Attractions of Kharkiv

The old building of Kharkiv University was built in the 18th century as the Governor General's House.

It is the oldest classicist building in the city. Kharkiv University was housed in the governor's palace from 1805 to 1958. Later, the university was moved to new buildings on Svobody Maidan.

Currently, the building is occupied by the Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogical Academy.

The Museum of History and Railway Equipment of the Kharkiv Railway (former Southern) was founded in 1967, completely reconstructed in 2014 for the 140th anniversary of the Kharkiv Railway.

It is located in a reconstructed warehouse building of the 1950s. Three main expositions are presented: "Green Hall" (the pre-revolutionary period of the construction and establishment of the Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov road), "Red Hall" (the Soviet period of the development of the Southern Railway (now Kharkiv Railway)) and "Blue Hall" (the history of development during the independent of Ukraine).

The museum has collected many ancient and rare exhibits, unique documents and photographs, models of rolling stock.

The layout of the route of the high-speed "Capital Express Kharkiv - Kyiv" is presented, which accurately reproduces not only the train itself, but also the railway section with copies of the buildings of the stations of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava-Kyivska and Myrhorod. The model features an automatic centralization system with traffic lights, turn signals and a level crossing, and the train departs and makes stops to music and announcers.

Old steam locomotives and other retro equipment are presented on the outdoor area.

The Museum of History of the Vasyl Karazin Kharkiv National University is one of the first university museums in Ukraine.

Founded in 1972. Located on the second floor of the main building of KhNU. The museum has about 19,000 exhibits.

The exposition consists of four sections, covering the entire bicentennial of Kharkiv University from its founding in 1804 to activities in the conditions of independent Ukraine. In particular, materials related to the life and work of the founder of Kharkiv University Vasyl Karazin, the first professors and students are presented.

Special attention is drawn to the unique exhibits - the diploma of music teacher Ivan Vitkovsky, who was a student of Joseph Haydn, with the first seal of the university, as well as invitations to university holidays in the early nineteenth century.

A grandiose architectural ensemble in the neo-Byzantine style with a 75-meter bell tower rises above the Lopan River.

The Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos was built in 1901 on the site of the old Annunciation Church, the history of which dates back to 1655. At that time, a wooden church was built in the village of Zalopany on the outskirts of Kharkiv, which was later replaced by a stone one, but it soon ceased to accommodate parishioners.

In 1888, the construction of a new cathedral began nearby, the funds for which were collected by the local nobility, merchants and ordinary parishioners. Mykhaylo Lovtsov, a professor of architecture, was chosen as the architect. The five-headed temple with a high bell tower is distinguished by a special "striped" masonry and a wealth of decor. The iconostasis of the work of the Moscow master Vasyl Orlov was made of white Narra marble, the paintings were made by local artists.

The Annunciation Cathedral was closed by the Bolsheviks in 1930, but became active again during the Second World War. According to legend, a cross fell three times from the dome of the temple due to hurricanes and fire.

The tall and slender Holy Assumption Cathedral in the Ukrainian Baroque style was built in the center of the University Hill on the site of the old church of 1688.

The bell tower with chimes, built by architects Yevhen Vasiliev and Andriy Ton, is the tallest building in the city (89 meters). Thanks to the location of the windows, the temple looks like a palace.

During Soviet times, the church was closed, and in 1986, the House of Organ and Chamber Music opened in it. After the opening of a new philharmonic complex in Kharkiv in 2016, the Assumption Cathedral became fully owned by the diocese.

In 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the cathedral was damaged by shelling from Russian troops. The projectile that hit the building of the Assumption Cathedral broke windows and stained-glass windows, damaged church utensils and decorations.

The Holy Intercession Monastery in Kharkiv is the oldest building preserved in the city. In the 17th century, the monastery was part of the system of fortifications of the Kharkiv fortress. The Belfry of the Intercession Cathedral (1689) looks like a defensive tower.

The entrance gate is decorated with an icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands. On the territory there is the Ozeryan Church (1896), the bishop's house, the abbot's house and a cell block with a refectory. In 1726, the Kharkiv Collegium was founded here, where the philosopher Hryhoriy Skovoroda taught (the monument is erected), and the writer Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovyanenko worked.

For the 2000th anniversary of Christianity, the figure of Jesus Christ was established.

The Church of the Annunciation of the Ozeryanska Icon of the Mother of God was founded in 1892 on the former outskirts of Kharkiv. Since 1874, there was a chapel at this place, where prayers were served during processions with the Ozeryanska Icon of the Mother of God (Hodigitria).

The new majestic Holy Ozeryanska Church designed by Volodymyr Nemkin was made of red unplastered brick in the eclectic forms of the Byzantine-Rus style. The facades of the building are full of architectural details borrowed from ancient Rus cult architecture. A slender four-tiered belfry with a height of about 40 meters is connected to the western vestibule.

In 1938, the church was closed, the episcopal chair was transferred to the Kazanska Church on Lysa Hill. Services in the Ozeryanska Church in Kharkiv resumed in 1942.

A high-rise apartment building in the center of Kharkiv in the style of the "Stalin Empire" is called "House with a Spire".

It occupies an entire block on the corner of maidan Konstytutsiyi. It was built in 1950-1954 according to the project of the architect Petro Oreshkin for the employees of the Kharkiv Turbine Plant.

The main 7-story part of the building with an 11-story tower is topped by a spire, which gave the building its name.

According to the voting results in 2008, the "House with a Spire" was included in the list of "Seven Wonders of Kharkiv".

Kharkiv Jungle Aqua Park is a large modern indoor water park, the interior of which is stylized as the jungle of South America.

There are 7 swimming pools (including sports, wave, circular, hydromassage, jacuzzi) with 11 water attractions on 11,000 square meters of space, of which 4,000 square meters are occupied by the water entertainment area.

Water slides are distinguished by the profile of the chutes and the steepness of the curves. Super-attractions: the "Space Hole" centrifugal slide (54-meter spiral) and the "Black Hole" slide (16-meter rapid descent).

The temperature regime is maintained throughout the year in the range of 30-33 degrees with 65-70% humidity.

The complex also includes a hotel, restaurant, bars, sauna and massage, solarium, billiards, shooting range.

Kharkiv Art Museum is one of the oldest and most valuable art collections in Ukraine.

It is located in two old houses in the style of classicism with elements of baroque and modernism, built in 1912 by the famous Kharkiv architect Oleksiy Beketov for the merchant and industrialist Ivan Ihnatyshchev.

The museum's collection was started in 1805 by the founder of Kharkiv University Vasyl Karazin, who bought for the university 2477 graphic works by Albrekht Dyurer, Anton van Deyk, Fransua Bushe and other Western European masters.

The Department of Ukrainian and Russian Art of the XVI-XX centuries is based on the collections of the Kharkiv Art and Industrial Museum and nationally used private collections.

Now the funds of the Kharkiv Art Museum have more than 20 thousand exhibits. Works by Ivan Ayvazovsky, Ivan Shishkin, Mykola Ge, Vasyl Surikov, Mykola Pymonenko, Fedir Krychevsky, Oleksandr Murashko, Yuriy Narbut, Tetyana Yablonska, etc. are exhibited.

A separate hall is dedicated to the work of Illya Repin. In particular, one of the versions of Illya Repin's painting "Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish sultan" is presented.

The museum offers audio guides for people with visual impairments, tactile replicas of exhibits for touch viewing (4 works from the collection) and a video tour in sign language.

The Kharkiv Historical Museum is named after Mykola Sumtsov, a Ukrainian folklorist, ethnographer, literary critic and public figure.

It was on his initiative that the Museum of Slobidska Ukraine named after Hryhoriy Skovoroda was created in Kharkiv in 1920, which is where the history of the current museum began.

In Soviet times, the museum was located in the premises of the Holy Intercession Monastery, but in 2003 it finally moved to the building of the former pawnshop, built in 1908-1912 according to the project of architect Boris Kornienko. During the reconstruction in 2021, a glass pavilion was added to it.

Currently, the stock collection of the Kharkiv Historical Museum includes more than 330,000 items. Archaeological finds from the excavations of Bronze Age settlements, a set of objects from the Ancient Rus period from the Donetsk settlement of the XI-XII centuries, numismatic collections, ethnographic collections, collections of weapons, flags, etc. are collected in four departments. In particular, the only Ukrainian hetman flag of the 17th century, which belonged to Ivan Mazepa and two other Ukrainian hetmans, is presented. Another key exhibit is the "Kharkiv Fortress" diorama, which shows the appearance of the city in the 17th century.

The outdoor area displays military equipment, including the British Mark V heavy tank from the First World War and the Soviet T-34-85 from the Second World War. The nearby metro station "Historical Museum" was named in honor of the institution.

The Kharkiv Holocaust Museum was established in 1996 on the basis of materials and documents from the personal archive of Larysa Volovik.

The exposition presents leaflets, posters of the occupation period, resettlement orders, various actions against Jews throughout Ukraine.

The names of 52 Righteous Among the Nations are immortalized here - Kharkiv residents who saved Jews at the risk of their own lives during the war.

The mansion of the family of Kharkiv architect Oleksiy Beketov has been occupied by the Center for Science, Culture and Art "Kharkiv House of Scientists" since 1934.

Academician of architecture Oleksiy Beketov is considered a luminary among Kharkiv architects. In his work, he gravitated towards classical architecture, although he worked mainly in the Art Nouveau style. During more than half a century of work, he built about 40 buildings in Kharkiv, which largely determined the current architectural appearance of the city.

His own house in the former Myronosytskyi Lane is particularly elegant. The date of the start of construction - 1897 - is carved on the frieze under the pediment. The eclectic architecture of the building uses the forms of ancient Greece of the Hellenistic era. To the right of the entrance on the second floor there used to be a loggia, the entablature of which was supported by three caryatids. Multi-figure high-relief inserts are placed above the windows of the first floor. The second floor is framed by a colonnade of the Ionic order.

The ceremonial hall is decorated with stucco molding and a painted ceiling on the ceiling by the artist Mykola Uvarov. The dining room is painted in the style of ancient Russian terems by the artist Mykhaylo Pestrykov. Beketov's office is decorated with carved oak.

A central wooden staircase with carved oak handrails, lit by a large stained-glass window, connects the rooms.

The Kharkiv airport began operating in 1932 after the completion of the construction of the "Osnova" airfield and the airport's service buildings.

In 1933, he was given the name of Pavo Postyshev. In 1936, Kharkiv Airport was recognized as the best airport in the USSR. In the pre-war years, it was an independent self-supporting unit directly subordinated to the Main Directorate of Civil Aviation. Air routes leading to the Crimea and the Caucasus pass through the airport. The largest passenger plane of those years - the six-engine giant P-124 (ANT-20bis) made a landing in Kharkiv on its way to Mineralny Vody airport. In 1941, a concrete runway was built at the airfield. With the beginning of the Second World War, the personnel of the airport became part of the Kyiv and Kharkiv special air groups of the Civil Air Fleet.

The existing airport terminal was built in the post-war years according to a typical project developed by the Moscow Research Institute "Aeroproject" in 1951 (architects Elkin, Kryukov, Mitkevych). This project was applied in Lviv, Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Chelyabinsk and other cities of the USSR. The construction of the airport began in 1951, and its opening was dedicated to the pompous celebration of the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. From the outside, the building of the air terminal is distinguished by the increased grandeur characteristic of the "Stalinist" architecture of the 30s - 50s. The central entrance is decorated with an eight-column portico with a high parapet of a complex outline. An elegant octagonal turret with a slender tent and a spire topped with a gilded wreath rises above the building. The interiors are richly equipped with stucco architectural details and paintings.

In 2010, a new international terminal "A" was opened, and the old one was reconstructed and turned into a VIP passenger service terminal.

Kharkiv Literary Museum was opened in 1988 in an old mansion of the beginning of the 20th century.

The core of the collection consists of exhibits from the 1910s-1930s from the archives of Ivan Dniprovsky, Mariya Pylynska, Andriy Chernyshov (autographed books, correspondence of writers, photographs, personal belongings), original paintings by Kharkiv avant-garde artists (Nina Kosareva's collection), copies and originals of documents , which were transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (Khotkevych's criminal case, Les Kurbas's passport, etc.), memorial exhibits "Vaplite" and others.

In addition to exhibitions, tours and interactive programs, Litmuseum offers events in the evening hours: presentations, cultural discussions, meetings with artists, master classes.