Water Museum. An 1876 water tower and an underground reservoir where water becomes an interactive show

The Water Museum’s water tower and Khreshchatyi Park from above
The 1876 water tower that houses the Water Museum
Visitors in the underground tunnel of the Water Museum
An interactive hall of the Water Museum with a waterfall on screen
Children by a fish pool at the Water Museum
The Water Museum’s water tower and Khreshchatyi Park from aboveThe 1876 water tower that houses the Water MuseumVisitors in the underground tunnel of the Water MuseumAn interactive hall of the Water Museum with a waterfall on screenChildren by a fish pool at the Water Museum

A museum in a real 1876 water tower and a 1909 underground clean-water reservoir. Go down below ground and you find yourself surrounded by water in all its forms: huge aquariums, models of a well and a sewer collector, projections and special effects.

Why visit

  • The museum is in a real 29-meter water tower from 1876 in Khreshchatyi Park
  • The main exhibition is underground, in a former clean-water reservoir built back in 1909
  • Huge aquariums, models of an artesian well and a sewer collector, and a giant toilet for the kids
  • The “Ocean” exhibit has been updated with special effects that feel like a real dive to the ocean floor
  • Authentic water pipes from the 18th–21st centuries: wooden, ceramic, cast-iron and plastic in one row
  • The ticket price already includes a guided tour, so there is no need to pay extra for a guide

Good to know

Visits with a guide only
This is not a museum to explore on your own: the ticket price includes a tour, and groups go in together. So it is best to arrange the time of your visit in advance by phone at +38 (044) 279-53-33, especially if there are just two or three of you and you want to join the next group.
Monday and Tuesday – maintenance days
Open Wednesday to Friday and on weekends; closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The schedule is seasonal: from September to May – Wed–Fri 10:00 to 16:00, Sat–Sun 10:00 to 17:00; from May to September, longer – Wed–Fri until 17:00, Sat–Sun until 18:00.
In the cold season – by appointment
From September to May, the official website and the Kyiv city portal state clearly that the center receives visitors by appointment. Turning up without calling during this period risks not getting in, even during opening hours.
Adult UAH 200, child UAH 150
Adult ticket – UAH 200, child (6+) – UAH 150. Box office on site.
Children under 6 – free
Children under 6 accompanied by parents get in free.
How to find the entrance
The museum stands in Khreshchatyi Park, on the hill to the right of the National Philharmonic on European Square. Nearest metro station: Maidan Nezalezhnosti; you can also walk down the slopes from Mariinskyi Palace, coming from Arsenalna station. Landmark: opposite the Dnipro Hotel and the National Art Museum.
Educational format, best for kids
The exhibition is built around how the water supply works, where drinking water comes from, how it is treated and how not to waste it. Its main audience is school students and families with children; the museum traditionally welcomes many school groups.
The underground section was updated in 2020
In 2020 the interior of the underground section gained modern projection equipment and scientific content, and the “Ocean” exhibit with its large aquarium got special effects. In other words, this is not a museum frozen in 2003.

The building itself is the strongest part of the experience. The museum occupies a 29-meter water tower built in 1876 to a design by architect Alexander Peter Adrian Schille – for decades it actually supplied Kyiv residents with water. At the end of the 20th century the landmark stood neglected, and in the early 2000s it was restored and converted into a museum. The neighboring tower of 1871–1872, demolished in Soviet times, was rebuilt from old drawings – it now houses the administration. The main exhibition is not in the tower but underground, in a former clean-water reservoir built in 1909 after Kyiv switched to artesian water supply. This move from above ground to below is what makes a visit unlike an ordinary museum: the descent down the stairs, the change in temperature, a different sound. The exhibition is built on three levels. The upper level is decorated with a composition of water molecules – the basis of the entire hydrosphere. The middle level shows the different faces of water. The lower level is done in light tones that symbolize the purity and vulnerability of water. Once down in the reservoir, visitors find themselves among huge aquariums, models of an artesian well and a sewer collector – and a giant toilet that kids usually remember best. A separate part of the museum is devoted to the history of Kyiv’s water supply. The city’s centralized water system opened on March 1, 1872, but in Podil a water supply had worked since at least 1633. Here you can see authentic pipes from the 18th to the 21st centuries – wooden, ceramic, cast-iron and plastic – side by side in one row, as a visual chronicle of technology. Above the stairs to the reservoir hangs the European Water Charter, adopted by the Council of Europe in 1967; its first point begins with the words “There is no life without water”. In 2020 the underground section was updated: modern projection equipment and scientific content were added, and the “Ocean” exhibit with its large aquarium gained special effects that create the feeling of diving to the ocean floor. The museum opened on May 24, 2003 – for Kyiv Day, during the 5th Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe”. It was created by the Kyiv City State Administration with the support of the Danish Ministry of the Environment, and at the time of its opening it was only the third museum of its kind in Europe. The museum still belongs to the city: it is the municipal enterprise “Water Information Center”, not a private entertainment center – hence its educational focus on how the water supply works, where drinking water comes from and how not to waste it.