Ivan Honchar Museum. A national center of folk culture with a collection of embroidered shirts, folk costumes and “Cossack Mamai” paintings near the Lavra

The Ivan Honchar Museum building
Folk costumes on mannequins at the Ivan Honchar Museum
An embroidered shirt sleeve at the Ivan Honchar Museum
The Ivan Honchar Museum next to the Lavra domes
Bright embroidery on a sleeve at the Ivan Honchar Museum
An embroidered shirt in the Ivan Honchar Museum collection
The Ivan Honchar Museum buildingFolk costumes on mannequins at the Ivan Honchar MuseumAn embroidered shirt sleeve at the Ivan Honchar MuseumThe Ivan Honchar Museum next to the Lavra domesBright embroidery on a sleeve at the Ivan Honchar Museum

The Ivan Honchar Museum, a national center of folk culture, keeps one of the most fascinating collections of Ukrainian folk art – embroidered shirts, folk costumes, ceramics, pysanky, icons and the famous “Cossack Mamai” paintings. The museum is housed in the historic Governor’s House at 19 Lavrska Street, next to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. The permanent exhibition is currently closed and in safekeeping, so visitors are invited to exhibition projects, concerts and educational events.

Why visit

  • More than 15 thousand items of folk art: embroidered shirts, rushnyky, costumes, ceramics, pysanky and icons
  • The famous “Cossack Mamai” folk paintings and about 500 folk icons in the museum’s collection
  • A collection that artist Ivan Honchar began assembling in the late 1950s while traveling around Ukraine
  • The historic Governor’s House at 19 Lavrska Street, easy to combine with a walk around the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
  • Exhibition projects, concerts and educational events where folk tradition comes alive in a modern way
  • The last Friday of the month is an open day, and preschoolers always visit the museum free

Good to know

Ticket prices
Standard ticket – UAH 150, reduced – UAH 75, child – UAH 30. A themed tour of the current exhibitions costs UAH 150 to 400 depending on the number of participants; admission is paid separately.
Free admission
The last Friday of the month is an open day. Free admission for preschoolers, war veterans, people with Group I disabilities, orphans, students of museum studies, history, cultural studies and ethnography, and other eligible groups with ID.
Opening hours
Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00; box office until 18:00. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
What’s open now
The museum’s permanent exhibition is closed and in safekeeping. Visitors can attend exhibition projects, concerts and educational events – the museum announces them on its website and social media.
The collection online
Part of the museum’s collection, including folk paintings and icons, can be viewed on Google Arts & Culture.
Getting there
From Arsenalna metro station – bus No. 24 (24A), trolleybus No. 38 or minibus No. 470 or No. 520 to the final stop, National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.

The museum was founded in 1993 on the basis of the private collection of Ivan Honchar – an artist, sculptor and researcher of folk culture. He began collecting in the late 1950s, bringing back items from his travels around Ukraine that reflected the diversity of local traditions. In Soviet times his private museum became one of the hubs of the Sixtiers movement in Kyiv. Today the collection numbers more than 15 thousand ethnographic and art objects: 2.7 thousand textiles – rushnyky (ritual towels), shirts, outerwear, carpets and embroidery samples – about 700 ceramic pieces, pysanky (painted eggs), carved wood, metal and glass items, and folk musical instruments. The museum’s pride is its collection of folk paintings, including the “Cossack Mamai” pictures, and about 500 folk icons. While the permanent exhibition is in safekeeping, the museum shows its treasures in exhibition projects and hosts concerts, lectures and educational events, and you can book a themed tour of the current exhibitions. Together with the Kyiv Kobzar Guild, the museum supports the kobzar tradition. From Arsenalna metro station the museum is a few stops away by bus or trolleybus, and a visit is easy to combine with a walk around the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.