Museum of customary symbols of the Hutsul region (Mykulychyn)

Did you know that the Museum of Customary Symbols of the Hutsul Region (Mykulychyn) and its exhibition are housed in three rooms of an old hut? It presents unique Hutsul household items, clothing, beliefs, etc., where the symbols of the Hutsul ethnic group are depicted in drawings, embroidery, and carvings. The Museum of Customary Symbols of the Hutsul Region in the village of Mykulychyn has been open since 2012 and is part of a tour of the Carpathian Mountains in the Carpathian National Nature Park.

Go here for a weekend and among the exhibits of the museum in Mykulychyn you will see: collections of authentic Hutsul plates, half-bowls, jugs, mugs, barrels; furniture (carved chests, tables, cradle); working tools (yokes, cattle bells, baskets, other tools), wheels, a loom, spindles, snowshoes; musical instruments (trembitas, cymbals) and much more.

The collection of the Museum of Customary Symbols of Mykulychyn includes original Hutsul woven bags, carpets, embroidered towels, and Hutsul clothing (embroidered shirts, caps, hats, kerchiefs, and shawls). An interesting and prominent exhibit of the museum is a large rounded stone - churinga - which is associated with the beginning of Easter egg making.

Remember that the museum hosts cheese-makingworkshops; you can take photos in Hutsul costumes. There is also a room where you can hold various celebrations or conferences.

Opening hours: By appointment. Entrance fees with a guided tour: Adults - 20 UAH. Children - 10 UAH. Individual tour - 100 UAH.

Go to the Museum of Customary Symbols of the Hutsul Region along the main street of Mykulychyn village, 200 meters from the center (if you are coming from Ivano-Frankivsk).

Interview with Yuriy Boberskyi by the online edition Blitz-Info (full text here)

"Ours is the only ethnological Hutsul museum in Ukraine. The subject matter of the expositions is specific and unique, evolving and based on historical research of the customary symbols of the Hutsul region. The museum theme is exhaustively described in my father's and my book "Cranes of the Pre-Ukrainian Land". The core of the museum's theme is that we are not newcomers, but have been an indigenous people on our own land since the Paleolithic period (25-30 thousand years ago. - Author). Professor Mykola Kohutiak, director of the Institute of History and Political Science at the Volodymyr Stefanyk National University of Lviv, is my teacher, he supports us a lot and visits us often.

We have good intentions for the future - to restore some ancient Hutsul crafts, develop tourist local history, etc. To make Mykulychyn an ethno-cultural center of the Hutsul region.

"Repeat and ask three times for what you cannot do. And the guardian angel will definitely help you." (Yurii Yulianovych Boberskyi, founder of the museum).

...There is nothing accidental in the Museum of Customary Symbols of the Hutsul Region in Mykulychyn, built in the style of a traditional Hutsul house. Every detail is eloquent. Even at the threshold, a highly artistic exposition of wooden sculptures on Hutsul themes greets and sees off everyone who intends to visit the museum or just travels through the endless Mykulychyn, and it also has a history. It was created in the early 80s by members of the National Union of Artists from Ivano-Frankivsk: Valentyn Danyliuk of blessed memory and Darii Hrabar, now a lecturer at the Lviv National Academy of Arts. And it is no accident that we did not notice anywhere around us at least a small plaque stating that the builder of this unique museum was Yurii Yulianovych Boberskyi. Because, in our opinion, his modesty in life is another manifestation of his phenomenon."