Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Prykarpattia in Krylos

Next to the road connecting Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, not far from the village of Krylos in Halych district, the Museum of Folk Architecture of Prykarpattia is located. Its new name is the Ethnography Museum. This is a small, well-maintained, and beautiful open-air museum. It is especially cozy here during hot weather, as the Museum of Folk Architecture of Prykarpattia was created practically in the forest. All museum buildings can be entered, and there is much to see inside. Such places are especially liked by children, and adults will also find a lot of new things for themselves in the museum. What are berbenytsi or prytuly? How was oil made in ancient times? Where is a good place to build a new house, and where is a bad one? Guides will tell you about all this and much more. The Ethnography Museum is part of the National Reserve "Ancient Halych".

It is located on the territory of an ancient settlement, on the first line of defensive ramparts, opposite the Prokaliyiv garden. The museum was founded in 1981. This island of folk architecture introduces visitors to the architecture and life of the inhabitants of Prykarpattia from the late 17th to the early 20th century. The buildings located on the museum's territory testify to the uniqueness of Ukrainian folk architecture and at the same time to its inseparable connections with the building traditions of Slavic peoples. On an area of 6.8 hectares, the construction of "micro-villages" of four ethnographic regions of Prykarpattia is currently being completed: Pokuttya, Hutsulshchyna, Boikivshchyna, and Opillia. Each of these zones is skillfully planned in the micro-relief of the area, equipped with small architectural forms. The interiors of the monuments contain many ethnographic relics – items of life and household of our ancestors. However, the small exhibition area has led to a number of differences of this museum from similar ones.

In particular, many architectural exhibits are presented not in the form of homesteads – residential-production ensembles of rural construction of past times, but as individual, typical examples of residential, economic, and production buildings. Currently, the museum has 11 architectural monuments representing various types of residential and economic construction. The interiors of the monuments contain many ethnographic relics – items of life and household of our ancestors: a large collection of dishes (plates, mugs, jugs, pots), folk fabrics, traditional clothing for the region, numerous examples of embroidery (women's and men's shirts, tablecloths, bed linens).

The region "Pokuttya" is represented by a traditional Pokutian homestead from the late 17th to the early 20th century (transported from the village of Torhovytsia in the Horodenka district), which includes a house, a basket, a fence, a well-crane, and a fence. In the Pokutian house, there is a collection of dishes (plates, mugs, jugs, pots). The walls are plastered with clay and whitewashed inside and out. An interesting four-pitched roof is covered with straw sheaves. The house is semi-buried.

Pokuttya is also represented by an oil mill – a typical economic building in all regions of Ukraine, which, however, has its own peculiarities everywhere. The oil mill was built at the end of the 19th century and transported from the village of Oleshni in the Tlumach district. It introduces visitors to the process of oil production.

From the ethnographic and one of the most unique regions, Hutsulshchyna, two huts-grazhdy from the village of Usteriky in Verkhovyna district from the late 19th century, as well as a typical Hutsul house from the 1940s, which was transported from the town of Vorokhta in Yaremche district, have been moved to the museum. This three-room dwelling consists of a house, a house, and a pantry. In the Vorokhta house, there is an operational weaving loom, which was used to make carpets and Hutsul clothing.

A feature of the Hutsul region is that the homesteads of the Hutsuls are scattered at a considerable distance from each other in the mountains and valleys. This isolation and the constant need to defend themselves led to the tradition of surrounding their homes with a solid fence. Thus, the Hutsul house-grazhda emerged – a closed construction with a house, pantry, and prytuly, which were characteristic of residential construction of that period. Grazhdy were peculiar fortresses where people hid from wild animals, uninvited guests, or even from snow avalanches. It allows for the discovery of a number of traditional techniques for building homes in Hutsulshchyna. The main building of the yard is the house, which consists of two rooms separated by a corridor - "khoromy". The main building material is wood. The roof of the building is covered with shingles.

Boikivshchyna is represented by a traditional house from 1878 (as evidenced by the date on the beam), transported from the village of Polyanytsia in Dolyna district. This residence of a priest is a three-room kurna house, built back in 1787. It exhibits flax, spinning wheels. One of the rooms is arranged as a one-class school - "diakivka". Here you can also see the largest collection of folk fabrics, embroideries, and clothing. Nearby the house is a Boikiv barn.

The ethnographic region of Opillia is represented by a homestead with a weaver's house from the mid-19th century and an economic building - a barn from the late 19th century, transported from the village of Viktoriv in Halych district. The house of a wealthy peasant. Here is a collection of embroidery from the Rohatyn and Halych districts. These are women's and men's shirts, tablecloths, bed linens, pishvy, as well as folk clothing - men's and women's, everyday and festive. In the economic building - the barn, means of transport and tools are exhibited.

Perhaps the most interesting exhibit of the ethnographic museum in Krylos is the wooden church of All Saints from the early 20th century from the village of Poplavnyky in Halych district (it has a typical yet unique architecture, close to house construction, which was once widespread throughout Galicia) and a production building - a blacksmith's shop from the late 19th century from the village of Tenetnyky in Halych district. There is also a very large collection of Opillia embroidery - women's and men's shirts, tablecloths, bed linens, pishvy, folk clothing.

The buildings in the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Prykarpattia are all original, presented as samples of the life of the Prykarpattians. They are installed in the museum area in a corresponding thematic context. The only exceptions are some exhibits - small architectural forms, which quickly deteriorate in villages, as they are usually built from less durable materials. The exhibits in the interiors of the houses are also collected according to the specifics of the regions.

In the near future, the construction of a water mill, a Hutsul church, a fulushnia, an inn, an entrance tower, etc. is planned on the territory of the museum.

To get to the Museum of Architecture and Life of Prykarpattia (Ethnography Museum), you can take the N09 highway. It is located on the section of the road between Halych and Krylos. The landmark is the monument "Sword and Plow". ​

Opening hours of the museum: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM daily.

Ticket prices: adult - 10 UAH, child - 5 UAH.
Guided tours - 200 UAH for adults, children's tour - 100 UAH.