The Andrei Sheptytskyi National Museum is the world's richest collection of Ukrainian sacred art of the XII-XVIII centuries and iconography.
The history of the National Museum in Lviv cannot be imagined without the patron of this institution - Metropolitan of the UGCC Andrei Sheptytskyi. It was Bishop Andrei who initiated the collection of monuments of folk and sacred art, which later became the basis of the art fund of the future museum. The collection was formed as the "Church Museum", which Count Sheptytskyi donated to the Ukrainian people. Now it is the basis of the exposition of the National Museum.
Museum in time and space
The building on Svobody Avenue has one of the most representative expositions of sacred art in Ukraine and, perhaps, the best collection of icons. In the museum you can also see monuments of written culture and book publishing, graphics, fine and decorative arts. The collection of the museum includes more than 175 thousand exhibits. In addition to the collection of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, the institution takes care of the collections of the Stavropegic Institute, the Prosvita Society, the Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society, etc.
In the spacious halls of the building, erected in the early twentieth century by the project of L. Marconi and Y. Yanovskyi in the style of historicism, the exhibition "Ukrainian art of the XII - early twentieth centuries" is presented to the visitors. The presented exhibits provide an opportunity to enjoy art and trace the main trends characteristic of iconography, sculpture, painting, decorative carving in Ukrainian lands.
Treasures of the National Museum
The National Museum in Lviv is one of several locations in Ukraine where you can see original iconostases of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In particular, these are such invaluable masterpieces of sacred painting as the Zhovkva iconostasis of Ivan Rutkovych, dated to the XVII century, as well as the Bohorodchany iconostasis, on which Yov Kondzelevych worked at the turn of the XVII and XVIII centuries.
The whole range of folk beliefs and eschatological expectations of people of ancient times is conveyed by unique icons of the Last Judgment. Some of them date back to the distant XV century. The real treasure of the National Museum is the handwritten Buchach Gospel, which was born in Volyn before the foundation of Lviv. Original printed editions of Ivan Fedorov, works of Taras Shevchenko and works of Ivan Trush can also be seen in the National Museum.
Museum today
The National Museum in Lviv is an important center of preservation, study, restoration and popularization of cultural and artistic heritage. In addition to the permanent exposition, exhibitions are regularly held in the institution. The museum organizes thematic classes, excursions for people with disabilities. The institution is open to communication with children - master classes, educational games, etc.
