Khata u Hlubokim Local History Centre, Urych

Khata u Hlubokim (“the House in Hlyboke”) is an old Boyko house in Urych that the Tustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve has turned into a local history centre. It stands in the part of the village called Hlyboke, close to the famous Tustan rocks, and shows what travellers usually miss: the everyday life, memory and crafts of a Boyko mountain village. As late as the early 2000s two families lived here; they later moved out, and the last resident sold the house before she died — and so it became a museum space. It has been open to visitors since 2012.

Urych is a typical village of northern Boykivshchyna, where you can still see old timber houses, wells and a traditional patchwork of vegetable plots and hay meadows. So the centre in Hlyboke is not an exhibition cut off from life but part of a living village, worth a stop before or after the walk to the rock fortress.

Why go: what to see and do

• The exhibition “Junk? The History of Urych in Objects and Images”. Before it opened in 2016, the reserve’s staff went from house to house collecting old photographs, household items and people’s memories. The question mark in the title invites you to think: are old things rubbish, or a treasure worth keeping?
• The first room holds a “family tree” of villagers’ photographs symbolising the community, mirrors in which visitors see themselves as part of the story, and forgotten tools: a spinning wheel, a pail for the sour starter used in borshch, and a flax brake.
• The second room has a real clay stove, the centre of family life: people cooked and slept on it, hid insurgents behind it in hard times and kept hens warm in bitter frost. Up to 12 people could live in a room this size, and babies slept in cradles hung from the ceiling.
• Folk-craft workshops. Classes in Boyko crafts, including weaving and souvenir making, are held in the house. The programme changes, so arrange group workshops in advance.
• Gatherings and celebrations. The house is a community space hosting talks, evening get-togethers and events of the BoyYe Boyko culture festival.

The Boyko house as a living tradition

A Boyko home was a log house under a tall roof that combined living and farm rooms. Inside were a stove, benches along the walls and a loom on which linen and blankets were woven in winter. The Boykos hung icons opposite the door and bowed to them on entering — guests are still invited to repeat the custom at the threshold. At Khata u Hlubokim objects are not locked behind glass: they tell real stories of real Urych people. From 2018 the house was part of the “World of Carpathian Rosettes” project, supported by the European Union under the Poland–Belarus–Ukraine cross-border cooperation programme, which helped restore the building and adapt it to its new role.

Practical information

• Address: Hlyboke, Urych village, Stryi district, Lviv region.
• Opening hours: April–October 10:00–18:00, November–March 9:30–17:00. Closed on 25 December, 6 January and Easter Sunday.
• Tickets: included in the single Tustan Reserve ticket (adults UAH 200, concessions UAH 100, family UAH 400–500). Group tours are paid separately.
• Format: the house is small, so visitors go in in small groups — expect a short wait at weekends.
• Phone: +380 67 671 3345 — to book tours and check the workshop schedule.

How to get there

Urych lies about 120 km south of Lviv. By car the easiest way is via Stryi and Skhidnytsia — Urych is only a few kilometres from Skhidnytsia. By public transport, take a bus from Lviv to Skhidnytsia or Boryslav and then a taxi. In the village, follow the signs to Tustan and Khata u Hlubokim.

Website and social media: tustan.ua · youtube.com

Photos: tustan.ua.