Another great weekend in Korosten – we need to take friends every time! It gives us a great excuse to do something new and different. This time we took up the offer from Igor’s old friend Sasha to check out the Precious Gem Museum in Volodarsk-Volynskyi, a town about 55 km from Korosten, in an area known as the “little Urals”, not for the mountains (not in flat, flat, flat northern Ukraine!), but rather for the rich mineral deposits. My beautiful blue topaz jewelry comes from this area, and the bountiful granite deposits have contributed to Korosten’s many colorful monuments, walls, walkways and buildings. The particular rose-colored granite of the region is especially well-known, and in fact Lenin’s tomb on Red Square is made from the rose-colored granite deposits around Korosten (a fact I learned in the Precious Gem Museum!).
We were thoroughly impressed with the breath-taking examples of quartzes, topaz, and many, many other minerals and crystals whose names I would hardly recognize in English even if I knew the translations from Ukrainian. Sadly, pictures weren’t really allowed inside the museum – well, for a measly 5 hrivna a shot, which hardly seemed worth it when the museum booklet, with numerous photos, cost only 7 hrivna (I’ll have to scan some of the pictures and post them!). This museum was quite a little treasure, no pun intended.
I love village museums, they are often chock full of things the local residents think are ordinary, but I find them fascinating. More than once I’ve managed to get someone to open up the village museum for me. They are usually just two, sometimes three rooms, and the folks with me (often Ukrainians who’ve grown up in cities) are stunned by the history held within the simple walls. Looms, spinning wheels, farm implements, intricate embroidery and cross-stitched clothes and linens, decorative blankets for horses, folk paintings, pottery, children’s arts and crafts – I have thoroughly enjoyed every village museum I’ve had the good fortune to visit in Ukraine and Moldova, and I hope to see many more! Anyone traveling around Ukraine – make a point to stop in any little museum you come across, and if it’s closed, ask around. Chances are, someone can find someone who just might let you in for a look around.
Anka in Kyiv 