About

“Sloboda Ukraine Code. Church Antiquities” is a cultural and research project aimed at preserving, studying, and promoting the religious dimension of Slobozhanshchyna’s cultural heritage as an integral part of Ukrainian national culture and the European spiritual tradition.

The project’s main goal is the digitization of a unique collection of church relics dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries and the creation of a contemporary digital cultural product accessible to a wide audience in Ukraine and abroad. The initiative is implemented by Clio Hub NGO in partnership with the Kharkiv State Scientific Library named after V. H. Korolenko, with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.

As part of the project, an electronic multimedia catalogue of a museum collection is being created, encompassing icons, liturgical books, and other objects of church worship. The catalogue includes masterpieces of Ukrainian Baroque, artifacts related to Cossack history, as well as items representing the region’s religious diversity—Catholicism, Old Belief, Judaism, Karaimism, Islam, and Buddhism.

A separate outcome of the project is a virtual 3D exhibition, presented both as a web-based experience and as an application for VR devices. This format allows users to explore artifacts in a digital environment regardless of their physical location, opening new possibilities for research and public access to cultural heritage.

The project is based on the collection from the holdings of the Kharkiv Historical Museum named after M. F. Sumtsov, an important testament to the spiritual history of Slobozhanshchyna. A significant part of these objects originates from pre-war Kharkiv museum collections, survived evacuation during the Second World War, and has been preserved to this day as a unique source of cultural memory.

The project acquires particular significance in the context of the full-scale war. Kharkiv Region remains a frontline area where cultural heritage is under constant threat. Digitization provides an additional layer of protection for museum objects and ensures continuous public access despite security-related restrictions.

The initiative also contributes to the development of the humanities in Ukraine and expands access to cultural resources for researchers, educators, students, schoolchildren, internally displaced persons, and Ukrainians abroad. Through the use of 3D modeling and virtual reality technologies, an interactive environment is created for a deeper understanding of the spiritual heritage of Slobozhanshchyna and its role in the history of Ukraine.

“Sloboda Ukraine Code. Church Antiquities” represents an important step toward preserving cultural memory and integrating it into a contemporary digital context—for present and future generations.