Museum of Applied Arts, Vyzhnytsia

In the small town of Vyzhnytsia, there is a Museum of Applied Arts, which exhibits the best diploma and course work of students of the local College of Arts. Visiting it can be an interesting diversification of your trip to Bukovyna.

The fantastic richness of decorations, the unique beauty of human handiwork, and the rich imagination of college students are in the museum's expositions. The museum register contains more than 20 thousand exhibits since the foundation of the school of carving in 1905. Here you can see works of art, weaving, clothing, jewelry, artistic metal forging, and examples of carving.

All the exhibits are the works of students and teachers of the College of Applied Arts. Visitors may also be interested in the fact that some works can be purchased.

The museum was founded in 1966. Four exhibition halls house a variety of exhibits: clothing, weaving, carved wooden items, metalwork, drawings by college teachers and students, as well as jewelry and household items.

The Museum of Art in Vyzhnytsia was opened on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the local College of Arts. The museum collection was assembled independently, based on the diploma works of the college's graduates.

The V. Shkriblyak VCAPM occupies one of the main places in the artistic training and education of the younger generation in Western Ukraine. This artistic educational institution gathers young talents from many areas, and many of the college's graduates manage to prove themselves as masters of applied arts in various fields in their later lives.

The works skillfully executed by the students of the college emphasize the close, inextricable link between traditional folk art and contemporary interpretation. In recent years, the diversified, reinterpreted folk traditions of the students of the VKPM have become particularly noticeable, and this has attracted special attention from fans of decorative and applied arts.

"The Carpathian region attracts many fans of applied art and impresses them with the greatness of unity with nature and, at the same time, with the works of folk craftsmen," says the director of the college, R. Havryliuk. "Today, this art is an important part of the art education system and, being multifaceted, it is increasingly expanding in connection with the processes of national revival.

The institution is located in the center of the town at 67 Ukrainska Street. The most convenient way to get to Vyzhnytsia is by bus from Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kolomyia.

Opening hours ofthe Vyzhnytsia Museum of Applied Arts: open to visitors from 10:00 to 17:00 on weekdays, Saturday, Sunday - weekends.

Vyzhnytsia is a small Carpathian town with a population of only about 5 thousand inhabitants. However, the amazing beauty of the surrounding mountains and forests, the steep Cheremosh, combined with the original architecture of Austrian times, makes it a real gem of the Carpathian part of Bukovyna. Vyzhnytsia is located at the foot of the Carpathians, on the right bank of the stormy Cheremosh, 70 km from the regional center of Chernivtsi. The name of the town comes from the word "vyzhniy" (upper).

The first mention of the city is in the Moldovan chronicle of 1501. In 1514-1574 the city was under the rule of the Turks. Until 1774, Vyzhnytsia was subordinated to the Principality of Moldova, and later to Austria-Hungary. At the end of the eighteenth century, with the beginning of the development of the timber industry, Vyzhnytsia became an important point of trade in wood. After the Cheremosh riverbed was regulated (1790-1812), construction timber and firewood were floated to Chernivtsi, and from there, along a dirt road through the Boyany, to Bessarabia and Podillia.

Vyzhnytsia suffered terrible devastation during the First World War. The town changed hands several times, leaving most of the buildings in ruins and the number of inhabitants down to 500.

In 905, a regional school of carving, turning, and metal ornamentation was organized in Vyzhnytsia. It was attended by 20 children. Its founders and teachers were the famous Hutsul carvers Vasyl Shkribliak, Vasyl Devdiuk, Marko Megedeniuk, and Fedir Hnatiuk. The school's products soon became known far beyond the region.

During 1869-1872, the writer Yurii Fedkovych worked as an inspector of schools in the Vyzhnytsia district. Ukrainian artist, writer, and public figure Kornylo Ustianovych (1839-1903) lived and died in Vyzhnytsia for some time. The famous Polish painter Juliusz Kosak (1824-1899) was born here; the Polish artist Anna Czartoryska spent her childhood and adolescence here.

Ukrainian writers have visited the city: Ivan Franko, Lesya Ukrainka, Vasyl Stefanyk, artist Ivan Trush, and other cultural figures. The city's community always welcomed their favorite artists with hospitality and joy. On 23 July 1901, in honor of Lesia Ukrainka's arrival, a large concert was organized in the largest venue of the time.

Vyzhnytsia is the birthplace of People's Artist of Ukraine Nazar Yaremchuk, the Smerichka vocal and instrumental ensemble and the Smerechyna folk dance ensemble were born here, and Vasyl Zinkevych and many other famous artists began their careers here.