Kamyanytsa village
Uzhhorod district Transcarpathian region
Ethnographic and Art museum
of the Uzhanska valley
It is known that in the last XX century archaeologists had found one of the oldest and most famous sites of primitive people in Europe (about 700 thousand years B.C.) on the territory of Transcarpathia (village Korolevo, Vynohradiv district). Later on, drawing the time analogy of the Trypillian culture in the region of Kyiv and Kushtanovitska culture in the Carpathian area (7, 5 thousand years B.C.) on the territory of Ukraine, grounds may be found for logical argumentation of creation of such a museum, where the visitor can learn the evolutionary development from the times of ancient ethnos and till the beginning of the XX century.
Also, one must take into account the geographical originality (historicity) of the Uzhanska valley’s locality (territory from Uzhok to Uzhhorod), which is surrounded by the unique wooded mountains from the side of Uzhhorod in the north-east. Tourists are greatly impressed by the medieval castle-fortress of the XII century towering above the one of the mountains – it is the hoary witness of the vital activity of the Slavs in the course of thousand years.
God himself without doubts told to create and to build in one of the Uzhanska valley’s corners, at the bottom of the Castle mountain at the Uzh-river side, the Ethnographic and Art museum, which has no analogues on the territory of Ukraine,
Today there is a need in clear, scientific perception and conceptualization of the great ethno-cultural wealth, ethnogenic heritage of our region, initiated by the family tandem of professional artists Mahdalyna and Mykhaylo Beleny and by the all-round preparation and support of the Transcarpathian progressive historical, scientific and cultural workers, the scientific elite of Institute of Carpathian Studies of Uzhhorod National University. It is hard to imagine the ancient depth of swim in the Carpathian region without collecting these factors into a compound system of the evolutionary development of spirituality.
The building of the future museum will resemble the unique grace of the Transcarpathian wooden church architecture, which is the unification of the form and style, silhouette, visual and the aesthetic perception. The outer decorations of the museum building are the natural stone, oak and forge metal. The roofs will be crowned with the classic Greek cross and with two disks of sunrise and sunset (the symbols of life on the Earth).
In the ground part of the museum building stocks storage, library, restoration workshop, custodial service and guide room will be placed. Also, the isolated rooms of the heating system, maintenance and the sanitary facilities will be found there.
The archaeological finds, ceramic, metallic and wooden ware will be placed on the first floor (the beginning of the exhibition visit). A collection of different clothing, instruments of labour (wooden, metallic), cast-iron and bronze castings, and musical instruments, primitive and professional furniture will continue the tour. The offices of the director and research fellow are also situated on the same floor.
The first floor will be divided into two parts. The eastern (right) part will represent the highest richness of the sacral (clerical) art: banners, icons, all kinds of divine service books, wooden and metallic crosses, chalices, incensories, candlesticks, embroidery of Christmas and Easter towels, clothing of bishops and priests, bells, fragments of ruined roadside crosses, and also a number of wooden models of wooden churches, chapels, bell towers. The “Sacred sanctuary of the Carpathian area” will accomplish the Western part of the exposition.
In the left side of the first floor the works (partially) of great masters of Transcarpathian fine arts and also creative works of family tandem of professional artists Mahdalyna and Mykhaylo Beleny will be represented.
The territory near the museum will be paled by 3-meter high monastic wall. The inner side of the wall on the whole length (perimeter) will be covered by sculpture imagery (relief, high-relief, round sculpture). Particularly, they are portraits, duplicates of brasses, thematic, clerical and classical sculpture. A unique classical chapel will be built in the eastern part of the museum’s territory. In its lower part, on both sides of the stairway leading to the plinth with the praying Blessed Virgin, 12 Apostles will be set. On the plinth (en face) the relief images of Apostles Cyril and Methodius, who brought Christianity to Transcarpathia with their missionary enlightener work, will be placed. A classical column with Jesus Christ the Savoir at the top, calling the world to goodness and ascension of the soul to everlasting life with overspread arms, will accomplish the general view of the chapel.
In the middle of the inner yard there will be two alleys with properties of wisdom and fame of mankind. The first lane will represent mini moulded models (up to 1 meter in height) of the Seven Wonders of the World and images of gods of different world religions and faiths of Earth.
The second lane will be an artistic individualization of portrait gallery in bronze of geniuses of mankind (history, science, culture). Thus today we have got a lot of intellectuals ready to help the creation of the unique museum on the territory of Uzhanska valley in the Carpathian area.
I believe in a Christian way, that there are no reencounters with God, and I think that there are open-hearted patrons or patriots, who know better that in our days planet Earth is irreplaceable for people’s life – it is a noosphere of spirituality, a sacred memory for our descendants.
The estimated cost of the Ethnographic and Art museum project (the collection has more than two thousand exhibits by today) is around 150,000.00 (one hundred and fifty thousand) USD.
In case if one patron of the arts will answer - I guarantee to produce and set up a bronze monument before the main foreside of the museum, with corresponding historical title in Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.
If there will be two or three of them – I will set bronze portrait memorial plaques on the foreside of the museum. If there will be more than three – I will set bronze memorial plaques with their names in five languages of the world.
Wise and glorious people, living in this beautiful and at the same time sinful world, if you are interested in the philosophy of eternity of Existence and Non-existence – please, help! Your names will be added to the history of the mentioned museum.
Р.S. I’d like to mention: I have the possibility to produce by means of own funds any kind of sculptural composition – portrait, figure or compound relief, at one third of the real cost.
All of the approval stages of the project of the future museum will be adjusted according to the current legislation of Ukraine.
Address:
27 Uzhanska Street, Kamyanytsa village
Uzhhorod district,
Transcarpathian region
89411 Ukraine
Telephone: (+380 312) 73-18-66
Academic sculptor, artist, teacher, writer, journalist
Mykhaylo O. Beleny

I appel to people of good and wise will-Maecenases, culturemen, scientists, politicians and businessmen – who are willing to financially support the building of the main construction of the Ukrainian uniq regional skansen “Ethnographical art skansen of Carpathian Area”. I guarantee to set up a bronze monument to these persons of good will on the territory of the skansen or name the skansen after them.
Sincerely Yours,
Skulptor Doctor of art,
Mihailo Belets

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