National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War (from the moment of opening until July 2015 – the National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 is memorial complex, which was designed by Giprograd together with Ukrprojectstalkonstruktsiya, the main contractor is Kievgorstroy-4.
The Kiev Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 moved twice before it was inaugurated in its current location on May 9 (Victory Day) 1981 by General Secretary Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, head of the Soviet state. On June 21, 1996, the museum was given its current status of the National Museum of Ukraine by decree of President Leonid Kuchma.
One of the largest museums in Ukraine (almost 500,000 exhibits) is associated with the 102-meter monument to the Motherland, which has become one of the most recognizable views of Kiev and for good reason – after all, the museum building is located under the very statue. The museum includes a memorial complex, which occupies 10 hectares on a nearby hill. It consists of a huge bowl of the Eternal Flame, an exhibition of military equipment from the Second World War, as well as post-war years, an alley of the Cities of Heroes.
Along the slopes of the Dnieper there is a front alley that goes to the gallery of the Main Entrance leading to the square and the museum building. The sculptures of the gallery personify the heroic defense of the USSR border from the German attack, the horrors of the German occupation, partisan struggle, the labor feat of the rear, the battle for the Dnieper. These are the sculptural compositions “First Border Battles”, “Unsubdued”, “Heroic Underground Workers”, “Heroic Partisans” and “Rear to the Front”. On the main square of the memorial there is a sculptural group “Transfer of weapons” and a bronze composition “Heroic deeds of Soviet soldiers”. Blocks with the sacred land of the Hero Cities are installed in the retaining wall – this is the alley of the Cities of Heroes.
The monumental sculpture of the Motherland was built according to the project of the architect Yevgeny Vuchetich. The sculpture is located above the museum building and the entire sculpture is 102 meters high and weighs 530 tons. The museum is a five-story building, four floors of which are located in the mass of the hill, and the fifth floor, where the Hall of Military Glory is located, outwardly is the pedestal of the Motherland sculpture. On the walls of the introductory hall are the names of 1098 military units awarded the names of the liberated settlements of Ukraine and 252 names of partisan and underground units that fought against the Nazis in the occupied territory of Ukraine. Next is a film lecture hall and halls with an exposition dedicated to the heroic struggle of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders. In the Hall of Military Glory, on pylons lined with white marble, there are the names of people who were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union and Heroes of Socialist Labor for their exploits in the Great Patriotic War. In the center of the hall is the Order of Victory with a diameter of 5 meters.
Where is the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II) located?
Lavrska street, 27
(044) 285-94-57
10:00 – 18:00