Werkhovyna, remote from large population centers, is considered to be the most Hutsul region in the Carpathians. Here for many centuries the Hutsuls lived in a measured way, protecting their traditions, customs and everyday life, thanks to which today it is in this village you can get acquainted with the history and culture of the Carpathian mountaineers. To do this, you can visit the museums of Verkhovyna and, in particular, the Museum of Hutsul life, ethnography and musical instruments of Roman Kumlik.
Museum R. Kumlik is located in the very center of the village in a small two-storey private house. The exposition is located in two spacious rooms, it has a rich collection of items related to the life and culture of the Hutsuls. The museum opened its doors in 2001, and the collection of its exhibits was collected by Roman Kumlik for more than 30 years.
The owner of the museum Roman Kumlik is well known in Verkhovyna and not only — he regularly takes part in many holidays and festivals in Transcarpathia. For a long time he collected items related to the history and culture of the Hutsuls, and when they accumulated a whole collection, in his own house he decided to organize a museum, which has now become his whole life. The owner conducts tours of the museum himself, telling fascinating stories and interesting facts about the life of the Hutsuls. On many of the musical instruments presented in the exposition, which R. Kumlik considers his pride. Kumlik considers the pride of his collection, he knows how to play, so each excursion is complemented by performances — Austrian and Polish waltzes, Hutsul and Ukrainian motifs performed by the owner of the museum. Each excursion is an improvisation, not only a narration, but also a fascinating action, which will be interesting to see for everyone who spends his holiday in Verkhovina and wants to get acquainted with the history of the Hutsuls. Every time you visit the museum you can hear and learn something new about the life and culture of the mountain people of the Carpathians.
The collections of the museum include musical instruments, household items of the Hutsuls, clothes, weapons, money signs of different times and much more. Among the exhibits of different collections there are ancient ones, which are more than two centuries old.
The collection of musical instruments includes horns, trembits, sopilkas, cymbals, drymbas, violins and other exhibits. R. Kumlik calls horns no other than «an ancient cell phone» — with the help of this instrument the mountaineers used to transmit messages over long distances. Trembits belong to ceremonial instruments used by the Hutsuls during weddings, funerals, Kolyada and other festive events. Sopilkas (flutes) in the museum’s collection are represented by the richest collection of Ukrainian and foreign exhibits, one of the most interesting among them is a Latin American sopilka made more than a century ago. Cymbals are represented by seven exhibits, the oldest of them is more than two centuries old. The museum also has a unique collection of violins, in which there are exhibits from the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Poland. You can see a variety of them, including rare dovbank violins — made of solid wood. Accompanied by songs and melodies performed by R. Kumlik, the story about the museum’s musical collection leaves all visitors with the most vivid memories.
Among the Hutsul household items presented in the exposition are dishes, painted clay plates, spirit lamps, antique primus and kerosene lamps more than a century old and much more. This collection also includes not only Hutsul, but also Austrian and Polish exhibits.
Folk clothing of Hutsuls is presented in no less large and interesting collection: there are things made of linen, leather, shoes and much more. The collection of weapons, which includes hatchets, pistols (including Austrian and Polish), rifles, carbines, and shotguns, completes the idea of life and life of Hutsuls.
Roman Kumlik’s Museum of Hutsul life, ethnography and musical instruments, thanks to its unusual format of excursions and rich and interesting collection, has earned the fame of a real attraction of the Carpathians, and people come here from all over the country and abroad to visit it. Having visited the museum, you can not only get acquainted with the history and life of the Hutsuls, but also feel the special atmosphere that characterizes the life of indigenous peoples in different parts of the world.