The Museum of Partisan Glory of Polissia in the village of Slovechne in the Zhytomyr region is one of the most famous military-historical museums of Ukrainian Polissia. During World War II, Slovechne was called one of the centers of the partisan movement in the north of Ukraine.
The museum opened on November 4, 1962, although the idea itself arose back in 1957, when former partisans and underground fighters began coming to Slovechne to visit the battle sites and camp locations of their detachments.
How the museum was created
Construction of the museum began in 1961 on the initiative of the then-leadership of the Slovechne district. A significant part of the work was performed by the residents of Slovechne and surrounding villages themselves.
The museum was actually built using a "people's method":
- local residents worked for free;
- former partisans handed over personal items;
- exhibits were collected literally across the villages and forests of Polissia.
The first head was Hanna Vyhovska, a former liaison of the Shchors partisan formation. In different years, the museum was headed by local lore experts and researchers of the history of Polissia.
Until 1971, the museum operated on a voluntary basis, and later it became a branch of the Zhytomyr Regional Lore Museum.
Why Slovechne
During the years of the Nazi occupation, the Slovechne region was one of the main strongholds of the partisan movement in Polissia.
It was right here that:
- large partisan formations were based;
- underground groups operated;
- punitive expeditions of the occupiers took place;
- in 1942, an operational group of the Ukrainian Headquarters of the Partisan Movement was airdropped.
The forests of the Slovechne-Ovruch Ridge were an ideal place for partisan warfare: due to impassable swamps and dense forests, it was difficult for the occupiers to control the territory.
What can be seen in the museum
The exhibition is dedicated to the events of World War II in Polissia. Here are preserved:
- partisan weapons;
- personal belongings of the fighters;
- documents and photographs;
- partisan press;
- printing fonts of underground printing houses;
- radio equipment;
- medical instruments of field hospitals.
One of the halls is decorated like a real partisan dugout.
Separate exhibitions tell about:
- burned Polissian villages;
- punitive operations of the occupiers;
- the activities of the underground in the Ovruch region.
Memorial of Burned Villages
In 1995, next to the museum, the Memorial Complex in Memory of Burned Polissian Villages was opened.
It is dedicated to the tragedies of 1942–1943, when during punitive operations the Nazis destroyed the villages of the Ovruch region along with civilians.
The memorial has become one of the most emotional places of the museum complex.
Partisan Glory Park
The museum is located in the Partisan Glory Park, established in 1970.
Nearby stands a large granite monolith—a symbol of the combat friendship of Ukrainian, Polish, and Slovak partisans.
How to get there
Slovechne is the center of the Slovechne hromada of the Korosten district, in the north of the Zhytomyr region. It is most convenient to travel by car via Ovruch. Buses also run to the village from Korosten and Ovruch. The museum stands in Partisan Glory Park.
Interesting fact
The museum in Slovechne is one of the few large museums of Polissia created literally by the efforts of the local community and former partisans, rather than solely by state structures.
