Attractions of Sumy region

In 1965, the Spadshchansky forest northwest of Putivl was declared a historical and cultural reserve, since it was here in 1941 that the famous partisan unit of Sydor Kovpak was created, which fought against the German occupiers during the Second World War.

As a result of the active actions of Kovpak's detachment, a large partisan region was created in Sumy region and nearby areas, on the territory of which 24 detachments and 127 groups (about 18,000 partisans) operated in 1942. Kovpak's unit fought 18,000 kilometers behind the enemy's rear, fought on the entire territory of Ukraine from Putivl to the Carpathians.

The memorial complex in the Spadshchansky Forest opens with the "People's Avengers" stele, then the "Alley of Heroes" leads to the "Guerrilla Glory" monument. The partisan stronghold with 9 dugouts was reconstructed: headquarters, bathroom, kitchen, dugouts of scouts, miners, 2nd, 4th, 5th operational groups, personal dugout of Sydor Kovpak. There is a mass grave near the shrine.

Also there are the main objects of the memorial complex "Spadshchansky Forest": the Museum of Partisan Glory and the Museum of Weapons and Military Equipment. The museum presents personal belongings of partisans, samples of weapons, photographs, documents, etc. A cannon that was in service with the Kovpak army and a German T-III tank captured by them are installed near the museum.

In 2019, the Museum "Soviet Park" opened on the territory of the complex. Soviet monuments, busts and sculptures collected from the Sumy, Poltava and Chernihiv regions are presented here. Among them are monuments to Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Kotovsky, Shchors, Frunze, Chapaev and others.

The State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Posullia" unites a whole complex of historical and cultural monuments of the Romny and Nedryhailiv districts of Sumy region, located in the basin of the Sula River, including historical museums, an ethnographic complex, a number of memorable places and natural monuments.

The administration of the reserve is located in the city of Romny, in a 19th-century building, next to the Romny Museum of Local Lore. The reserve also includes the Nedryhailiv Museum of Local Lore, the Petro Kalnyshevsky Museum with the architectural and ethnographic complex "Old Village", the Oleksa Yushchenko Estate Museum.

The museum fund of the reserve consists of about 40 thousand exhibits that introduce the historical past and present, nature, ethnography, and artistic heritage of the Posullia region.

The "Posullia" reserve also takes care of objects of historical and cultural heritage and natural reserve fund of local and national importance, including the complexes of Scythian mounds, the Siverianske settlement Monastyryshche, the Mammoth Monument at the site of a Paleolithic site in the village of Kulishivka, the geological monument - Zolotukha Mount, etc.

Only two outbuildings have survived from the once luxurious Strohanov Manor in Khotin, which a hundred years ago was called one of the most outstanding estates in the entire Russian Empire.

Since the 17th century, the Khotin estate belonged to the descendants of the founder of Sumy, Colonel Herasym Kondratyev. The palace complex was built in 1799-1810 by the colonel's granddaughter Hanna Kondratyeva, who married the secret adviser Mykhaylo Komburley. The couple invited the famous St. Petersburg architect of the heyday of Russian classicism, Giacomo Quarenghi.

The estate was built according to the axial system traditional at the time and surrounded by a large park. There were 87 rooms in the palace, all of them were decorated in a different color scheme. For a long time, the military historian Dmytro Buturlin lived and worked in the manor, then for more than half a century, Count Pavlo Strohanov owned the manor, at whose invitation the artists Ivan Kramskoy and Fedir Vasylyev visited.

At the beginning of the 20th century, when a lawsuit broke out over the Strohanov estate, the palace fell into disrepair. In 1918, the Khotin palace complex was destroyed by fire. Two side wings have been preserved from it, which housed a secondary school in Soviet times. Currently, the buildings are in poor condition.

There is a History Museum at the school.

The Sukhanov-Sumovsky estate is a beautiful two-story palace-type house in Sumy.

It was built in 1895 by Sumy businessman and philanthropist Mykola Sukhanov. Later, the manor became the property of the Sumovsky family. The manor house is located in the depth of the park behind a fence with a wrought-iron gate and figured bars.

A two-story residential building with rich architectural decorations was connected by an underground passage to an office building with an attic in the Neo-Renaissance style. On the border of the manor plot there is a long building of the farm building.

Currently, the Institute of Applied Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the services of the Academy of Banking, as well as one of the divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are located in various premises of the Sukhanov manor.

In the premises of the library of the banking academy, the exhibition "The Sukhanovs in Sumy" was opened, which tells about the life and charity of the Sukhanov family.

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

On April 13, 2025, the Russians fired two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles at the city center of Sumy. As a result of the Russian missile strike, the architectural monument of the Sukhanov-Sumovsky estate, which is located between the sites of both strikes, suffered significant damage - in particular, the original wrought-iron fence from the late 19th century was destroyed, there are holes in the ceiling and walls, and windows were broken.

As a result of this Russian attack in Sumy, 35 civilians died, including two children. 117 people were injured, including 15 children.

A small gazebo made of carved wood, built according to the project of the architect Matviy Shchaveliyiv without a single nail, is considered a visiting card of the Sumy city.

According to legend, it was built by a burgher, Yosyp Lishchynsky, on the site of a well drilled during an unsuccessful search for oil.

The Sumy gazebo is the only wooden structure in the city that was not damaged at all during World War II.

Museum of History of Sumy State Pedagogical University named Anton Makarenko was founded in 1962 and is a subdivision of the department of social and cultural work of the SumSPU.

The museum has collected more than 8,000 exhibits that tell about the founding of the school in 1924, the periods of World War II, postwar reconstruction and development of education in the region to this day.

A separate exposition is dedicated to the creative heritage of the outstanding teacher, one of the founders of the system of child and adolescent education Anton Makarenko, who was a native of Sumy region.

Sumy Regional Art Museum named after Nikanor Onatsky is located in Sumy in the building of the former State Bank, built in the early XX century by Sumy architect Hustav Sholts.

The museum was established in 1920 on the basis of nationalized private art collections and the collection of Oskar Hansen, which was then in Sumy. The first director was the artist Nikanor Onatsky, a student of Illya Repin, whose works, in particular, are presented in the museum.

The most interesting are the landscapes of Italian artists of the XVII-XIX centuries, Dutch and Flemish painters, including the works of Rubens' students, French landscape painters of the XIX century.

Also presented are the works of famous artists-travelers: Shyshkin, Kuyindzhi, Levitan, Savrasov. The masterpieces of painting of the late XIX - early XX century include the works of Vasnetsov, Serov, Kotarbinskyi, Ayvazovskyi. 

The museum has a collection of works by the outstanding Ukrainian folk artist Mariya Prymachenko.

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

On April 13, 2025, the Russians launched a missile strike with two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles on the city center of Sumy, killing 35 people, including two children, and injuring 119 people.

As a result of the Russian missile strike, the building of the Sumy Regional Art Museum named after Nikanor Onatsky was severely damaged. In addition, other cultural institutions and cultural heritage monuments of the city were destroyed, including: the Regional Museum of Local Lore, the Regional Academic Theater for Children and Youth, the Shchepkin National Academic Theater of Drama and Musical Comedy, the Regional Scientific and Methodological Center for Culture and Arts, the Regional Philharmonic, the Regional Library for Children, the workshop of the regional organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, and the Sukhanov-Sumovsky estate.

The Sumy Regional Museum of Local Lore is located in Sumy in the former building of the county zemstvo administration with a notable tower-like projection on the facade, which rises above the main building and ends with a dome.

There are four caryatids on the pylons of the second floor, which support the balcony. Oleksandr Kuprin and Volodymyr Korolenko visited the office in different years. In 1905, the printing office and editorial offices of the first Sumy newspapers were located here.

The Regional Museum of Local Lore in Sumy was founded in 1920. The museum`s exposition presents objects from archaeological excavations of early Slavic and ancient Rus monuments, rare materials from the history and nature of Sumy Region.

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

On April 13, 2025, the Russians launched a missile strike with two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles on the city center of Sumy, killing 35 people, including two children, and injuring 119 people.

As a result of the Russian missile strike, the building of the Regional Museum of Local Lore  was severely damaged. In addition, other cultural institutions and cultural heritage monuments of the city were destroyed, including: the Sumy Regional Art Museum named after Nikanor Onatsky, the Regional Academic Theater for Children and Youth, the Shchepkin National Academic Theater of Drama and Musical Comedy, the Regional Scientific and Methodological Center for Culture and Arts, the Regional Philharmonic, the Regional Library for Children, the workshop of the regional organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, and the Sukhanov-Sumovsky estate.

The sculpture "Sweet Teeth Babies" on Voskresenska Street was installed in Sumy for the 355th anniversary of the city. This is a tribute to the sugar industry of the Khayitonenko family, thanks to which the city achieved prosperity in the 19th century.

The monument was created by sculptors Oleh Prokopchuk and Volodymyr Bukov. A bronze boy is eating sugar from a bag on a chair, and a girl is standing next to him. Any passer-by can join them by sitting down on a free chair.

On the same day, a monument to refined sugar was opened on Pokrovska Square in Sumy.

The museum of the glorified commander of the Sumy partisan unit Sydir Kovpak was opened in 1971 at the Hlukhiv Technical School of Mechanization (now the Hlukhiv Agricultural Technical Institute).

The museum reflects the history of the partisan movement in Sumy region during the German occupation of 1941-1943. In particular, materials and maps are presented about three raids of Kovpak troops in Sumy region, a raid on Right Bank Ukraine, the famous Carpathian raid, as well as Polish and Niemansky raids.

One of the rarities is a wooden German sign "Caution: Kovpak!", which was hung in the places of action of the partisans.

Personal belongings of Kovpak and members of his family can also be seen, including his famous trophy Hungarian officer's fur coat.

The first full-size monument in Ukraine to the outstanding Ukrainian poet and public figure Taras Shevchenko was erected in Romny in 1918 (according to other sources, in 1919).

The city of Romny at that time was already under the control of the Bolsheviks, who actively supported the cult of the "revolutionary poet". The author of the monument is the famous sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze. The sculpture, which depicts Shevchenko sitting in a thoughtful pose, is considered the most "human" monument to the poet.

A model of this monument has been installed in Kyiv, on Andriyivsky Descent.

The Taras Shevchenko Museum was created at the educational complex of the village of Shechenkove in Sumy region due to the fact that the outstanding Ukrainian poet visited here in 1859.

In the then Hyrivka, Shevchenko stayed for several days at the estate of the Lazarevsky family. Here he worked on some poetic works, among them - "Oh, on the mountain the rose blooms". He also painted a portrait of the hostess - Afanasia Lazarevska.

The museum was founded in 1961 as Taras Shevchenko's school literature room. The main exposition is dedicated to Taras Shevchenko's connections with the Lazarevsky family.
Among them are photocopies of family documents, a portrait of historian Oleksandr Lazarevsky, and the memoirs of his son.

The ethnographic corner presents household items that peasants used during Shevchenko's lifetime: jugs, plates, towels, etc.

The Tereshchenko House in Hlukhiv is the oldest surviving building of the architectural heritage of the family of famous sugar millers and patrons.

Prosperous merchant Artemiy Tereshchenko applied to the city authorities for permission to build a new two-story stone house in the historic center of Hlukhiv back in 1855. He was able to complete the construction of his Hlukhiv residence in the architectural forms of historicism only in 1866.

In the interior, the original decor is partially preserved: stucco ceilings, carved doors, tiled stoves, as well as stairs to the second floor, made in the technique of cast iron decorative casting.

In 1931, the All-Union Research Institute of Hemp was located here. Now it is the Research Station of Bask Cultures (Institute of Bask Cultures), where a hemp variety that does not contain narcotic substances was recently created. In the lobby, there is a small exhibition of hemp products: ropes, ropes, fabrics, clothes, shoes, etc.

The Ukrainian Academy of Banking of the National Bank of Ukraine occupies a complex of historical buildings in the center of the city of Sumy.

The first educational building is located in Taras Shevchenko Square (Soborna Street), in the former premises of the First Female Gymnasium. It belongs to a large group of Neo-Gothic buildings of the 19th-20th centuries in the city.

The main building of the academy was built only a few years ago on the central Petropavlivska Street, on the site of the former estates of the descendants of the founder of Sumy Hryhoriy Kondratiev. Until 1917, one of the city's fire brigades was located here, then various institutions. All the architectural nuances of the historical building have been carefully preserved in the reconstructed building. Instead of a fire station, a tower with a clock was built, which notifies the city about various celebrations at the academy.

The monument to Ukrainian weapons was erected at the entrance to the village of Shapovalivka in 2009 in honor of the 350th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Konotop.

The memorial sign is an artistic composition of Cossack sabers cutting through a shield, mounted on a low pedestal, and symbolizes the victory of Cossack weapons over the enemy. The inscription on the monument: "Here the glory of Ukrainian weapons was forged! Erected in honor of the 350th anniversary of the glorious victory of the army of Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky in the Battle of Konotop".

The authors of the monument: sculptors Mykola Mazur and Bohdan Mazur, architect - Volodymyr Bykov.

On the opposite side of the sign is a memorial chapel, which was also built for the 350th anniversary of the victory of the Ukrainian army in the Battle of Konotop.

A bust of Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky is installed in the center of the village of Shapovalivka.