Museum of Antiquities by Vasyl Tarnovsky was opened in 1902 on the basis of a collection of Vasyl Tarnovsky's patronage. It included artifacts from primitive society and Kievan Rus, manuscripts, claydons, household items from later periods, and paintings. His collection numbers about 230,000 monuments of material and spiritual culture. In particular, Tarnovsky had in his collection "Catherine" by Shevchenko, received as a gift from the author himself.

Museum director's quote: "The building survived Bolshevik bombardments in 1918 and 1919. It survived the Second World War under the bombs of the German Nazis. The Moscow Nazi horde came and spoiled a very beautiful and cosy building from the end of the 19th century, a local historical monument. The hatred of the Moscow horde, which says something about the majestic Russian culture, towards the Ukrainian culture is understandable. They hate everything and everyone. They are already historical corpses, although they can still move their feet," the report says.