20 years ago, Zhydychyn was not very noticeable, although it is a large settlement near Lutsk. Here they thought about the land, asphalt on the roads, a kindergarten, which was not built… - all the things that people in villages think about. And did not think about tourism, projects, cultural heritage, festivals, charity fairs, tourist routes and everything that the village lives now. 

For three years, there is an information and tourist center "Zhydychyn Center" in the village. The activity of the team, which confidently develops, enlisting the support of the local monastery, attracts attention to Zhydychyn. More and more people want to see what's out there because they've heard about it. A lot of villages in Ukraine have monasteries, temples, settlements, cemeteries, places of battle, burial, but they does not know how to work with it. In Zhydychyn we know how to deal with it.

The most significant attraction of the village is the St. Nicholas Zhydychyn Monastery, whose history dates back to 975, when the ancient chronicles mention the monastery on the banks of the Styr River as part of the Moravian Diocese. Currently, the excursion area includes a complex of buildings and architectural monuments of national importance: the Metropolitan's Palace; the ancient St. Nicholas Church; the large bell tower of the monastery; the Holy Spirit Skete, and the old Kyivan Rus' settlement Skudelnychi. The consolidation of local activists and specialists under the roof of the Zhydychyn Center gave a tremendous result for the community.

In February 2020, under the St. Nicholas Church, the team of the Zhydychyn Center unexpectedly discovered an ancient crypt. Thus, the memories that passed on to each other from generation to generation were confirmed. Among the plans that the team has for the near future is the work on the formation of the concept and filling the unique space of the Historical Arena: “Zhydychyn History Hall” in the old bell tower. Here the history of Ukraine comes to life...

After the administrative and territorial reform, the village became part of the Lutsk Сity Territorial Community. It is in the Starostynskyi district now, but the heritage, people, and approaches to work are far from provincial.

The distance from Zhydychyn to Lutsk (regional center of the Volyn region) is not so long. In Lutsk, people know that there are interesting events in the village from time to time. People come to Zhydychyn for loud festivals charity fairs or - just for excursions because there is something to see.

In the chronicles there are references to the fact that King of Galicia Daniel Halytskyj came to Zhydychyn monastery to pray. Obviously, at that time there was already a powerful spiritual center. When the Tatar-Mongols came and murdered more than 100 people from the brotherhood of the monastery, it fell to decay. In the 17th century, the monastery was subordinated to the Greek-Catholic order of Basilians. After Catherine II limited the activities of the order, the monastery ceased to exist. During the First World War of 1914, it was the headquarters of the 11 Izyum Regiment. Then there was an orphan. Later – the residence of Polycarp of Sikorsky, the so-called bishops' chambers (were built in the 18th century) in which at that time they translated The Holy Scripture into Ukrainian language.  In World War II, for some time it was a shelter for children, and in the Soviet years – a school. Once the complex of the monastery was much more powerful. Some of the buildings were dismantled, and from that brick a station was built in the city of Kivertsi, 15 km from Zhidychyn.

Among other objects that are rarely found in the village is  Zhydychyn Tourist Information and Pilgrimage Center "Zhydychyn Center", which was officially opened on August 25, 2019. It was built on the initiative of the local monastery, and in three years it became a center of cultural and tourist life of the rural community. Conditionally speaking, the brand "Ancient Zhydychyn" is being developed here. Under the roof of the center there is a team that publishes books about the history of the village, produces souvenirs with local symbols, publishes ideas for cultural events, and conducts excursions. The mission of the center is no less ambitious than the project itself – “we open the Ancient Zhydychyn to the whole world”.

The idea belongs to the abbot of the monastery Fr. Konstantyn Marchenko. When he saw that thethe part of active community was left out of work after the local elections, he decided not to lose this intellectual resource. There were 5 people who organized the community life before that.  From the construction trailer, which stood at the entrance to the monastery, a center of tourism and pilgrimage was created. At first, it had to be a place from which people would get acquainted with the architectural monument. 

Almost 300 thousand hryvnias were invested in the creation of an information and tourist center. It is 100% investment of the monastery. After the center was opened, the tourist's interest increased not only to the monastery, but also to the all area.

Particular attention in the work is paid to the younger generation. Also there is the cultural and artistic quest "Legends of the Zhydychyn Monastery", which is really popular among youth. Playing a game on Google maps through the mobile application ActionTrack allows you to combine the game and the excursion. This is an unusual, technological way to get acquainted with cultural heritage in an easy, playful way.

The Center signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Museum of the Volyn Icon, as a unique center of iconology in Ukraine, with the Tourist Information and Services Centers of Lutsk and Volodymyr-Volynskyi, a number of promotional materials were produced, tourist information boards were installed near key displayed objects.

It was told about Zhydychyn and the development of tourism at numerous pieces of training and seminars. On the Day of Tourism, together with the Department of Tourism and Promotion of the city of Lutsk City Council launched a weekend excursion tour "Lutsk-Zhydychyn".

Particular attention to understanding the significance and weight of the Zhydyn in the historical and religious context deserves the work of A. Malevych "Ancient Zhydychyn Archimandrite in Volyn", confirms the idea of the antiquity of the monastery and its functioning in the territory of Zhydychyn already in 975, that is, 13 years before the baptism of Kyinan Rus' by Prince Volodymyr. Over the millennia, the monastery was repeatedly destroyed, but each time it was reborn, like a Phoenix.

In February 2020, in the monastery, under the St. Nicholas Church, an ancient crypt with the remains of the clergy buried here was unexpectedly discovered. In Zhydychyn, the discovery became a sensation. People were looking to see what was really underneath the temple. The monastery decided not to hide this place. This discovery pushed Zhydychyn to even more inspirational work on the search for its true history. You will ask why they talked about the dungeons, but no one has ever looked for them, although the church has always acted. No one was looking for anything here, because as long as there was a Russian church, they were not interested in such things. By the way, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the tomb became a shelter in which in the first weeks of the war more than 20 residents had the opportunity to get refuge.

​​Among the plans that the team has for the near future is the work on the formation of the concept and filling the unique space of the Historical Arena: “Zhydychyn History Hall” in the old bell tower. ​The multifunctional location will allow a better understanding of the features of the historical and cultural heritage of the territory and will encourage visitors to reflect and discuss. It is planned to equip the museum complex "Nabat", as well as the observation deck "Moravia".

Somewhere in the altar lamps, the fire crackles. Walls are silent. They are not ready to reveal all their secrets here and now. It takes time…and people, it takes people… God has everything on time.

Contact details:

Zhydychyn Center  https://www.facebook.com/zhydychyn.center

Perception ofobjects of heritage of Zhydychyn as interesting objects of tourist display and factors of development and promotion of the village will be the key to preserving the heritage and history of Zhydychyn, development of the place and will raise the tourist image of Zhydychyn and Volyn, will stimulate the tourist flow, which will positively affect the further development of the place, the development of tourist enterprises of the village and the region.

The project is significant for realizing the value of own objects of cultural heritage in countering Russian propaganda about the “common history” and the minority of Ukrainians; forming the national pride of Ukrainians for their own heritage, realizing it as an integral part of the pan-European heritage; long-term results of the project are significant for the world image of the state, strengthening its role in the cultural arena of Eastern Europe; updating the objects of cultural heritage of Ukraine on the subject of Great Moravia monuments; motivating other communities to use the heritage for economic, social, cultural and environmental improvements of their own territories.