The Museum of the Liberation Struggle of Ukraine is located in the house of the former Rifle Society in the southern part of the picturesque Regional Landscape Park “Znesienya” (st. Lysenka, 23A).

The first mention of the shooting or chicken (from Polish kurek — cock, which was a symbol of society) brotherhood in Lviv dates back to the middle of the 15th century. In the brotherhood, Lviv townspeople underwent military training in order to defend the city walls from the enemy if necessary. At the end of the 18th century, the fraternity built a shooting gallery on the street. Kurkovoy (now — Lysenka, 23A). Over time, the palace was built (1869—1871, arch. Y. Engel) with a corner quadrangular tower. It held solemn meetings and balls of the members of the society. Today the building is a monument of architecture and history.

It was in the premises of the Striletsky Society that the constituent assembly of the Ukrainian public organization “Prosvita” took place (1868), the first Shevchenko concert was held in Lviv (March 10, 1869).

Since the mid-1990s, with Ukraine gaining independence, the Lviv Historical Museum has established a Department of the History of Liberation Competitions. The painstaking work of the scientists of the Museum began to collect and study valuable monuments of the 20th century related to the struggle of Ukrainians for independence. The grand opening of the Museum took place on October 13, 2012 on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

The exposition of the Museum in chronological sequence reveals the main stages of the struggle for an independent Ukrainian state, and covers the period from the end of the XIX to the beginning of the 90's. XX century.

The first and second halls covered the first stage of the struggle for the sovereignty of Ukrainian lands, starting from the sports and gymnastics youth organizations “Sokil” and “Sich”, whose goal was to educate physically healthy and nationally conscious Ukrainian youth of Galicia and Bukovina. The map of distribution of falcon nests in Western Ukraine illustrates the scale of this movement in Ukrainian society (1913). Unique museum monuments highlight the formation and combat path of the Legion of Ukrainian Cavalry (USS) — the first Ukrainian military formation in the twentieth century. Photos, documents, fragments of weapons found in the area of the fighting of the USSR on Mount Makovka, reliably reproduce the history of the USSR.

A significant place in the exposition is given to museum monuments related to the events in Ukraine of 1917—1921: the creation of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) and the West-Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR), selfless struggle against the invaders. Visitors are interested in samples of weapons of that time, reconstruction of the military uniform of the UNR Army, the original coat of a soldier of the Ukrainian Galician Army — UGA, documents of the Central Council and banknotes of the UNR). The second hall is reserved for documents and weapons of soldiers of the UGA, the Kiev Rifle Corps from the collection of the former Museum of Military-Historical Monuments of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Lviv (1937—1939)

The third hall presents documents and materials of the interwar period in a kaleidoscope of events: the formation and struggle of underground and revolutionary formations of the Ukrainian Military Organization (UVO) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) for the restoration of the independent Ukrainian state; creation in Transcarpathia of Carpathian Ukraine — Ukrainian independent state; battles of the Carpathian Sichi (army of Carpathian Ukraine) with Hungarian troops (among the museum rarities — personal belongings of the President of Carpathian Ukraine Augustine Voloshin); activities of OUN military units — Military departments of nationalists (VVN) and “Nahtigal” and “Roland” couriers; functioning of propaganda Derivative groups of OUN; proclamation of the Act of Restoration of the Ukrainian State on June 30, 1941

A significant part of the exposition is devoted to the activities of combat units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) on the territory of Western Ukraine. Stylization of the interiors of the Museum under forest thickets harmoniously complements the unique attractions. The main stages of formation and organizational structure of the UPA, the activities of the Military District “Bug”, the senior and junior high schools, the medical service of the UPA are reflected. A complex of clandestine field publications, propaganda and school literature, illustrated leaflets, appeals, appeals are singled out. Unique museum objects reveal the color of everyday life of the insurgents: boffons — conditional banknotes, contributions to the combat fund of OUN, UPA; rebel clothing and everyday items; documents of the Ukrainian Main Liberation Council (UHVR), the Grand Assembly of the UHVR, insignia and luminaries members of the UHVR.

Of particular interest to visitors is the section devoted to the history of the Ukrainian division “Halychyna”, which reflects the process of formation of the division, participation in the Battle of Brody, the formation of the First Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army (I UD UNA), the presence of divisionaries in the prisoner-of-war camp in Rimini (Italy), personal belongings of divisionists, memorable combatant insignia, camp publications. A number of materials cover the activities of the Brotherhood of former soldiers of the 1UD UNA and the State Center of the UNR in exile.

A significant place in the exposition is given to materials that tell about Bolshevik repressions in Western Ukraine, mass exiles of Galicians to Siberia, life in concentration camps, the difficult fate of exiled Greek Catholic priests, Ukrainian intelligentsia. Among the preserved documents are evidence of the unprincipled cruelty of the repressive authorities, which gave rise to resistance in the camps, the slogan of the Noryl Uprising of 1953. Visitors do not miss the camp personal belongings of Olga Duchyminskaya, Natalia Popovich, Myroslava Grebenyuk, Vladimir Grinik, camp embroideries, drawings. Unique monuments reveal the greatness of the spirit and invincibility of the fighters for freedom and independence of the Ukrainian people.

An important stage in the liberation struggle is the movement of the sixties. A number of materials cover the activities of the Ukrainian National Front and the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. Democratic rallies of the late 80s in Lviv and Kyiv, Act of Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine on August 24, 1991.

The pride of the Museum are personal belongings and portraits of prominent figures of the liberation struggle of Ukraine. The museum collection contains works of the well-known Ukrainian sculptor Mikhail Chereshniovsky, which were transferred to Ukraine from the USA — sculptural portraits of Roman Shukhevych, Stepan Bandera, Dmitry Dontsov. Unique exhibits of the Museum are: portrait of UPA centurion Mykhailo Duda- “Gromenko”, group portrait “Gromenko”, “Gentle” — Leo Futala and “Berkut”, made by artist Mikhail Moroz in the camp of displaced persons in Regensburg, and a portrait of a chaplain UGA and UD “Galicia” by Roman Lobodych, performed during the German occupation in Lviv, works by Mikhail Moroz.

Among the paintings in the exhibition is a portrait of one of the imprisoned Polish leaders of OUN in Galicia Zinoviy Matla, made by artist Roman Senkiv from nature in a Polish prison.

Rarities were the blue and yellow flag from Stepan Bandera's office in Munich, the typewriter of Yaroslav and Slava Stetsko, the coat of Vasily Kuk — “Koval” — the Supreme Commander of the UPA since 1950.

The monuments of the exposition of the Department reveal the complex and tragic pages of our history, tell about the sacrifice of the best sons and daughters of our nation, who, despite all obstacles, fought, died, but did not kneel before the enemy and captured the Ukrainian state.

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