On 18th May the world marks the International Museums Day, established in 1977 by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). This year this celebration of culture is being held in the shadow of the ongoing war in Ukraine, where every day a part of the European heritage perishes, along with the people. Museums are an...
During the construction of defences and trenches on the territory of the whole Ukraine valuable archaeological relics are being found. In the Odessa region, members of the Territorial Defence Force found, among others, amphorae dating back to the 5th-4th centuries BC. The items were transferred to the Odessa Museum of Archaeology at the National Academy...
Despite the efforts by the curators of the Melitopol Local Lore Museum, Russian soldiers have found and looted the local priceless collection of Scythian gold. According to the Crimean Tatar Information Centre, almost 2 thousand of the museum’s artifacts were stolen. Among them were 300 gold objects – the Scythian gold (198 objects came from...
OdessaVorontsov Palace, one of the city’s the gems of 19th-century architecture, has suffered damage as a result of recent rocket fire. Explosions have damaged the windows, bas-reliefs on the facade and the roofing. With the city’s precious architecture under threat, Mayor Gennady Trukhanov has appealed to UNESCO to enter Odessa onto the World Heritage List....
As a result of a Russian bombardment on 1 May, the Lysychansk Gymnasium in Luhansk Oblast (region) of Ukraine burnt down. The 19th century historic school building – along with surrounding buildings – was part of the infrastructure of the former Lysychansk Soda Factory. The location of the factory was suggested to the Tsar by...
The Ivanka Historical and Discovery Museum was burned down by Russian shelling and fire in late February this year. It housed some 25 paintings by Maria Prymachenko, which were partially saved. One of them – “Flowers grew next to the fourth block” – was sold at auction. -was sold at auction to support the activities...
In Ukraine, the number of destroyed, bombed and looted museums and shelled temples, libraries and archives is increasing. The Russians are also deliberately destroying monuments symbolizing events and figures important to Ukrainian history and culture. The bullet-riddled bust of Taras Shevchenko, the Ukrainian national bard, was a mute witness to the crimes committed against the...
Odessa is one of the most beautiful Ukrainian cities. It has completely preserved the urban structure of the port center of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The preserved structure of the street network is considered an outstanding achievement of urban construction, which has no analogues in other regions of Ukraine. The best preserved...
Since the first days of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the National Heritage Board of Poland has been engaged in supporting activities aimed at protecting the cultural heritage of our eastern neighbor. By the decision of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Polish Centre to Support Culture in Ukraine was established within the structure...
As a result of Russian shelling of Kharkiv, 9 local cemeteries of historical and symbolic significance were destroyed and damaged. One of them is the Cemetery of Victims of Totalitarianism in Pyatichaty, unveiled in 2000. Buried there are 4,302 Polish prisoners of war – including Polish Army officers shot in 1940 – and 2,746 citizens...
