Branch Manager:
Iryna Borisovna Klimova
Phone:
380 (44) 235-17-34
Email:
museum-shalom@ukr.net
Year of creation:
2009
Address:
Kyiv, Velyka Vasylkivska St., 5
Field of activity:
Literature
Work schedule:
Among the outstanding writers of the past, whose work has stood the test of time and entered the treasury of world culture, the classic of Jewish literature Sholom Aleichem occupies an honorable place. “Sholom Aleichem” – peace be upon you! With such a greeting, Sholom Rabinovich came to the Jews more than a hundred years ago, who soon became the most popular, most beloved writer Sholom Aleichem. The most important themes of the exposition of the Kiev Sholom Aleichem Museum – a branch of the Museum of the History of Kyiv – are divided into two parts: Sholom Aleichem and Kyiv, Sholom Aleichem and Ukraine. Kyiv played a huge role in the writer’s life: here he was formed, grew brave as a person and as a writer, developed his talent
“Kyiv is my city… The fact that I cannot be in Kyiv makes me sad.” This was Sholem Aleichem’s response to a congratulatory telegram from Kyiv on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his literary activity (Italy, 1908). Sholem Aleichem himself said that he was a chronicler of the life of the Jewish people. The life of the inhabitants of the Jewish town became a source that fed the writer’s talent and inspiration. His stories, tales, and novels are not just documents of an era that has already disappeared, but highly artistic literary works.
The exposition of the Kiev Sholem Aleichem Museum tells and shows the life and work of the outstanding writer. Having visited the museum, everyone has the opportunity to join the spiritual and material culture of the Jewish people. During the excursion, some ritual Jewish objects and items of traditional Jewish life are demonstrated. On the monitors installed in the hall, you can see fragments of films and performances based on the works of Sholem Aleichem, Jewish architecture, the unique art of Jewish stone masters – Jewish tombstones (matzevs), ancient Jewish books, manuscripts, copies of Jewish calligraphy. You can also learn more about the “Beilis Case” (a trial that attracted the attention of not only the Russian, but also the European public at the beginning of the 20th century), etc. In the apartment on Velyka Vasylkivska, 5 (this is where the Museum is located), Sholom Aleichem lived from 1896 to mid-1903 (he left this house between April and August 1903). This was the best time of his writing life. Here he wrote “Menachem Mendel”, “In the Small World of Little People”, “New Kasrylivka” (“All of Berdychiv”), some short stories from “Tevye the Milkman” and others. In addition to the main exhibition hall, the Museum has a hall for temporary exhibitions, in which new exhibitions of works by artists whose work reflects Jewish themes are presented almost every month. The Museum runs a lecture program “Pages of Jewish History and Culture”, concerts, seminars, conferences, meetings with prominent figures of culture, science, art, etc.
