Museum of weapons, Ivano-Frankivsk

The private collection of an ordinary resident of the village of Ivano-Frankove has turned into a home museum of weapons that can be visited by prior arrangement with the owner. The man has been doing this all his life.

Vitalii Havhun, who has been working on this for 35 years, has a private museum with 2,500 exhibits. The collector found all the exhibits, including weapons, helmets, and household items, in the vicinity of his hometown. After all, the front line during the First and Second World Wars passed here. Vitalii Havhun's usual childhood fascination with military weapons eventually took on a more serious meaning and turned the collection into a real private museum, which he placed in his home.

It all started with a "lemon" that he found as a child in the woods near his town. The boy brought it home, disassembled it and cleaned it, for which he received a kick from his grandfather when he saw it. But the boy didn't stop there, and kept bringing dangerous but unique finds home.

Previously, the entire exhibition was located in Mr. Vitalii's home. Now he left only the most expensive items from the collection at home - rifles, daggers, and pistols. He moved the rest to the administrative building of the Roztochia Nature Reserve, where he works as an engineer. The management allocated two rooms for the museum, and local workers helped to equip them. His grandfather, who once served in the UPA, instilled in him a love of searching. He told me about the hiding places and burials of soldiers. That's when it all started. Vitalii gradually brought his finds home.

The collector is happy to receive visitors and give them tours. He has even had visitors from other countries: Austria, Israel, and Russia. The visit is free, but the owner asks to buy his book for 20 UAH. The money raised for visiting the museum is donated to the treatment of ATO soldiers.

In the future, Vitaliy Havgun wants to open an official museum.

The exhibition includes a large arsenal of old weapons and some antiques from the First and Second World Wars. The collection includes about three thousand items: axes, irons, medals, spoons, guns, sabers, helmets, and much more. Some of the exhibits date back to Kyivan Rus - Vitalii once unearthed an ancient settlement near the Vereshchytsia River. The most interesting exhibit in the collection is the world's first Werndl cartridge rifle from 1871.

Back in the early 90s, he had no peace of mind: his place was searched, they were looking for real weapons, they even wanted to throw him in jail. Although all his exhibits are not combat weapons, but dummies. The Austrians even awarded Havhun the Badge of Honor "For Services to the Republic of Austria" for exhuming their soldiers during the excavations. To popularize the museum, a Facebook group called the Ivano-Frankivsk Weapons Museum has already been created. All information about the museum can be found there. So everyone is welcome to take a tour. Most of the money here is donated to charity, said Marian Bodnar, a Lviv resident who decided to help popularize the museum.

The purpose of the tours is to familiarize guests with Ukrainian history, the events of the war period, the active work of the fighters for the country's independence, and the past of their hometown. Vitalii Havhun is ready to conduct tours in his museum even at night. The main thing is that there are people willing to learn more about the history of their native land. Moreover, all the exhibits can be picked up and examined up close.

The Museum of Weapons in Ivano-Frankivsk is located on Zelena Street, in the Yavoriv Park. Nearby is Yavorivska Street, which is the M10 highway. You can get to the village by local transport. If you are driving a car, you should turn left on Zelena Street and go to the park, moving along the highway towards the Yavorivskyi Pond.

Opening hours: from 10:00 to 20:00.