An open-air museum with live “exhibits” tells the history of life in Ukrainian villages
A new openair museum of agriculture that reproduces the life of peasants in the 19th century opened in Rokini village, which is not far from Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine. While it’s certainly not the only such museum to open in Ukraine – the most famous one is certainly Pyrohovo in Kyiv – this one actually has permanent staff acting as the peasants living in the houses. The workers spend nights in there, stoke the ovens, bake bread, look after the cattle, cultivate the land and mow the hay.
The visitors to the museum are offered almost a real visit into the Ukrainian past – they see an ancient Ukrainian village alive with inhabitants engaged in their daily routines, which provides the most unique way to get acquainted with the everyday life and traditions of modern Ukraine’s ancestors. The museum’s director Oleksandr Seredyuk came up with the idea of the museum himself, and over the last two years he transported 12 old architectural constructions to Rokini. Among them is the 19th century mill standing by the entrance to the museum, as well as huts typical of the region. The church standing at the far end of the museum was built according to the draft of the cathedral destroyed in Rivnenska region.
Visiting one of the houses on the territory of the museum, you’ll be treated to customary village dishes – red borshcht with pampushkas, deruny, kompot (berry and fruit-based drink), varenyky and Cossack kulish (a type of kasha).
Lately it has also become fashionable to celebrate religious holidays at the museum – the money earned this way goes to support the museum, as it’s not being financed by the state. By next spring the organizers of the exposition plan to supply the museum with a number of new live exhibits – a long hut, covered courtyard, distillery, shynok (village pub) and pottery.
“Here you don’t just walk around and look. You can take domestic implements in your hands, try working with them, feel how people made their daily bread. You may literally go back to your roots,” Seredyuk said.
