Shevchenkivskyi Hay, Lviv

Szewczenkowski Gaj - an open -air museum in Lviv, in Kajzerwald.

In the north-eastern part of Lviv, close to the high castle in the Kajzerwald district, there is a museum of folk architecture and everyday life in Lviv. Established in 1971, the museum was established to preserve architectural monuments, home appliances and folk art objects of all historical and ethnographic groups of Western Ukraine, which were formed at the end of the 19th century-at the beginning of the 20th century.

Among these groups there is Boykowszczyzna, Lemko, Hucul region, Wołyń, Podole, Polesie, Bukowina, Pokuta, Zakarpacie, Lviv land.

Every group is devoted to a separate sector - such a micro village, in which, next to residential buildings, there are utility, industrial and sacred rooms. Each building has the right surroundings that helps to restore the lifestyle, work and rest of the inhabitants of the West-Ukrainian village.

Today, the Lviv open -air museum is one of the largest museums in the open air in Europe. 150 monuments of folk wooden architecture were collected in the 50 ha area. The oldest buildings were built in 1749, 1792, 1812, 1846, 1860, utility and industrial rooms.

Buildings and rooms are also presented here, which characterize the Carpathian Smolar economy and forest craftsmanship.

Museum warehouses are very rich. About 21,000 exhibits were collected in them. These are collections of clothing and fabrics, furniture, musical instruments, ceramics, decorations, icons, church objects. There is a unique collection of 120 manuscripts and old prints.

The museum has become one of the most popular resting places for the inhabitants of Lviv and the city's guests. People's Music Festivals take place here, performances of folk bands are organized. In the exhibition halls you can learn about the works of the art of Ukrainian people and exhibits. During the period - and this is over 40 years - the museum was visited by over 3 million tourists from different countries of the world. About 150,000 tourists visit them every year.

The most valuable monuments are transferred in a state intact church: Bojkowska from 1763 and Lemko from 1831.