V.V. Tarnovskyi Chernihiv Regional Historical Museum is one of the oldest museums in Ukraine. It is also a scientific and cultural centre of the city, region and country.
The museum is named after a well-known Ukrainian public and cultural figure, collector, philanthropist Vasyl Tarnovskyi, Junior. It was his unique collection of the Ukrainian antiquities that became the basis for the museum.
The museum was founded on November 14th (26th), 1896 when the official opening of the Chernihiv Gubernia Academic Archival Commission with its Historical Museum took place.
In 1923, five Chernihiv museums merged into the Chernihiv State Museum. In 1925, the building of the former Peasants Land Bank (nowadays it is a library named after V. H. Korolenko). After the Chernihiv region formation, in 1933 the museum moved to Chernihiv dytynets – Val (the Rampart) – and was housed in the building of the gymnasium for boys, where it is located now.
The museum staff has been replenishing the museum collections since its foundation. Unfortunately, there were some losses. Some exhibits did not return from the evacuation during World War II but remained on the territory of the present-day Russian Federation. Some exhibits simply disappeared.
Today, the museum has about two hundred and thirty thousand exponents of material and spiritual culture. The exhibition is located in 16 halls and represents different periods of Chernihiv history. There is a rich collection of archeological exhibits that covers the most ancient period of the region history. The collection of Old Rus jewellery as well as the treasures of the Chernihiv-type hryvnias, and the weapons of the 10th-13th centuries also draw visitors’ attention. The priceless collection of the 17th-18th centuries based on Cossacks antiquities presented by V.V. Tarnovskyi, Cossacks insignia (kleinody), military equipment, clothes, church and household utensils is of exceptional scientific and cultural value. There are a lot of museum holdings related to the names of state, religious and cultural leaders such as Ya. Ostrianytsia, Hetmans B. Khmelnytskyi, I. Mazepa, and P. Polubotko, I. Skoropadskyi, D. Apostol, etc.
Among the historical values, the museum houses nearly three hundred Cyrillic ancient books, including two Ostroh Bibles and fifty three Gospels in precious frames.
