Our calendar

26 November, in different years, there were many events of different content and significance for a specific person, people, countries, the world; for Чернігівського обласного історичного музею ім. VV. Tarnovsky it's a birthday. 26 (14) November 1896 року був офіційно відкритий перший чернігівський публічний загальнодоступний музей – Історичний музей Чернігівської губернської вченої архівної комісії (CHAK museum). During its more than 125-year history, our museum has gone through difficult times, strained, the path full of gains and losses from the creation of separate museums in Chernihiv to their unification into a powerful scientific institution, who today overcomes all the challenges of fate with dignity.

This year's birthday is worth remembering, that 100 years ago - in autumn (we do not know the exact date yet) 1923 Chernihiv State Museum was founded in (ČDM), which consisted of five departments, which became the existing museums in the city at that time: of Ukrainian antiquities V.V. Tarnovsky, historical and archaeological (CHAK museum), lordly life and arts, ethnographic and cults. Almost to the end 1925 year, all museums remained in their premises, the merger took place de jure.

Historical and archaeological museum (a hand. United Historical Museum)

Museum of Ukrainian Antiquities named after. VV. Tarnovsky

Museum of Life and Arts

In this building (before the reconstruction - one of the two buildings of Hortynskyi)

housed the Ethnographic Museum and the Museum of Cults

The role and place of Chernihiv museums in the history of Ukraine was characterized by a well-known historian, art critic and archivist, В.Л. Modzalevskyy: "In general, the collections of Chernihiv museums represent a very valuable collection of local, mostly Ukrainian, ancient times, mutually complement each other, and without studying them, serious work on the study of any aspects of Ukrainian history is hardly possible, art and literature. Chernihiv is a city in this sense, where scientists and researchers constantly go"1.

Про доцільність їхнього об’єднання говорили понад 10 years, and the first step was formed in 1909 Chernihiv joint historical museum of the city and scientific archival commission, in memory of the 1000th anniversary of the historical existence of the city. Chernihiv. Do 1919 the planned unification was postponed, because no suitable premises were found, and in 1923 - went the other way: to begin with, they created the Chernihiv State Museum as a single administrative unit.

The first head of ChDM was Valentin Andriyovych Shugaevskyi, залишаючись при цьому завідувачем Музею українських старожитностей ім. VV. Tarnovsky.

Do 1924 year, he filled out the ChDM questionnaire, where it was stated:

Museum Type – underlined All-Ukrainian, Provincial; added by hand: Main department – All-Ukrainian (it was about the Tarnovsky Museum - L.L.), the rests – provincial type.
Time of foundation of the Museum - written by hand: As a whole – 1923; in parts - with 1896 year.
Museum Staff – handwritten: 1) Head of the State Museum (aka Head. Main Department – Ukrainsk Museum. Ancient. named after Tarnovsky); 2–5) 4 Heads of Departments-Museums (having some independence); 6) one assistant in the main department (aka Archive Manager); 7) secretary; 8) librarian; 9) excursion instructor (Head. Excursion. Bureau); 10–13) 4 watchman2

Employees of ChDM in the Ethnographic Museum: сидять зліва направо В.І. Ziza, zav. Museum of Cults V.G. Drozdov, Director of ChDM Yu.V.. Olander, zav. Museum named after. VV. V.A. Tarnovsky. Shugaevsky, zav. Historical and Archaeological Museum of P.I. Smolichev; stand from left to right. excursion bureau S.G. Baran-Butovich, zav. Музею побуту і мистецтва Г.М. Vakulovskyi, Т.Н. Golovinska, zav. Етнографічнго музею Б.К. Pylypenko. May 1925 Dr..