About the museum

Museum Mission and History

Mission

The museum is the oldest specialized nationality museum with a state-wide scope, dedicated to the documentation of the basic stages of the cultural-historical and socio-economic development of Ukrainians in Slovakia.

The museum systematically participates in the organization and realization of various science and research tasks, conferences and other events. It collaborates on various synthesizing works and many international projects, primarily in the field of research into traditional folk culture in the Carpathians and adjacent regions. Specialists employed in the museum are authors of studies and independent book publications. Many of their works are published in Collected Research Papers of the Museum of Ukrainian Culture in Svidník, which have been issued since 1965. The museum has three permanent exhibitions: the main Cultural-Historical Exposition, the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, and the Art-Historical Exposition – Dezider Milly Gallery.

History

The museum was established in Prešov in 1956. Since 1958, it has been part of the Regional Museum in Prešov as its Ukrainian department. In 1964, in accordance with a provision of the Regional National Committee in Košice, the Museum of Ukrainian Culture moved to Svidník due to its nationwide scope in the field of research, documentation and cultural-educational use of the material and spiritual heritage of the Ukrainian minority.