Museum of Sholom Aleichem

About the Sholom Aleichem Museum

The Sholom Aleichem Museum, dedicated to the famous Ukrainian Jewish writer, is located in the center of Kyiv, on one of the main streets. This museum is the first state institution of its kind in Ukraine and has an exhibition that not only tells the story of the life and work of the writer himself but also explores the material and spiritual culture of Eastern European Jewry in general. Sholom Aleichem spent a significant part of his life in Ukraine, and Kyiv was a particularly beloved city for him, where he wrote some of his best works. The Sholom Aleichem Museum is a branch of the Museum of the History of Kyiv and is located near it.

The museum was opened in 2009 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the writer's birth. The total cost of its creation was approximately 2 million hryvnias, but work on establishing the museum began much earlier, back in 1956, although it was not considered possible to create such an institution at that time. The museum is situated in the "Arena-City" shopping and entertainment complex, where a building designed by the renowned architect Volodymyr Nikolaiev once stood in the mid-19th century. This building was a typical profitable house, and Sholom Aleichem lived there for several years. During Soviet times, the building was nationalized, with the first-floor housing a pharmacy, a post office, and a dormitory.

In the 1930s, the building underwent reconstruction, and in the 1980s, there were discussions about demolishing it, but thanks to the efforts of the Kyiv community, this was avoided. Now, a large modern structure with restaurants and shops has been built on the site of the former profitable house. The museum occupies over 200 square meters on two floors.

Museum Exhibits

The museum's exhibition is divided into two parts: "Sholom Aleichem and Kyiv" and "Sholom Aleichem and Ukraine." The main hall tells the story of the writer's life and work through copies of photographs, documents, and everyday objects of that time. Since many items that belonged to Sholom Aleichem himself were not preserved due to the difficulties of the periods of wandering, revolutions, and wars, the exhibition consists mainly of valuable Jewish cultural artefacts entrusted to the National Historical Museum.

This includes Jewish cultural items of great historical value. In addition to the main hall, the museum has a space for temporary exhibitions, showcasing works by artists with Jewish themes. Lectures, concerts, conferences, and meetings with cultural, artistic, and scientific figures are also held here. The Sholom Aleichem Museum is not a memorial, but it is an important place that allows visitors to immerse themselves in the world of Jewish history and culture on the territory of Ukraine.