Our Land in the 9th–18th Centuries

The acquaintance with history begins with the time of Kyivan Rus, which included the north-western part of the Kharkiv region. One of the best-known towns of our region at that time was Donets, mentioned in the chronicles. Besides objects found during the excavation of this town, the exhibition also shows objects that speak of the high culture of the Old Rus state: silver women’s jewellery — bracelets, temple rings, a neck torque; weapons — swords, axes, arrowheads and spearheads; and money — silver hryvnias and dirhams.

Materials that cover the tragic events of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the Lithuanian state and Polish subjugation lead the visitor to the next, heroic stage of the national history — the Cossack era. Through regalia, edged and firearms of the Cossacks (cannons, flintlock guns, sabres, powder flasks), their clothing and household items, the period of the rise of the Cossacks and of the Zaporozhian Sich is presented.