The Khanenko Museum is one of the most prominent art museums in Ukraine, dating back to the 1870s. Bohdan Khanenko and his wife Varvara Tereshchenko spent over forty years collecting a unique encyclopedic collection: old European masters, art of Islamic cultures and Asia, ancient icons and Cossack antiquities. In 1919, a state museum was opened in their mansion on Tereshchenkovskaya Street, but the Bolshevik authorities nationalized the property, some of the masterpieces were taken to the Hermitage or sold abroad, and during World War II, some were looted by the Nazis. The name of the founders was returned to the name of the museum only in 1999.
Today, the museum stores over 25,000 works from Europe, Asia and the Islamic world – among them are the world-famous Byzantine icons of the 6th-7th centuries from Sinai. They are actively developing educational and inclusive programs for different audiences, and since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, special attention has been paid to programs for the military, veterans, and displaced persons.