Block "Glorious families of Ukraine. Tereshchenko family"

The Tereshchenkos were a prominent family from Hlukhiv, who were granted noble status in 1870.

It was at the expense of the Tereshchenkos that hospitals, orphanages, gymnasiums, and schools were built and operated. They were connoisseurs, art collectors, and patrons of the arts. It is thanks to Mykola and Fedir Artemovych, as well as their children Ivan, Oleksandr, Varvara, and Olha, that Kyiv now has a collection of state museums: Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian fine arts, Western and Eastern art.

The family's charitable activities during the First World War were important. As early as 1914, Mykhailo Tereshchenko opened and maintained a 300-bed hospital at his own expense. Soon, other family members opened several more hospitals and founded an orphanage and a shoe workshop for crippled lower ranks. Mykola Tereshchenko financially supported the First Commercial School, the Polytechnic Institute, the Kyiv-Podilska Women's Gymnasium, the City Museum of Antiquities and Art, and the Pirogov Hospital. It was thanks to philanthropist Tereshchenko that OKHMATDYT was established in Kyiv.

Mercy and charity became the family's motto. For a long time, the Tereshchenko family's charitable activities were kept quiet. It was only after Ukraine declared its independence that their activities were officially recognized.