Local History Museum Poltava

Poltava Local History Museum is one of the oldest and the most interesting museums in Ukraine. It houses unique collection of authentic items and antiquities that introduce the history, nature and culture of Poltava region, as well as true treasures of the world history, including artifacts from Ancient Egypt, India, China and Japan. The museum is reckoned among the most visited ones in the city: yearly, about half a million Poltava locals and guests visit its original expositions.

The Local History Museum is situated in the building of the former province Zemstvo (elective district council in pre-revolutionary Russia) that was built in Ukrainian art nouveau style, in the early 20th century. Being recognized as an eminent architectural masterpiece, it is often called a stone flower, in which traditions of folk architecture, old Ukrainian ornaments and innovative designer forms interweave.

Building’s facades are faced with rose and grey granite and flagged with ceramic tiles. In addition, they are adorned with depictions of Poltava province cities’ coats of arms. Elegant windows are framed with carved heterochromatic and twisted columns, and the building is topped by high mansard roofs, covered with glazed tiling. House’s inner decoration has something in common with the style of its exterior: well-known painters and folk arts’ craftsmen adorned its luxurious interiors with heterochromatic ornament and decorative painting.