Discover Bortyatyn

If you are considering Bortyatyn as a travel destination, the Antonych family museum and estate offers a clear cultural focal point. It is housed in a former Greek Catholic rectory. The house brings together the family’s history and the literary legacy of Ukrainian poet Bohdan Ihor Antonych. The site thus combines the building’s former purpose with a look at family history, regional themes and literature.

A House Through Several Periods

From 1928 to 1947, father Vasyl Antonych, his wife Olha Antonych and Bohdan Ihor Antonych lived in the former rectory. This period of residence gives the family history a specific timeframe. Since 2009, the house has been the Antonych family museum and estate, as well as a branch of the Lviv Museum of the History of Religion in Bortyatyn. The family’s residence and the museum’s opening in 2009 mark different periods in the house’s history: first as the family’s home, and later as a museum and branch. This makes it possible to distinguish the building’s former use from its later museum and institutional role.

Family History and Regional Connections

An interactive exhibition brings together elements of Lemkivshchyna and Yavorivshchyna with the history of the Antonych family and the creative legacy of Bohdan Ihor Antonych. Regional connections sit alongside a family history and the literary work of a single poet. This offers different ways to explore the exhibition: you can focus on its regional themes or on Bohdan Ihor Antonych and his family background. The themes are connected, but remain distinct.

Exhibited objects include Antonych family albums, original everyday items, and the cross with which father Vasyl blessed his parishioners. These objects offer different points of focus: the albums and items from family life draw attention to the personal sphere, while the cross connects to Vasyl’s pastoral work. The exhibition thus combines personal possessions with a specific aspect of the father’s role in the community.

The exhibition’s scope extends beyond the family. It explores the public and pastoral work of father Vasyl Antonych, as well as the history of the Przemyśl Diocese in Galicia in the 1920s and 1930s. This brings together a personal life story and a church history topic set within a specific period. Vasyl’s role within the family and his public work are two related but distinct perspectives.

Artworks in Different Forms

At the center of one exhibition room is Roman Kykta’s futuristic sculptural composition “Bohdan Ihor Antonych.” The permanent exhibition also includes Orest Skop’s triptych “Syny Ukrainy,” which depicts Taras Shevchenko and Bohdan Ihor Antonych. Both works feature Bohdan Ihor Antonych, but through different art forms: Kykta’s sculptural composition and Skop’s triptych depicting two figures. You can distinguish the works by their form and the connections each depicts.

If you plan to make the museum a set part of your itinerary, check the latest visitor information in advance.

Discover more destinations: Novoiavorivsk, Truskawez, Kulykiw, Strilky, Sokilnyky, Shklo, Dumnytsya, Brody.

For the broader travel guide: Lviv Oblast.