| Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine | |
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| Музей народної архітектури та побуту України | |
This ensemble of authentic windmills is the centrepiece of a 1.5 square kilometres (0.58 sq mi) open air Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine |
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| Established | 1969 |
| Location | Kiev, Ukraine |
| Type | Open air museum |
| Collection size | 300 architectural exhibits, 70,000 artifacts |
Pyrohiv (Ukrainian: Пирогі́в), also known as Pirogov (Russian: Пирого́в), originally a village south of Kiev, is a neighborhood in the southern outskirts of the Ukrainian capital city. It is now home to an outdoor Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine.
Although the origin of the toponym is uncertain, pyrohiv is genitive plural form of the Ukrainian word for pie.
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Archaeological evidence confirms that the territory of Pyrohiv has been settled at the times of the Bronze Age. Pyrohivka settlement was first mentioned in 1627, as a feudal domain of the Kievan Cave Monastery. The 1720 records mention the village of Pyrozhov. The territory was included within the Kiev administrative boundary in 1957.
Two modern streets now go along the historic road Pyrohiv way (Pyrohivs'kyi Shlyah): the Stolychne Shose (Capital Motorway) and Novopyrohivska (New Pyrohiv) Street..
The territory of historic Pyrohiv now serves as the location of a 1.5-square-kilometre (370-acre) outdoor Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine. Founded in 1969, the museum contains over 300 pieces of folk architecture brought here from all parts of Ukraine and carefully reassembled. The picturesque hill with several windmills is the museum centrepiece and the entire territory of the museum is divided into sectors, each representing the folk architecture and life of a specific Ukrainian region.
Commoner's homes, buildings of small trade, commerce and local administration, and old wooden village churches contain authentic items that represent the everyday lifestyle of Ukrainian villagers and townsfolk. Local volunteers and modern Ukrainian artisans selling their wares dress in old-style clothes and demonstrate the use of authentic everyday items to visitors.
Pyrohiv museum has been accorded the status of State Museum of Ukraine and is affiliated with the Institute of Arts, Folklore and Ethnology of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine.
In recent years, several of the museum's wooden buildings have been damaged by fires. The most recent fire on September 15, 2006 completely destroyed one house and seriously damaged two others. According to both Institute Director Hanna Skrypnyk and the Ukrainian Ministry of Emergencies, the fire was the result of arson, set to cover up the theft of a valuable collection of eighteenth-century cassoni which were exhibited in the burned building. Skrypnyk noted that in Soviet times the museum had a designated security group and fire house, which were disbanded after the Soviet collapse owing to negligence in financing on the part of the Ukrainian government.
The land usage in the vicinity of the museum has become the centre of scandal as the local authorities approved several commercial construction projects, including a luxurious high-rise entertainment complex and a gasoline filling station. The construction work for the former is now stalled due to the public outrage, but the work on building the filling station near the museum entrance has proceeded.
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