The Museum of the worldly known medical doctor Nikolay Pirogov is located in Vinnitsa. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest doctors in history, and the Ukrainans are very proud that this country is his motherland. 

Nikolay Pirogov was born in 1810 in Moscow.  As his elder brother was suffering from a terminal illness, the boy used to watch how doctors treated his brother, and his interest to medicine grew stronger through years. His parents noticed unusual talent of their son and his passion for learning, and strongly supported the boy's attraction to medical studies. They purchased a fake birth certificate for their son, which gave a chance to the 13-year-old Nikolay to enter the department of medicine of Moscow University.

At the age of 17, he graduated from medical school with excellence; his name was among the top ten students in the Russian Empire. Then he continued his education and received the Doctor's degree in Tartu, Estonia. At the age of 25 he was teaching and practicing surgery in Germany.

His belief that a good surgeon must also be a good anatomist was proven by his personal example through all his life. He wrote and illustrated books on surgical anatomy. At the same time, he experimented with anesthesia to create strong anesthetic treatment; he often experimented on himself. During the Crimean War he applied the results of his research in general anaesthetic to cure wounded soldiers, and due to fantastic efficiency of his treatment, it quickly came into wide use.

Pirogov was a founder of a wide array of surgical tools that are still used in medicine.

After retiring Pirogov opened a free hospital in the Vyshnya village just outside Vinnitsa. He spent 15 years working in his house in Vyshnya, where he wrote his final medical books. Pirogov was an outstanding person even in his time. A lot of famous and recognizable people visited his house and were his friends. One of them was Petr Illich Chaykovsky, who often gave the concerts for his family.

Pirogov invented the unique method of conserving body after death without disintegration. The three oldest bodies in the world were conserved by his method - this is the body Pirogov himself, Lenin and Mao Tszedun, which are in display till nowadays.

After his death his wife built a church in his honor. It is located in 1 km from his house. Pirogov was buried in the family crypt near the Museum in Vinnitsa.

Today, the wooden building of the hospital and his own house are open for visitors as a museum complex of Pirogov.
The Museum of Pirogov is open 10.00-18.00, daily.
Address: Vinnitsa, 155, Pirogov st.

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