Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wooden churches of Ukraine and Poland
Sixteen old timber churches in the
Carpathian Mountains received Unesco protection in 2013.
Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans
Makes up a large part of
the university of Chernivtsi.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Zhytomyr
0412 / POP 277,900
Some 140km west of Kyiv, no other right-bank city evokes the Soviet Union more than
Zhytomyr. With its well-tended Lenin and Marx monuments, its plinthed tank and
wreathed war memorials, wandering old trolleybuses and a fascinatingly nostalgic space
museum, Zhytomyr has a kind of time-warped provincial charm that makes it just worth
leaving Kyiv to see - but only for a day trip.
Sights & Activities
Korolyov Cosmonaut Museum
MUSEUM
( 372 653;
www.cosmosmuseum.info
;
vul Dmytrivska 5; admission 10uah; 10am-1pm &
2-5.15pm Tue-Sun)
Named after acclaimed Soviet rocket engineer and local lad Sergei
Korolyov, this surprisingly well-curated museum is famous across the former Soviet
Union. Suitably space-aged music plays and fake stars glimmer as you walk around a
dark hall packed with assorted mementos of the Soviet space program, including several
satellites, a lunar ranger and an actual Soyuz rocket. More amusing exhibits include
black-and-white photos of dogs the Soviets propelled into space, sachets and tubes of
real space food (cottage cheese, mashed potato!), and a section on the Soviet space
shuttle that literally never got off the ground. All in all, not bad for a country that
struggled to produce reliable combustion engines and functional plumbing.
The house where Korolyov was born, now a museum (same hours) dedicated to his
life, is directly across the street from the museum, but is of little interest to foreign visit-
ors.
To reach the museum, from maydan Rad head along vul Velika Berdychivska for two
blocks until you reach vul Ivana Franka. Turn left here and continue for 400m until you
see the museum on your right.
