The Okhtyrka City Museum of Local Lore is housed in a historic building on Okhtyrka's main street, Independence Street. Its holdings number nearly 10,000 items regarding the nature, history, and culture of the city. On March 8, 2022, a Russian aerial bomb destroyed the roof, damaged the walls, and blew out the windows of the building, but staff and volunteers saved the collections, and the museum is gradually coming back to life.
What the museum collects
The institution has operated as an independent city museum since 1995. It features three permanent exhibitions — "Fauna of Okhtyrka Forests", "History of Okhtyrka", and "Our Land During the Second World War" — as well as an exhibition hall. Among the most interesting items are personal belongings of the writer Ivan Bahriany, a native of the Okhtyrka region, old books, photographs, documents, and amateur theater costumes. The collection also includes documents and items belonging to the archaeologist Mykhailo Rudynskyi.
Okhtyrka — a Cossack city
Okhtyrka is an ancient city on the Vorskla River, once the center of the Okhtyrka Sloboda Cossack Regiment. Museum guides lead excursions such as "Okhtyrka — City of Cossack Glory", "Along the Okhtyrka Paths of the Great Skovoroda", "Along the Ancient Paths of the Scythian Gelon", "Spiritual Shrines of the Okhtyrka Region", and other routes. Near the city begins Hetman National Park along the Vorskla.
The year 2022
In the first weeks of the invasion, Okhtyrka suffered heavy shelling and airstrikes. On March 8, 2022, during the bombing of the city center, the museum building was also damaged. The residents of Okhtyrka, together with heritage conservationists, rescued the collection, and later the museum resumed its work and shows how the city is enduring the war.
How to get there
Address: Okhtyrka, 10 Nezalezhnosti Street. Okhtyrka is 80 km south of Sumy and 20 km from Trostianets. Before visiting, please check whether the exhibition is open and what the schedule is.
What to keep in mind
The Okhtyrka region is still shelled. Before traveling, check the security situation and the restrictions of the Sumy Oblast Military Administration.
