This year marks the 55th anniversary of the opening of the Ivan Kotliarevskyi Memorial Museum-Estate in Poltava. Over the years, this museum has become an important cultural center where the memory of the prominent Ukrainian writer, author of the first poem written in the living Ukrainian language, "Aeneid", is preserved.
The Ivan Kotliarevskyi Museum-Estate is an outstanding historical and cultural monument and a unique center of ancient Poltava. In the imagination of many researchers, as well as ordinary Ukrainians, Kotliarevsky's house is perceived not only as the place of residence of the outstanding Ukrainian classic, but also as the environment in which the Ukrainian language, literature, and theater were born and developed.
The history of the house where the writer was born goes back to ancient times. The date of construction is known to be August 1, 1705. This is evidenced by a carved inscription on a wooden bastard, which has been preserved to this day and is an invaluable artifact of the museum, a silent witness to the events of more than 300 years ago. Unfortunately, history did not preserve the name of the builder, nor did it preserve any images of the building in the eighteenth century.
In the Rumiantsevskyi description of 1765-1769, which was conducted by order of Catherine II, the yard of the widow of the deacon of the Assumption Church, Agafia Kotliarevska, who lived on the “church place” that her late husband purchased in 1751 from the son-in-law of the late Poltava Archpriest Danylo, is mentioned. The Kotliarevski estate consisted of a 4-room house, a barn, and a shed.
Over time, the family estate became the property of the Kotliarevskys' eldest son Petro, where he remained to live with his young wife. Later, a boy would be born to this family, who would glorify the Kotliarevskyis' name for centuries and go down in history as the father of new Ukrainian literature.
Ivan Petrovich, after graduating from the Poltava Theological Seminary, went to try his luck in the then capital of the empire, St. Petersburg. After retiring from military service as a “captain with a uniform,” he returned to his native Poltava, where he remained until the end of his earthly journey.
After his mother's death, Ivan inherited his grandfather's house and in 1823 rebuilt the house to his taste, adding fashionable elements of the time, so the two rooms on the left were combined into an office, which also served as the poet's bedroom, and to the right of the hayloft were the living room and the housekeeper's room.
Ivan was a hospitable host and often received friends and acquaintances. It was thanks to the memories of his contemporaries that in the twentieth century it became possible to recreate the eighteenth-century Old World house where the writer lived.
After Kotliarevskyi's death in 1838, his house was transferred to his housekeeper, the widow of a non-commissioned officer, Motrona Veklevecheva, according to his will. In 1839, the estimated value of the house was 6000 krb. For comparison, Kotliarevskyi's pension was 600 krb per year, and the budget of the provincial Poltava in 1843 amounted to 17781 krb.
The fame of a house is often no less loud than the fame of its owners. In 1845, Taras Shevchenko visited Poltava with the task of making sketches of historical sites and monuments for the Archaeographic Commission of Kyiv University. Shevchenko made an invaluable graphic watercolor drawing that captured the appearance of the writer's home as it was during his lifetime.
Ten years later, another graphic representation of Kotliarevsky's house was made that has survived to this day. The lithograph by artist H. Mellin shows the house from a different angle than Shevchenko's drawing.
After the death of Motrona Veklevecheva, the house became the property of the wife of the provincial secretary Nadiia Pedchenkova, who in 1855, according to H. Danylevskyi, who visited Poltava at the time, was “given to the guard.” According to I.F. Pavlovskyi, a tavern was opened in the house in 1856.
The history of Kotliarevskyi's estate is further traced by Poltava historian V. Buchnevych, who writes that the writer's house was resold several times and in August 1880 it was purchased by retired lieutenant colonel Oleksii Kuznietsov from the wife of the provincial secretary Yavdokha Salimovska and completely remodeled in 1881. After Kuznetsov's death (1886), the house passed into the ownership of his wife, Motrona (1888), and then to their daughter, the wife of a nobleman, Vira Sukhinova, who sold it to a nobleman, Moisei Holovatynskyi, in 1897.
The latter bought the house in an almost completely destroyed state and began to rebuild it. It was during this reconstruction that a carved vault was discovered under a thick layer of chalk, with a clear inscription of the date of the house's construction. At one time, the Chernihiv Museum wanted to buy this vault for its collection, but Holovatynskyi rejected the offer. Instead, he created a museum of the writer in one of the rooms of the restored house.
Kotliarevsky's corner was landscaped, electrified, and renamed Ivaniv Hai on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the poet's birth, which eventually became a place for cultural entertainment.
By 1927, the place began to deteriorate. The house was denationalized and the tenant turned the museum room into a kitchen.
During the Nazi occupation of Poltava in 1941-1943, Kotliarevskyi's estate was spared a bad fate; it was not burned or dismantled.Perhaps the occupation commanders lived in the house, or perhaps it was God's will.
The modern page of the historic building begins in 1968. The Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR adopted a resolution “On the 200th anniversary of the birth of I.P. Kotliarevsky.” Large-scale celebrations were planned at the all-Union level. The celebration was joined by international organizations that played an important role in honoring the memory of I. Kotliarevsky abroad.
The project of the complex was developed by architect Valerii Tertychnyi and designer Antonina Malynovska. The scientific consultant was Petro Yurchenko, a candidate of architecture, a well-known expert on Ukrainian folk architecture. In May 1969, the project for the restoration of the memorial estate complex of I.P. Kotliarevskyi was approved at the state level.
The house and outbuildings of the estate were constructed within four months - May-August 1969.
The first memorial museum exposition was created in an extremely short time and did not have a thorough scientific support. But it was in 1969 that the museum received a gift of exceptional value from the Chuduk family of Poltava: three pieces of furniture belonging to I. Kotliarevskyi - a lumber table, a mirror, and a chest of drawers. Since then, these memorial relics have always been kept in the poet's renovated house.
Almost immediately after the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Ivan Kotliarevskyi, a team of researchers from the Literary and Memorial Museum began working on the development of a scientifically based thematic and exhibition plan for the drawing.
In 1978, work began on the complete re-exposition of the poet's house. This work was headed by the best group of museum exhibition artists in Ukraine under the direction of Honored Artist of Ukraine Viktor Baturyn.
The new exhibition of the poet's memorial house was opened in July 1981. The designers have done a tremendous job, and today we can say with confidence that the team of specialists has fulfilled their task in good faith. After all, their painstaking work has been praised by both museum workers and scholars of Ukraine in the field of history, culture, literature and ethnography.
Going back to the days when the estate was being rebuilt and looking at the rare footage that has been preserved, we can see that it was an important event in the life of the city. After all, many citizens of all ages were involved in the landscaping work. The crowd on the opening day of the complex can only be compared to modern rock star concerts.
The museum-estate received its official status as a cultural heritage monument registered and protected by the state in 1982 by the decision of the Poltava Council of People's Deputies under No. 247. And according to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of September 3, 2009 № 928 “On the inclusion of cultural heritage sites in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine” The estate of the writer I.P. Kotliarevsky of the second half of the eighteenth century is listed as a historical monument of national importance, protection number 160002-N.
Since its opening in 1969, the Kotliarevskyi Museum-Estate has been attracting visitors, both ordinary people and famous public, political, cultural figures, theater and television stars, like a magnet.
Today, the Ivan Kotliarevskyi Museum-Estate is a powerful scientific and cultural center that has not lost momentum and height since its creation. Every day the museum opens its hospitable doors to everyone who wants to touch the history and get acquainted with the outstanding personality of Ivan Kotliarevskyi. On the territory of the estate, employees conduct quests and excursions for children, master classes, presentations, exhibitions, theatrical performances, flash mobs, festivals, and much more. The museum-estate is a leader in requests for video filming permits, both among Ukrainian media and among artistic, professional and amateur filmmakers.
In addition to the greatness of Ivan Kotliarevskyi's personality, there are always many people who want to visit his house. The convenient location of the museum, the picturesque nature around it, the neat and well-groomed museum grounds, the friendly and professional staff, and especially the inspired and cozy atmosphere that makes this place truly blessed contribute to its popularity among visitors.
V. Shabanova, Chief Specialist of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Heritage of the DCYF of PCC
