The best open-air museums in Ukraine worth visiting in winter

Snow-covered huts under thatched roofs and windows painted with frosty patterns - this is an authentic atmosphere that beckons you to plunge into the past. Today, we're going to tell you where to go to experience the lifestyle of our ancestors and see the traditional architecture and life of different regions.

Museum of Prykarpattya Folk Architecture and Life, Krylos

Located in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. The attraction was founded in 1981 on the territory of an ancient settlement. Its area is about 7 hectares. Since 1994, the historical site has been part of the Ancient Halych National Architecture-Historical Reserve.

The center is divided into four ethnographic neighborhoods: Pokuttia, Hutsul, Boikivshchyna, and Opillia.

Tourists can see typical Pokuttia dwellings of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Hutsul huts, one of which dates back to 1889, a traditional Boiko estate, an old barn, Opillia embroidery, folk clothes, and more.

There is also a unique wooden church of All Saints. It was moved from the village of Poplavnyky. The shrine is distinguished by its original architecture, reminiscent of the house building typical of Galicia.

Museum of Folk Architecture and Life, Uzhhorod

Located on the southern slope of Castle Hill near the medieval castle. The attraction was opened in 1970.

It features traditional dwellings and estates of various ethnic groups, from western valley dwellers to eastern Hutsuls, as well as samples of Hungarian and Romanian culture.

Tourists can see residential buildings, a church, a bell tower, a school, a smithy, a mill, and a tavern. We also advise you to pay attention to the church from the former village of Shelestovo, Mukachevo district. The shrine is considered a prime example of a combination of two styles - tent and baroque.

The museum demonstrates masterpieces of folk architecture and products of masters of various crafts: potters, weavers, embroiderers, carpenters, etc.

Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of the Middle Dnipro Region, Pereiaslav

Located in the Kyiv region and part of the Pereiaslav National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve.

The museum presents not only samples of the Ukrainian village of the Middle Dnipro region, but also buildings and archaeological finds covering the period from the Late Paleolithic to the times of Kyivan Rus.

Tourists can get acquainted with the culture, traditional architecture, and original customs and rituals of Ukrainians.

The museum has 20 courtyards with residential buildings and outbuildings, as well as 23 different workshops and production facilities. More than 20,000 exhibits of folk art, tools and household items found in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine are kept here.

Klymentiy Sheptytskyi Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life, Lviv

It is located on the territory of the Znesinnia Regional Landscape Park. The idea of creating the museum belongs to the Ukrainian scholar Ilarion Svientsitskyi.

In the 1920s, after the construction of a new church, the villagers of Kryvka decided to dismantle the old wooden church from 1761. However, art historian Mykhailo Dragan, with the support of local priest Markeliy Kunovskyi, convinced the villagers to abandon this idea.

Thanks to the efforts of Metropolitan Andriy Sheptytskyi and his brother Klymentiy, in 1930, the shrine was moved to Lviv and installed for the needs of the Studite Fathers Monastery. This prayer room became the first exhibit of the future museum.

Today the center is divided into ethnographic regions: Boikivshchyna, Lemkivshchyna, Hutsulshchyna, Bukovyna, Podillia, and Lvivshchyna.

It houses 110 architectural objects and more than 20 thousand items, including agricultural equipment, vehicles, craft tools, and more.

Museum of the History of Agriculture of Volyn, Rokyniv

It was established by Petro Tesliuk, the former director of the Volyn State Agricultural Research Station. The attraction was founded in 1979.

The museum covers the development of Volyn's farming industry during different historical periods and reveals the beauty of the region's nature.

Tourists can stroll through peasants' yards, which are equipped with barns, wells, and rafts.

The center also houses a smithy, a wooden church, and a windmill.

At the entrance, travelers are greeted by a monument to Cossack Mamay, one of the most famous folklore heroes in Ukraine.

Feel the great history of the Ukrainian people! Go explore open-air museums!

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