Ethnographic and Artistic Museums of the Galician Gutsulshchyna in Ethno-Tourism Sphere: State and Prospects of the Development

Abstract

The activity of ethnographic and artistic museums of the Galician Hutsulshchyna, their contribution to the development of the ethno-tourism sphere of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast are described in the article. The development of museologyin the Precarpathian region in the context of ethno-tourism activity is regulated by the regional comprehensive program “Culture of Ivano-Frankivsk region”. Priority directions in museum work are: preservation of historical monuments of the region; the latest information technologies introduction into the activity of museums; enlargement of the material, technical and restoration bases; promotion of the international cooperation of museums; realization of repair and restoration work; provision of scientific acquisition of museum funds; activization of publishing activity: albums, catalogs, booklets, guides, scientific collections; usage of new information technologies in accounting and cataloging.

The Hutsul topicality is leading in the museology of the Precarpathian region. The network of museums on the territory of the Galician Hutsulshchyna is the most important for ethno-tourism in Ivano-Frankivsk region. In most cases, they are included in the tour operator's activity and constitute logical chains of tourist excursions and routes and are centers for providing services in the region. There are over thirty state and public museums that attract visitors in this region. Employees of these establishments carry out excursions providing ethnographic information about the region.

The focus is on the characteristics of work of the most famous museums in the Galician Hutsulshchyna. Particularly noticeable is the activity of the National Museum of Folk Art of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia named after Yo. Kobrynsky in Kolomyia, which is the only Ukrainian institution of this type, listed in the Royal Encyclopedia of Great Britain as a museum of world masterpieces.

The author states that the authentic color of life of local inhabitants is brightly represented in the museum institutions of this historical and ethnographic region. A number of museums of the Galician Hutsulshchyna provide high-quality cognitive tourism services, because they have preserved customs and traditions of crafts and handicrafts and everyday ritual activity.

Keywords: museum, ethno-tourism, Galician Hutsulshchyna, exposition, exhibition