museum.

By the end of the Soviet period, only the ruins of the living room, cells and monastery walls remained from the monastery complex. In 2006, the monastery again acquired the status of a monastery of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, restoration works are being carried out.

The Church of the Three Saints in Kustivtsy in Pryluky was built in 1878 on the site of an old church founded in the 17th century.

The first temple was built at the expense of the burgher Andriн Kendyukh.

The new five-domed church in Kustivtsy is made in the so-called "parish" style.

The symbolic Triumphal Arch was erected in 1787 on the occasion of the passage of Empress Catherine II through Novhorod-Siverskyi.

The construction was financed by local nobles and merchants. On the pylons between the columns are placed shields with the coats of arms of ten districts of the Novhorod-Siversky Governorate.

The Triumphal Arch in Novhorod-Siverskyi is a unique memorial building of the High Classicism style on the Left Bank of Ukraine. Needs restoration.

The house in the pseudo-Gothic style was built at the end of the 19th century on the then northeastern outskirts of Chernihiv as a craft class of an orphanage.

In 1900-1901, it was rebuilt and expanded to accommodate the historical exposition of the famous patron Vasyl Tarnovsky, Jr., who bequeathed his unique collection of paintings and manuscripts to the city. In 1902, the Chernihiv Museum of Ukrainian Antiquities was opened in the renovated building. More than 700 items were dedicated to Taras Shevchenko.

Until 1979, the Tarnovsky House, as the building was nicknamed, housed the exposition of the Chernihiv Historical Museum, and since 1980, the regional library for youth has been located here.

On March 11, 2022, as a result of the bombing by Russia, the building suffered significant damage. The Russian military aircraft dropped three high-explosive 500-kilogram bombs on the yard of the Tarnovsky House and the nearby stadium. The bomb that fell in the yard destroyed the wall of the Tarnovskyi House, the roof and the interior floors.