The Soviet School Museum is the first school museum in Zakarpattia that conveys the atmosphere of children's education in the 60s and 70s of the last century.

The school first opened its doors to Kolochava students back in 1899 as the Hungarian Royal State School. It was the first public school in Kolochava. Until then, the villagers had the opportunity to study only in the parish school. Until 1923, the school was a one-class school, so children of different ages studied in only one class. During the Czech period, the educational process continued in two classes.

In Soviet times, students were educated by teachers who came to Kolochava from different parts of Ukraine.

During the 40s and 50s of the last century, about 5,000 teachers were sent to Zakarpattia from the rest of Ukraine. More than 250 teachers of this generation came to Kolochava schools. When they arrived in Zakarpattia, there was a closed zone. Entry and exit from the region was allowed only with special passes. Teachers were forbidden to leave their workplaces without special permission. A few years later, this rule was lifted, and in 1953, teachers began to leave for their home regions on a massive scale. The Transcarpathian Regional Department of Education was again forced to bring young teachers from central and eastern Ukraine in whole "echelons". A kind of second wave of 'Ukrainian teachers' began.

In 1978, the school moved to a new modern building in the centre of the village. It is still the place where Kolochava students receive their secondary education.

In 2006, as a sign of respect for the memory of the teachers who had worked here for almost 30 years, the dilapidated building was restored at the expense of patrons and the Soviet School Museum was opened. It consists of a large classroom, a pioneer room, a teacher's room and the principal's office.

Exhibits in the large classroom remind us that children used to use ink pens and quills, count on counting machines, listen to a gramophone and warm themselves by an old stove.

The Pioneer Room brings us back to the days when bugles and drums were used to call for the school line-up and biographies of communist leaders were studied in the school curriculum.

In the school yard of the museum, there is a monument to a teacher from Ukraine.

It is dedicated to all the teachers who came to Zakarpattia from central and eastern Ukraine in the post-war years to raise the level of education in mountain villages. The name of the monument reflects how people used to call the visiting teachers in the local dialect. The 15 surnames engraved on the Kolochava monument are the names of those teachers who chose Kolochava as their second home and stayed here forever. Most of them died long ago, but a few still live in the village.

Information note:

The museum is open every day, without breaks and weekends, from 08:00 to 18:00 by appointment only.

📍 Kolochava village, Mizhhiria district  

📞 +38(031) 462-41-81, +38(067) 215-09-85

🌎 http://kolochava.com/