Five Museums in One Myrhorod: a New Route through the Spa Town

In Myrhorod, five museum spaces now work as one. This is the Myrhorod Museum Complex, a municipal non-profit set up by the city council in August. It brings together the Opanas Slastion Local History Museum, the David Guramishvili Literary and Memorial Museum, the Gamarjoba art centre, the Museum of the Memory of Holodomor Victims and the open-air ethnographic Cossack Camp (Kozatskyi Stan). The most logical place to start is the local history museum at 2 Nezalezhnosti St.

Myrhorod is usually associated with mineral water and sanatoriums. But off-season, when the park is quiet and mist hangs over the Khorol River, the town opens up like a small encyclopaedia: Cossacks, a Georgian poet, kobzars on wax cylinders and contemporary art — all walkable in a day.

From an 1886 Kobzar to Georgian heritage

The local history museum is more than a century old: it was founded on 1 May 1920 on the basis of the private collection of the artist and ethnographer Opanas Slastion. Exhibits include an illustrated 1886 edition of Shevchenko's Kobzar, a 1776 drum from Lokhvytsia and Slastion's own belongings. The artist recorded folk dumas on phonograph cylinders, preserving voices you won't hear anywhere else. The ground floor has three permanent exhibition halls and two spaces for temporary shows, about twenty of which are held here every year.

The second stop is the David Guramishvili Museum at 5 Nezalezhnosti St. The Georgian poet spent the last 32 years of his life in Myrhorod. The museum is accessible to everyone, with ramps, QR audio guides and 3D tours. To the left of the entrance is the Gamarjoba art centre. It opened in February 2026 with grant funding and hosts workshops, film talks and quests; its name is a Georgian greeting that also means a wish for victory.

A separate, quiet stop is the Museum of the Memory of Holodomor Victims at 31 Yerkivska St. Take your time here, and ideally don't leave it for the end of the day.

The Cossack Camp and the sundials

The Cossack Camp stands on the bank of the Khorol and is the most photogenic part of the complex. It was built by the district Cossack society, volunteers and local businesses. There's a 19th-century svitlytsia (a traditional living room) moved from Slobidka, a wooden chapel, a well, an 1898 stone trough, millstones from Dibrivka, a storehouse and a watchtower. In autumn, when everything around is yellow and empty, it's easy to imagine an ordinary Sunday on a farmstead long ago.

As you walk between the museums, look out for the sundials. There are six in town: this is how Myrhorod honours blacksmiths killed in the war, and the first one was installed in 2014. By the famous Myrhorod Puddle, don't miss the sculpture of Puzatyi Patsiuk, a Gogol character. At the pump room you can drink a cup of mineral water — in April 2026 it cost UAH 8. The history of the spa itself is told at the Myrhorod Resort Museum at 112 Hoholia St.

Sources: Nova Poltava; Myrhorod City Council; Ukrinform.

Photos: Discover.ua.