The Pysanka Museum

If you are interested in ancient Ukrainian traditions and have a wish to get to know one of the most archaistic kinds of folk art, then you are well advised to visit a nice town Kolomyia, where the Pysanka Museum is located. It is well known all around the world.

Pysanka is a Ukrainian Easter egg decorated with different colours using a wax-resist method. Gutsul’shyna and Pokuttia are ancient regions of the Carpathian Mountains, where traditions of decorating eggs were very developed. The museum devoted to this art was opened in 2000 in Kolomyia. For many years experts and workers of the museum keep secrets how they preserve and restore the pysankas. The museum is unique due to its architectural construction made in form of a large Easter egg of 14 meters high and 10 meters of diameter. You’ll notice wonderful colorful glass decorations in the rooms of the Pysanka Museum. You’ll be impressed with its gorgeous ornaments that decorate the top of this building. Come inside. A wonderful world of beauty and enigmatic symbols awaits you.

In the hall you’ll see a stone egg made of a marble boulder. The author called this sculpture “Birth of life”. In museum expositions you’ll see unique pysankas not only from Ukraine, but also from the USA, Canada, Russia, Czechia, Slovakia, Belorussia, France, India, Algeria, China, Poland, Egypt, and other countries. An interesting fact is that in ancient times an egg was a symbol of life and it was used in different rites. 

Tradition to decorate and give eggs is incident not only to the Ukrainians, but also to the Japanese, the Greeks, the Jews, the citizens of Sri Lanka and others. In Czechia you would see decorated eggs hanging on colourful ribbons in the houses. In Poland eggs are decorated with different appliqués. The Romanians use colourful wax to create bright and relief design of the pysankas.

On the first floor you’ll notice unique pysankas which were made by different decoration techniques. You’ll get to know about different Easter eggs – Pysanka, Krashanka, Maliovanka, Krapanka, Shkriabanka… Your attention will be attracted by Kosivs’ka Pysanka (named after Kosivs’k district in the Carpathian Mountains where they are originally made). This art is developed in Carpathian villages such as Kosmach, Zamagora, Chornyi Potok. The Pysankas are decorated by the entire family, and are handed down for generations. You’ll be impressed with refined beauty, bright yellow-red ornaments of Kosivs’ka Pysanka. The villagers believe a coloured egg has magic power, because each combination of symbols carries a special meaning. The egg should be on the conspicuous place and it will protect your home from evil and troubles.

Visit the Pysanka Museum with its special atmosphere of harmony. You’ll get to know secrets of this magical charm and feel healing power of Pysanka.