Verkhovyna is called the center of the Hutsul culture for a reason. This land is rich for natural, architectural, cultural and historic landmarks. You should come here not only to admire beautiful landscapes and have an active rest, but also to discover some special features of the mysterious Hutsul culture. Find them all out visiting unique museums of Verkhovyna.
Roman Kumlyk museum of Hutsul lifestyle, ethnography, and musical instruments
Roman Kumlyk museum of Hutsul lifestyle, ethnography, and musical instruments is a private museum in Verkhovyna town of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. The museum was founded by ethnographer and musician Roman Kumlyk (1948-2014).
It took 30 years to collect the exposition for the museum. Now it displays different household items, ancient Hutsul clothes, working tools, money symbols of different times and many other things telling about everyday life of the Hutsuls. A collection of musical instruments draws special attention – violins (including a gouge-out violin and a rectangular violin), tsymbaly (hammered dulcimer), koza (bagpipe), jew’s harp, trembitas, rih (a horn) and others.
Roman Kumlyk used to give excursions himself and played different musical instruments. After he passed away, his daughter, multi-instrumentalist, Natalia Huzak, follows in the footsteps of her father.
Location: Verkhovyna town, 35 Ivan-Franko Street. Entry tickets: general and student – 25 UAH, child (1st–12th Grade) – 15 UAH.
You can visit the museum on the tour “The Hutsul Carpathians + Bukovel”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkn72N9cN6w
Museum and cheese factory “Khata-staia”
It was opened in 2014. The interesting site of this museum is a specially fitted place where “milk is made”. This is the way local people refer to the cheese-making process. For this purpose, there is a courtyard on the backside of the house with different tools, starting from a cooking pot over the fire to different kinds of tubs needed to make and store sheep cheese. There is a corridor and two rooms in the house. They hold authentic clothes and items for everyday use.
The oldest part of the building is the room with a traditional Ukrainian stove, which possesses embroidered shirts and traditional towels (rushnyks), crockeries (plates, jugs), carpets, etc. Another room – “Hutsul living-room (svitlytsia)” is equipped to give master classes. Here you can prepare local dishes (for example, banush), listen to a Jew’s harp and try your hand in weaving fabric.
Location: Verkhovyna town, Zhabievskyi potik. Entry tickets: general, senior and student – 20 UAH, child (1st–12th Grade) – 15 UAH.
You can visit the museum taking tour “The Hutsul Carpathians + Bukovel”.
House and museum “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”
The museum featuring the history of filming movie “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” is located in Verkhovyna town, Verkhovyna raion, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. The main activities in the museum: watching the film and getting familiar with the history of the shooting of the cinema masterpiece “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”. The house is nestled in Zhabievskyi potik settlement, in the suburbs of Verkhovyna.
Location: Verkhovyna town, Zhabievskyi potik. Entry tickets: general, senior and student – 20 UAH, child (1st–12th Grade) – 15 UAH.
You can visit the museum taking tour “The Hutsul Carpathians + Bukovel”.
Museum of the Hutsul magic
Museum of the Hutsul magic is located in Verkhovyna on the bank of the Zhabievskyi potik river on the territory of the relaxing complex, “The waterfall of the Carpathians”. In the museum, you will listen to stories about the ways to fight the ghosts that inhabit the mountains, forests, and lakes. Here they will tell you about magic signs and objects, people with supernatural abilities and lots of mysterious legends.
Location: Verkhovyna, 66-a Zhabievskyi potik. Entry tickets: general admission 20 UAH.
You can visit the museum on the tour “Walk to Pip Ivan the Chornohora peak, Smotrych, and Eary Stone” and “Ternoshorska Lada, Sheshory + Hutsul wedding”.
The museum of the Hutsul everyday life and art “At trembita man’s place”
In Verkhovyna settlement Shveikovo you will find out where the Hutsuls came from, their life, everyday life in the mountains, customs and traditions, clothes and their craft. They will play different musical instruments for you and give master classes on how to play them. You will also be greeted by the sound of trembita.
Location: Verkhovyna town, Shveikovo settlement, Shevchenko Street. Entry tickets: general, student – 20 UAH, senior, child (1st–12th Grade) – 15 UAH.
You can visit the museum on the tour “Walk to Pip Ivan the Chornohora peak, Smotrych, and Eary Stone”.
Petro Shekeryk-Donykiv memorial museum in Verkhovyna
The museum tells about a well-known vogt of Verkhovyna, an active social figure, actor, ethnographer, speaker, landlord and excellent writer Petro Shekeryk-Donykiv. He wrote his works in the Hutsul dialect. Among them, you can find a literary masterpiece, a unique novel called “Dido Yvanchik” where the author describes the memorial and spiritual world of the Hutsuls from the olden times until World War I.
Location: Verkhovyna town, 1 Cheremshyny Street. Entry tickets: general and senior – 25 UAH, student and child (1st–12th Grade) – 20 UAH.
You can visit the museum on the tour “12 shades of the Hutsul Land”.
The museum of film “Oleksa Dovbush” in Verkhovyna
The history of this museum is tightly connected with film “Oleksa Dovbush” directed by Viktor Ivanov and produced by the Dovzhenko Film Studios in 1959 in Verkhovyna. In the museum they tell about the most prominent opryshok of the Carpathians Oleksa Dovbush, they show the photos from the film and rare objects.
Location: Verkhovyna town. Entry tickets: general admission – 25 UAH per person.
You can visit the museum on the tour “12 shades of the Hutsul Land”.
Museum “The Hutsul Land”
Museum “The Hutsul Land” is settled in a two-floored wooden house. It was opened to the public in 1938. The exposition draws attention with its rich and diverse items. It holds everyday life objects and local works of art. The exhibition of folk clothes and embroidery. Items made of wood and clay are not to be missed here as well. A separate part of the museum is devoted to the history of Verkhovyna: it possesses different documents, photo materials, books and personal possessions of locals.
Location: Verkhovyna town, 5 Ivan Franko street. Entry tickets: adult – 30 UAH, student – 20 UAH, child – 10 UAH.
The lizhnyk museum in Verkhovyna
To preserve, reborn and popularize the Hutsul homespun woolen blankets, lizhnyks, they opened a museum in Verkhovyna where you can immerse into the history of their creation, the technology of making and significance for the Hutsuls, and also purchase the beautiful works. Lizhnyk was not only used to warm up the Hutsuls at cold winter nights, but it also had a ritual and interior meaning.
Location: Verkhovyna town, 21 Zhabievska Street. Entry tickets: general, senior and student – 25 UAH, child (1st–12th Grade) – 20 UAH.
You can visit the museum taking tour “12 shades of the Hutsul Land”.
Museum and gallery of the Hutsul traditions and rituals in Verkhovyna
Amazing museum for the soul to relax created by good mistress and local explorer Paraska-Pavla Rashkovska. She will get you familiar with the collection of family embroideries, tell you about folk sayings, give a master class on playing the jew’s harp and spooling wimples and headscarves (khustkas).
Location: Verkhovyna town, 1 Cheremshyny Street. Entry tickets: general and senior – 25 UAH, student and child (1st–12th Grade) – 20 UAH.
You can visit the museum taking tour “12 shades of the Hutsul Land”.
Museum and grazhda house of film “Annychka”
The grazhda house (closed and rectangular yard) built in 1913 was chosen by the Dovzhenko Film Studios directors to shoot the film, “Annychka”. The house is a striking example of Hutsul architecture, culture, and everyday life. This is the only house from the film that has survived to this day. It was the main filming location since according to the scenario the main characters of the film lived here. A lot of items of the Hutsul everyday life that appeared in the movie are retained as well.
Location: Verkhovyna town, 56 Zhabievskyi potik Street. Entry tickets: adult and student – 20 UAH, senior and child (1st–12th Grade) – 15 UAH.
The Museum and Manor house of Halynka Verhkovynka (the Museum of embroidery)
The museum of Halynka Verkhovynka “The embroidery” warmly embraces exquisite, genuine, ancient objects that share warmth and secrets of people’s lives from this land. They continue living, teaching, telling and reproducing since true life is endless. Halyna Ivanivna worked meticulously to design the museum and manor house, and now people are gifted the possibility to witness the true Hutsul life and Hutsul embroidery.
Location: Verkhovyna town. Entry tickets: general, senior and student – 30 UAH, child (1st–12th Grade) – 25 UAH.
The Hutsul culture is a very authentic phenomenon with its own identity, peculiarities and national coloring, traditions, rituals, and secrets. It is a tough task to learn it from books, but you can visit its heart – Verkhovyna. And unique museums preserving its treasures will help you to satisfy your interest.
You have a chance to visit the museums mentioned above taking our tours:
- “12 shades of the Hutsul Land”,
- “Walk to Pip Ivan the Chornohora peak, Smotrych, and Eary Stone”,
- “Ternoshorska Lada, Sheshory + Hutsul wedding”,
- “The Hutsul Carpathians + Bukovel”.
