This Top 10 museums of Zaporizhzhia selection will help you discover the city and the region more deeply — from Cossack heritage and archaeological discoveries to fine arts and contemporary exhibition projects. These routes are for those who want to feel the character of Zaporizhzhia, its strength, memory, and creative energy — a city where Cossack legacy, industrial power, and modern cultural processes come together.
Zaporizhzhian Sich Historical and Cultural Complex
The Zaporizhzhian Sich Historical and Cultural Complex, part of the Khortytsia National Reserve, is a scientifically grounded reconstruction of the Cossack “capital” of the 16th–18th centuries located on Khortytsia Island in Zaporizhzhia. The complex extends the exhibition of the Museum of the History of the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks and recreates the key elements of the Sich — fortifications, kurins (barracks), the central square, and sacred buildings.
It is well worth visiting to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the Cossack era: walk through the fortress grounds, see how the Sich was organized, and gain a deeper understanding of the role of the Cossacks in shaping Ukrainian statehood. In addition to guided tours, the site hosts themed events and exhibitions, making it a place where history, living impressions, and leisure come together in one of Ukraine’s most iconic locations.
Faeton Museum of Technology
The Faeton Museum of Technology is a private museum in Zaporizhzhia dedicated to vintage cars, motorcycles, and military vehicles. Founded in 2001, it is the only full-scale automobile museum in Ukraine. Across six exhibition halls covering about 3,000 m², visitors can see more than 150 exhibits — from a 1935 GAZ-AA “polutorka” truck and iconic ZAZ “Zaporozhets” cars to American and European automobiles, as well as a unique operational ZIS-6 “Katyusha” rocket launcher.
This museum is a living history of 20th-century technology: most of the vehicles have been carefully restored and remain in working condition. The exhibition combines educational value with vivid impressions, making it engaging for visitors of all ages.
Zaporizhzhia Regional Museum of Local History
The Yakov Novytskyi Zaporizhzhia Regional Museum of Local History is one of the main museums of Zaporizhzhia, founded in 1921. It is housed in the former building of the Zemstvo Administration and presents the history of the region from ancient times to the present day.
The museum’s collections include more than 100,000 items: archaeological finds, materials related to the Zaporizhian Cossacks, as well as ethnographic and natural history collections. A separate hall is dedicated to Nestor Makhno and the events of the Ukrainian Revolution. It is an excellent place to gain a concise yet comprehensive understanding of the history and culture of the Zaporizhzhia region.
Chaika Museum of Navigation
The Chaika Museum of Navigation is located in the southern part of Khortytsia Island, inside a restoration hangar where unique vessels raised from the bottom of the Dnipro River are preserved and displayed. Initially, the space served only for the conservation of underwater archaeological finds, but over time it was transformed into a full-fledged museum open to visitors.
The collection features a Cossack chaika with an exceptional level of preservation, a brigantine, a double-sloop from the Russo-Turkish War of the 18th century, and a baidak from the late 19th century. In addition, the museum holds the largest collection of anchors in Ukraine — more than 60 examples from different historical periods.
Zaporizhzhia Regional Art Museum
The Zaporizhzhia Regional Art Museum is one of the region’s leading cultural institutions, presenting the development of Ukrainian and European visual art from the 19th century to the present day. Its collection includes painting, graphic art, sculpture, and decorative and applied arts.
The permanent exhibition features works by Ukrainian classics and contemporary artists, as well as pieces that reflect the artistic processes of the Zaporizhzhia region. The museum actively hosts temporary exhibitions, educational programs, and cultural events, making it an important space for engaging with art and fostering dialogue between artists and audiences. Since 2025, the museum has also operated a VR zone featuring the exhibition “The Bestiary of Maria Prymachenko.”
Museum of the History of Weapons
The Museum of the History of Weapons is a private museum in Zaporizhzhia, located at 189 Sobornyi Avenue. Its exhibition traces the development of weaponry from the Stone Age to the second half of the 20th century — from primitive tools and edged weapons to firearms of the World War II period.
The museum was opened in 2004 on the basis of the private collection of Vitalii Shlaifer. Today, it houses more than 4,000 exhibits, including swords, sabers, rapiers, spears, Cossack weapons, European and Eastern arms, Japanese and Chinese weapons, as well as collections from Africa and other regions of the world.
Museum-Gallery of Applied Ceramics and Painting by Illia and Oleksii Burlai
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The Zaporizhzhia Museum-Gallery of Applied Ceramics and Painting by Illia and Oleksii Burlai is a unique cultural and educational space that combines a museum, gallery, and learning platform. At its core is a collection of architectural and building ceramics more than 100 years old (over one thousand items with makers’ marks and stamps), alongside works of painting, sculpture, and decorative and applied arts.
Since 2010, the museum has been implementing the author’s project “Museum and School,” which includes workshops, festivals, classical music concerts, and thematic exhibitions for children and young people. The museum is known for its original approach to display and its active engagement with young audiences, contributing to the popularization of Ukrainian art and the development of aesthetic culture.
Boguslayev Museum of Technology
The Motor Sich Museum of Technology (also known as the Boguslayev Museum of Technology) is a private museum in Zaporizhzhia dedicated to the history of aircraft engine manufacturing and the development of technology. It was opened in 2012 to mark the 105th anniversary of the Motor Sich enterprise and is based on the former People’s Museum of the plant’s history.
Housed in a two-storey building and an outdoor exhibition area, the museum presents piston and jet aircraft engines of different generations, models of airplanes and helicopters, a collection of retro motorcycles, hunting weapons, samovars, as well as military, agricultural, and aviation machinery displayed in the open air. The museum is included in official tourist routes and is one of the largest technical museums in Ukraine.
Scythian Camp
Scythian Camp (Skifskyi Stan) is an open-air museum located at the highest point of Khortytsia Island, where ancient burial mounds have been preserved and reconstructed—some of them contemporaries of the Egyptian pyramids. The central mound, Zorova Mohyla, served as a lookout point in Cossack times, which is recalled today by reconstructed signal watchtowers offering panoramic views of the Dnipro River and Zaporizhzhia.
The complex combines an observation platform with a vast archaeological landscape featuring stone sculptures, Cossack crosses, and a lapidarium—a collection of stone monuments from different historical periods. Scythian Camp is often considered a “place of power” and one of the best spots on Khortytsia to experience a unique blend of history, nature, and breathtaking scenery.
National Reserve “Khortytsia”
And finally, to complete our selection, it is worth exploring the entire National Reserve “Khortytsia” — one of the most significant historical and natural complexes in Ukraine, encompassing Khortytsia Island and the surrounding islands and rocks of the Dnipro River. The reserve holds exceptional natural, archaeological, and cultural value and was established to preserve heritage sites connected with the formation of Ukrainian statehood and the history of the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks.
Today, “Khortytsia” is a powerful research, cultural, and educational center featuring museums, historical and cultural complexes, archaeological landmarks, and уникque landscapes. In 2026, a monument to the Cossack-Bandurist was installed on the island, accompanied by a QR code that leads visitors to an interactive online quest — offering a new way to discover Khortytsia.
Zaporizhzhia is a city where history is not locked behind closed doors but lives alongside us — in museums, on Khortytsia Island, in art spaces, and under the open sky. Each of these ten museums reveals a different facet of the region’s character. Through such places, Zaporizhzhia emerges not only as an industrial center, but as a vibrant cultural hub capable of inspiring, surprising, and constantly revealing new dimensions of itself.
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