In Hutsulshchyna, traditions are not just preserved — they are lived every day. We’ve gathered 10 places that offer an authentic glimpse into this region: from museums of wool weaving and traditional Hutsul musical instruments to 18th-century wooden churches and a cultural space dedicated to the iconic film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.
This museum is a living workshop that preserves and passes down Hutsul traditions from one generation to the next. Located in the village of Yavoriv, in the home of the creative Kishchuk family, visitors can not only see authentic woolen blankets (called lishnyky), rugs, cloaks, and vests but also participate in weaving workshops. The grandmother’s spinning wheel still works here, and during spinning, songs are sung — as is customary — to “infuse the wool with living energy,” says Mrs. Nataliya.
Tourists from all over Ukraine come here, along with journalists, documentary filmmakers, and even celebrities. For example, Jamala herself bought ethnic clothing made by Nataliya Kishchuk.
If you're lucky, you might spot long-haired sheep in the yard — a rare sight in Kosiv nowadays.
Hutsulshchyna has long been a haven for thinkers and artists. Ivan Franko, Lesya Ukrainka, Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, and Mykhailo Hrushevsky came to the mountains seeking inspiration, which seems to linger in the very air here. It’s no surprise that Verkhovyna is now home to a unique museum dedicated to the spiritual culture, art, mountain farming, and everyday life of the Hutsuls.
The name — Museum of Hutsul Magic — is no coincidence. It presents the mountain people’s concept of human wholeness as a unity of spirit, soul, and body. According to Ivan Franko, it is this wholeness that makes a "Whole Person."
The museum's collection includes household items related to the practices of molfars (folk magicians), healers, and herbalists, such as tools for making tinctures, ritual objects, and artifacts that reveal Hutsul folk medicine and lifestyle.
On a hill above the Pistynka River, among the Hutsul mountains, stands one of the oldest monuments in the village of Sheshory — the wooden Church of Saint Paraskeva. Its history dates back to at least 1680, and the current structure was built in 1873 on the site of the previous one, destroyed by fire.
This church is a typical example of Hutsul wooden sacred architecture from the second half of the 19th century. It features a five-section structure with a single dome and a cross-shaped floor plan. The façade is clad in metal, and the altar faces northeast. Nearby are two bell towers: an original two-tiered one built alongside the church, and a newer addition.
During Soviet times, the church remained active but suffered from neglect and decline. Significant repairs were only carried out in the 1990s after it was returned to the Ukrainian Church. The iconostasis was restored, the façade was renewed, and the church regained its dignified appearance. Today, it belongs to the Kolomyia Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
In the heart of Kosiv, within one of Ukraine’s oldest art institutions — the Kosiv Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts of the Lviv National Academy of Arts — is a museum of Hutsul folk art. It was founded in 1936 by Oleksiy Hryhorovych Solomchenko, the school's first director, an ethnographer, artist, and educator who dedicated his life to researching Hutsul culture.
The museum houses over 3,000 exhibits, including ceramics, woodwork, metal art, textiles, and samples of wool weaving, embroidery, and rug-making. Many are student diploma projects from the institute’s long history, which began with the establishment of a Weaving School in 1882. Even then, Kosiv had departments for wood carving, weaving, embroidery, tailoring, and design.
The museum also preserves sacred heritage, such as the iconostasis of the Church of Saint Basil the Great in Kosiv, saved during Soviet times by Solomchenko and artist Halyna Kyva.
Museum items have appeared in more than 40 films by Ukrainian and international studios. Visitors come from the USA, Canada, Japan, China, Germany, Poland, and beyond.
Today, the museum remains an essential educational and research space, as well as a hub of authenticity for those seeking to connect with genuine Hutsul art.
In the home of Petro and Yevdokiya Soryuk in Verkhovyna, a museum commemorates the filming of the legendary movie Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. From 1963 to 1964, director Serhiy Paradzhanov lived here, not in a hotel, but in a Hutsul home, to immerse himself in the Carpathian spirit. Cinematographer Yuriy Illienko, artist Heorhiy Yakutovych, actors Ivan Mykolaichuk, Larysa Kadochnikova, and others also stayed here.
The museum opened in 2000. It displays items related to the film, authentic Hutsul costumes and household objects, and the famous huhlia — the wedding cloak worn by Mykolaichuk’s character. Paradzhanov’s room retains its original layout, with photos from the film on the walls.
The museum offers screenings of the film, guided tours, and traditional Hutsul outfits for visitors to try on.
It tells not only the story of the film but also the everyday life of the Hutsuls — a unique blend of movie museum and ethnographic exhibition.
This wooden church has stood on a hill in Kryvorivnia for over 300 years, and worship services have never ceased. According to legend, it was relocated from the opposite bank of the Cheremosh River in 1719 — the date officially recognized, though references to the church exist as early as the 17th century.
The church is a striking example of Hutsul wooden architecture. It has a cruciform plan, an elongated vestibule, short side branches, and a slender octagonal dome. In 2011–2012, the community restored its authentic wooden roofing, replacing the Soviet metal sheets.
Ivan Franko, Lesya Ukrainka, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Yakiv Holovatsky, and other cultural figures prayed here. In 1901, Andrey Sheptytsky visited and wrote his message, To My Dear Hutsuls, in this very church.
Still active today, the church offers a serene atmosphere and a breathtaking view of the Cheremosh River — a truly special place for travelers seeking to touch living history.
This private museum was founded in 2000 by Roman Kumlyk, a musician, collector, and expert in Hutsul culture. He opened it in his own home, where he had collected items related to traditional Hutsul life over the past 30 years. The collection includes household items, folk clothing, old currency, tools, and especially a rich array of musical instruments.
After Roman’s death, his daughter Nataliya Huzak — a doctor and gifted musician — continued his work. She guides tours and plays violin, hammered dulcimer, trembita, flutes, hurdy-gurdy, ocarina, zozulka, and even an ancient Hutsul horn. Her tours often turn into mini-concerts of Hutsul melodies.
Visitors can see the trembita, carved violins, rectangular violins, dviytsya, pelynka, and hear how ancient horns once carried messages — the original "mobile phones" of the mountains.
This cozy museum is the perfect place to experience and taste authentic Hutsul alpine life. Opened in 2014 in a 100-year-old authentic Hutsul house, its centerpiece is a staya — an old-style cheese-making room where traditional cheeses like budz, vurda, and bryndza were made over an open fire in a cauldron.
The rooms display embroidered shirts, towels, wooden dishes, woven tablecloths, and other items that tell stories of daily life. The oldest part of the house, with a large stove, offers a glimpse into how a Hutsul family lived a century ago.
Khata – Staya is not just a museum but an interactive space where visitors can learn about cheese-making, taste Hutsul delicacies, hear about shepherd traditions, and take photos in a real mountain homestead.
If you want to combine a Carpathian vacation with authentic Hutsul culture, visit the “Hutsulshchyna” restaurant-museum in Yaremche. Built between 1959 and 1965 by architect Ivan Bodnaruk, the structure is a prime example of Hutsul folk architecture, assembled without a single nail, using only wooden joints.
Just 15 meters from the Probiy waterfall on the Prut River, it’s one of Yaremche’s most iconic tourist spots. Wooden figures of a Hutsul man and woman greet you at the entrance, and the windows offer views of the river and surrounding slopes.
Inside, the decor continues the theme: a traditional Kosiv-tiled stove, hand-embroidered towels, carved furniture, clay dishes, and wool blankets recreate a 19th-century Hutsul home. Everything is authentic and handmade by local artisans.
The menu features Hutsul classics: mushroom soup, banosh with bryndza, homemade trout in sour cream, knyshi, and fried porcini mushrooms, all served in Kosiv-made ceramic ware.
“Hutsulshchyna” is more than a restaurant — it's a cultural landmark visited by thousands of travelers annually and an officially recognized regional heritage site.
Near the center of Kryvorivnia, in a traditional Hutsul house with wooden windows, a clay stove, and the scent of dried herbs, stands the first museum dedicated to Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit — an extraordinary Hutsul woman who left a unique cultural legacy. Self-taught, she created hundreds of handmade books, thousands of photos, wooden sculptures, cutouts, icons, and drawings. Fortunately, all of this has been preserved.
The museum displays her books, old photos, artworks, personal items, and furniture. Part of the exhibit is located in the former village council building, while the rest is housed in her house, left just as it was during her lifetime. Paraska lived modestly — even without electricity for many years — but her work radiates profound wisdom and light.
The museum hosts tours, intimate events, workshops, and quiet conversations about Hutsulshchyna — all accompanied by Paraska’s gentle voice, preserved in her writings and sayings.
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