Haisyn: Culture, Remembrance and Architecture

Haisyn can be explored through a range of cultural themes: public remembrance, architectural history and museums with different areas of focus. When planning your trip, it is helpful to distinguish between these themes. Memorial sites stand alongside architectural landmarks in the cityscape; the museums focus on both the history of the region and folk traditions and songs. This allows you to choose the cultural highlights that will shape your stay in Haisyn.

Memorial Sites in Haisyn

In 2017, the Alley of Glory and the Park of Remembrance and Glory of ATO Participants were established in the center of Haisyn. The cultural and recreation park in Haisyn is named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky. A mass grave within this park is the resting place of 350 fallen soldiers. The names and locations point to different aspects of remembrance: the Alley of Glory and the Park of Remembrance and Glory of ATO Participants are two named sites in the center, while the mass grave forms a separate memorial site within the cultural and recreation park.

Manor Houses and Architectural History

The manor house of timber merchant Shpilberg is a brick building dating from the turn of the 20th century. Its decorative frieze and ornate roof structure draw attention to the building’s design details. A frieze is a decorative architectural element, usually running horizontally; together with the roof structure, it is one of the distinctive features of this house. Another architectural monument is the manor house of lawyer Litvakovsky. It dates from the early 20th century and is associated with the Art Nouveau style. At the Shpilberg house, the focus is on the building material and individual architectural elements; at the Litvakovsky house, it is on the art-historical style. This makes it possible to distinguish between two different approaches to the city’s architectural history.

Local History Museum and Regional History

The Haisyn Local History Museum was founded in 1995 by veterans of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense as a museum of a veterans’ association. It is housed in the former home of the headmaster of the boys’ gymnasium, a listed building from the early 20th century. Thus, the museum site brings together architectural history and local history: the building previously served as the headmaster’s residence, while the museum’s collection and exhibitions explore the region’s history and culture.

The collection includes weapons from the Second World War, military clothing and items from urban and rural everyday life in the 20th century. Icons, folk ceramics, and Ukrainian decorative and applied arts provide further areas of focus. The exhibition covers Ukrainian statehood, events of the Second World War in the Haisyn region, the partisan movement, the region’s natural environment and the traditional way of life of its inhabitants. The collection and exhibition offer different perspectives: on specific objects and on broader historical, social and regional themes.

Oral Traditions and Folk Songs

The Hnat Tantsiura Museum Collection offers a different cultural focus. It is a cultural and educational center dedicated to studying and sharing oral folk traditions, folklore and the songs of the Haisyn region. While the Local History Museum’s collection includes objects related to military history, everyday life and art, as well as themes concerning the region’s history and nature, the Museum Collection focuses on intangible cultural heritage and regional folk culture. This distinction offers a clear guide: in Haisyn, material objects and regional exhibition themes sit alongside the study and sharing of traditions and songs.

Discover more destinations: Dyakivtsi, Zhukivtsi, Chechelnyk, Pysarivka, Harmaky, Lityn, Krasnopilka, Vapniarka.

For the regional travel overview: Vinnytsia Oblast.