Zaporozhzhia Sich (Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday from 09:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
Zaporozhzhia Sich (Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday from 09:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
The unique exhibition “Treasures the Dnipro river has saved” is currently being presented in the Sich territory. After the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam by the russian occupiers in the summer of 2023 and the drop in water level, the specialists of the reserve got an unexpected opportunity to explore the places of the flooded Siches – Tomakivska, Chortomlyk, and Podpilnenska.
The exhibition presents a collection of objects related to the history of these Cossack capitals.
The exposition results from the great and careful work of our archaeologists, restorers, historians, and museum workers. To create the exhibition environment, the specialists used the figurative method. The exposition is based on the image of the Dnipro River, which preserved the memory of the capital of the Zaporozhian Lowland Army for posterity under its waters. The embodiment of the generalized image of the Sich was realized by the arrangement of the exhibition space as a Kosh with its inherent architectural attributes.
The thematic base of the exhibition consists of original monuments from the collection of the Khortytsia National Reserve and objects of the scientific and auxiliary fund.
Cossack installations were created as museum expositions based on reliable historical data, original concepts, and items from that time.
They describe how administrative buildings of the Sich worked, such as the house of Kosh Otaman and the Military Chancellery, which had office management, correspondence, intelligence data recording, interrogation of prisoners, etc. A separate exposition is “Pushkarnya”. It was the arsenal of the Sich, used for keeping guns, weapons, cannonballs, and gunpowder stocks. However, sometimes, it served as a prison.
Special expositions reveal the traditional crafts of the Zaporozhzhia Cossacks, mainly fishing and the Cossack way of life. The exhibition “Cossack Mamai with a pipe” is dedicated to the image of the Zaporozhzhia warrior-sorcerer (warlock, mage) with his magic pipe. Most items in the exposition “Cossack Times—Zaporozhzhia Siches” are original (16th–18th centuries) and found at four Zaporozhzhia Siches’ sites.
The Sich’s central building is the Church of the Holy Mother of God, which hosts traditional services, weddings, and christening ceremonies.
Khortytsia Sich has become a popular spot for the all-Ukrainian festivities “Pokrova on Khortytsia” and “Easter on Khortytsia”, attracting hundreds of tourists annually. Original workshops attract tourists through master classes on Easter egg decorating and pottery, as well as concerts, celebrations, and other entertainment events.
“The Sich Cossacks” add to the entourage. The reconstructionists present performances dedicated to the Cossack military art and conduct master classes on using Cossack weapons.
Each visitor will find an action for themselves and will not remain indifferent!
The excursion at the Historical and Cultural Complex “Zaporozhzhia Sich” will allow you to see the recreated image of the capital of the Liberties of the Zaporozhzhia Lowland Army. You will visit the houses and outbuildings of steppe knights, learn about the life and customs of the Cossacks, and feel the spirit of the Cossack era.
For further information or to book a guided tour of the “Zaporozhzhia Sich”, please contact 095-914-77-06 or 096-254-12-09.