Attractions of Kherson

Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater named after Mykola Kulish was founded in 1830 on the initiative of the nobility of Kherson province.

The theater building was built in 1884. The architect Vladyslav Dombrovsky took one of the best theaters in Europe - the Odesa Opera House - as the basis of the project.

In 1944, this architectural monument was badly damaged. The current building of the Kherson Regional Theater appeared only in 1962, but it was not restored in its original form.

Since 1998, the Melpomene of Tavria International Theater Festival has been held in the Mykola Kulish Theater in mid-June.

One of the earliest stone buildings in the city. It was built at the end of the 18th century for the captain of the Kherson port, Vice-Admiral Senyavin, who lived in Kherson for 3 years.

The house with a spherical dome is built in the style of Russian classicism, the main facade is decorated with a six-column portico. It is located somewhat in the depth of the block and is limited along the red line of the street by a stone fence with pillars and metal bars.

Currently in very poor condition.

The monumental building of the Admiralty Arsenal is the largest structure of the Kherson Fortress that has survived to this day.

It was founded in 1784 according to the project of the architect Vikentiy Vanrezant. It was the largest arsenal in the south of the Russian Empire, where cannons, muskets, melee weapons and ammunition were stored for the army stationed in the Novorossiysk region. The facade of the building with two four-column porticos faced the Palace Square, creating a joint ensemble with the Catherine Cathedral.

After the earthquake of 1802, the arsenal was rebuilt. When the Kherson fortress was abolished, the arsenal buildings were converted into a prison, where the Intercession Church was opened. Since then, the arsenal has not changed its profile. Currently, it houses pre-trial detention center No. 28, as well as regional television.

The compositional center of the Kherson Necropolis is the Church of All Saints, built in the style of classicism in 1804-1808 and expanded in the 70s of the 19th century.

This is the only Orthodox church in Kherson that was never closed for religious services during the era of "militant atheism".

A wonderful wooden carved iconostasis has been preserved in the interior of the church. Some of his images were made by Yaroslavl icon painters at the beginning of the 18th century. In addition, the church has several interesting icons of the XVII-XVIII centuries.

The two-story bishop's house in Kherson was built in the style of classicism. It was also used as the house of the Chief of the Admiralty.

In the architectural and planning decision, the combination of civil and religious buildings is used.

Currently in a state of reconstruction.

The Church of the Holy Martyr Oleksandra in Kherson was founded in 1898. The elegant church was built according to the project of the provincial architect Kazymyr Kvinto as the home church of the Second Mariyinska Girls' Gymnasium.

The tented ends of the main room and the belfry were originally crowned with bulbous capitals. In the architecture of the temple, the influence of Moscow architecture of the 17th century with the use of the Romanesque style can be felt.

In the interior, stucco decoration has been preserved, as well as carved marble kiots, which survived from the original iconostasis of the work of the famous sculptor Borys Eduards.

Currently, the church belongs to the community of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The obelisk with a sundial and a bas-relief is erected in honor of the English reformer lawyer, doctor and philanthropist Dzhon Hovard.

In Europe, he built hospitals and homes for the elderly, fought for the rights of convicts. In 1789, an enthusiastic doctor came to Kherson to fight the typhus epidemic that broke out here. Having become infected himself, he died a year later and was buried there.

Having become infected himself, Dzhon Hovard died a year later and was buried in Kherson.

The "Frigate" memorial sign on the embankment of Kherson is the most famous symbol of the city.

The monument in the form of a sailboat on a high pedestal was erected in 1972 in honor of the first ships of the Black Sea Fleet: the 66-gun battleship "Glory to Kateryna" and the 50-gun frigate "George the Victorious". They were launched from the docks of the Kherson admiralty shipyard in 1783.

The monument is made of sheet copper, concrete and granite. Sculptors Ivan Bilokur, Volodymyr Potrebenko, Vasyl Shkuropad, architect Yuriy Tarasov.

The residence of the Kherson governor is a neoclassical building, a model of an official ceremonial residence.

In 1917, the provincial congress was held here, which recognized the Kherson region as an integral part of the Ukrainian People's Republic, and the Central Council as the highest authority.

After the establishment of Soviet power in Kherson, the building housed the first Council of Trade Unions and the Union of Working Youth. In 1963, the premises were given to the children of the city. Currently, the former governor's residence houses the Kherson Palace of Children's and Youth Creativity.

The Greco-Sophia Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is the oldest of all churches preserved in Kherson.

The stone temple with a wooden head was built by the Greeks who settled in Kherson in the 18th century.

In the interior of the Greco-Sophia Church, wall paintings, a wonderful carved iconostasis, and wooden sculptures have been preserved.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Greek-Sophia Church was repeatedly damaged. On the night of April 11, 2023, Russian shelling damaged the walls and roof and broke windows. On the night of December 14, 2023, another shelling damaged the altar and ceiling of the Greek-Sophia Church and again broke windows.

The house of businessman Iosif Holdenberh on Erdelivska Street (now Starobryadnytska Street) is one of the brightest in the ensemble of Pokrovskyi Square in Kherson.

Eclectic building, faced with brick, richly decorated in Romanesque and Moorish style. Since 1911, the Kherson branch of the St. Petersburg International Commercial Bank was located here.

Currently, the Holdenberh building is occupied by the Kherson Regional Office of the State Treasury of Ukraine, a commercial bank and other organizations.

The Assumption Cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in Kherson. The temple was founded by merchants Syzaryev and Fendrikov. According to legend, immediately after the start of construction, the plague raging in the city stopped.

The Assumption Cathedral was built in the style of early classicism, in the shape of an oblong cross. It is distinguished by excellent decoration. Inside you can see an elegant iconostasis and an icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

During Soviet times, the temple was closed, the premises were converted into a gym. Currently, the Holy Assumption Cathedral has been returned to believers, and restoration is underway.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Holy Assumption Cathedral was repeatedly damaged. On the night of December 14, 2023, the cathedral was damaged by Russian shelling - the main dome was damaged by a direct hit from a shell. On February 4, 2024, another shelling damaged the facade, windows, and entrance door.

The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in the style of classicism was built in Kherson over 30 years, from 1804 to 1836.

The temple has two side altars - in honor of Archangel Michael and in memory of the Holy Martyrs of Chersonese.

Here is a list of the miraculous Kasperivska icon of the Mother of God, which protected the inhabitants of Tavria province during the Crimean War.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Holy Spirit Cathedral was repeatedly damaged. On September 10, 2023, the facade, entrance, and utility rooms were damaged as a result of Russian shelling. On the night of October 2, 2023, another shell hit the diocesan administration building. In addition, the facade of the Holy Spirit Cathedral, the sacristy, and windows were again broken.

The complex of buildings and the remains of defense structures of the Kherson Fortress, which founded the city of Kherson, are located on the territory and in the vicinity of the Kherson Fortress Park.

The fortress at the mouth of the Dnipro was founded by Prince Hrihory Potemkin in 1778, along with the earlier fortification Oleksandr-Shants (1737). The construction was carried out by the troops of the local garrison under the leadership of General Ivan Hannibal.

On the territory of the Kherson Fortress Park on Perekopska Street, the arched Ochakivsky (western) and Moskovsky (northern) gates of the end of the 18th century, a powder cellar (converted into a restaurant), fragments of shafts and ravelins have been preserved.

On the opposite side of Perekopska Street is the Arsenal with a monumental colonnade, built in 1784 - one of the earliest buildings of the Kherson Fortress (now the city prison).

Kherson Regional Art Museum named after Oleksiy Shovkunenko was opened in 1977 in the former building of the City Duma.

His prototype was the pre-revolutionary Kherson Museum of Fine Arts, whose collection included works of painting, graphics, sculpture, decorative and applied arts, donated by the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, the St. Petersburg Porcelain Factory and the Glass Factory. The reason for the creation of the current museum was the city's receipt of a private collection of paintings by collector Maria Kornilovska. 

Before the large-scale Russian invasion, the museum's collection consisted of works of art from the 17th-21st centuries, and its geography spanned several continents. The basis of the collection was more than 150 works of the outstanding Ukrainian painter Oleksiy Shovkunenko. The exhibition also featured canvases by Vasyl Polenov, Oleksiy Savrasov, Ivan Kramsky, Volodymyr Makovsky, Mykhaylo Vrubel, Mykola Pymonenko, Volodymyr Orlovsky and other artists, icon painting of the 17th-20th centuries.

During the Russian occupation of Kherson in 2022, the invaders looted the Kherson Art Museum. Of the nearly 14,000 works of art that the museum's collection contained before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 10,000 of the most valuable exhibits were stolen by the Russian occupiers. Most of the exhibits were taken to the territory of the occupied Crimea. In particular, the Russians stole paintings of the 18th-19th centuries, belonging to the brushes of Western European, Ukrainian and Russian artists, as well as paintings by Soviet artists.

Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022, the Kherson Art Museum building, which is an architectural monument, has repeatedly come under fire from the Russian army.