On Saturday, 18 October 2025, the team of the Media Center Directorate organised an inspiring journey to Pereiaslav, the City of Museums, for representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps. The event brought together staff members of the embassies of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Montenegro, as well as representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ukraine.
Pereiaslav is one of the oldest towns in Ukraine; it first appears in records in 907. It is famous not only for its rich history but also for its unique cultural atmosphere. People also call it the City of Museums, because it hosts more than 25 museums within a relatively small area, which makes Pereiaslav a record-holder for museums per capita. The town seems to have stopped in time: visitors can see authentic peasant houses, wooden churches, mills, and exhibits related to the Cossack era, Trypillian culture, the development of education, and even space exploration.
As part of the tour, the diplomats viewed the exhibits at the museum dedicated to the Ukrainian philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda, who lived in the town for some time, and they visited Taras Shevchenko’s Testament Museum, set up in the house of the doctor Andrii Kozachkovskyi — a close friend of the famous Ukrainian poet and artist. The participants learnt that the Bard of the People wrote his Zapovit (Testament) here; the poem is now known worldwide. The museum displays not only pages of the Kobzar’s personal life but also offers a view of Cossack-era history through the prism of his work.
The diplomats found the true gem of Pereiaslav most impressive: Ukraine’s first open-air museum — the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Central Naddniprianshchyna. Visitors could examine many examples of traditional Ukrainian architecture and rural building from the 16th to the 20th centuries: authentic village homesteads, wooden churches, mills, Ukraine’s largest collection of windmills, and a unique selection of rushnyky (embroidered towels) from different parts of the country. The exhibition also presents folk clothing, tools, musical instruments and numerous everyday items.
The diplomatic staff thoroughly enjoyed the unique architecture and the rich museum heritage of one of Ukraine’s coziest towns.
