Attractions of Kharkiv region

The Museum of Archeology of the Vasyl Karazin Kharkiv National University dates back to 1807, when an antiquity cabinet was established at the university.

In the same year he received artifacts from the excavations of Olbia. They formed the basis of the exposition of the Museum of Fine Arts and Antiquities, established at the university in 1837. At the beginning of the XX century the Archaeological Museum became an independent scientific institution.

The modern exposition is located in the Exhibition Hall in the Main Building of the University. Here are some of the largest in Ukraine collections of objects of the Bronze Age, Scythian era, ancient times, Chernyakhiv and Saltivka cultures.

The Museum of Astronomy of the Vasyl Karazin Kharkiv National University was opened in 2008. The museum is named after Mykola Barabashov, the founder of Kharkiv astronomy and the former rector of the university, who, while still a student, set up an observatory on the roof of one of the city's buildings. In 2020, on the occasion of the 215th anniversary of the university, the opening of the renovated and reconstructed museum took place.

The museum houses a collection of unique astronomical and geodetic instruments from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day. This provides an opportunity to explore the formation and development of astronomy in Kharkiv, Ukraine and the world.

The peculiarity of the exhibition is that it is created in the premises of the Repsold meridian circle pavilion - the largest instrument in the collection - and has an underground floor. Thus, visitors can familiarize themselves with the peculiarities of the process of astronomical observations and the design of the telescope, check the time on a sundial, view a collection of ancient telescopes and a collection of meteorites - one of the largest in Eastern Europe.

AVEC Gallery is one of the main exhibition venues in Kharkiv.

It was opened in 2000 in the Platinum Plaza office and shopping center with the assistance of the AVEC charity fund of the great Kharkiv businessman Oleksandr Feldman.

The best masters of Kharkov have repeatedly exhibited their works in the AVEC gallery. A special place is occupied by the "Dialogue of Cultures" project, which included the following exhibitions: "Images of the Disappeared World", "Foundation of Eternity", "Ethnic Diversity of Ukraine", the exhibition of Nikas Safronov's works "Childhood Memories. With Love for Ukraine" and others.

In the courtyard, there is a light and music fountain in the summer. The sculptural compositions "Orchestra", "Family at Work" and "Enthusiastic Photographer" (2008) by the famous Israeli sculptor Frank Meisler, as well as "Globe of Kharkiv" ("Planet Kharkiv"; 2011) by the artist Mykola Rosenfeld are also installed here.

Free entrance.

The Kharkiv suspended Cableway is laid from the Central Park of Culture and Recreation (Sumska Street) to the Botanical Garden (Otakara Yarosha Street).

Along the way, two-seater cabins pass over Sarzhyn Yar, from where a view of Pavlove Pole - one of the old districts of Kharkiv - opens up. The building of the Pavlove Pole boarding station, designed by architect Ihor Popov, is decorated with a mosaic panel by Viktor Savenkov.

The total length of the Cableway is 1385 meters, the height is up to 26 meters. Travel time one way - 18 minutes.

The Central park of culture and recreation in Kharkiv was laid out in 1893-1895 and inaugurated two years later, when the trees had grown a little.

At first it was called Mykolayivsky or Zamisky park. The area is about 130 hectares. Now it is one of the main centers of recreation and entertainment, mass celebrations and folk festivities take place here. On the territory there is an amusement park, the "Park" cinema, the "Mala Pivdenna" children's railway, a cable car, tennis courts, etc.

In 2006, for the Day of the City of Kharkiv, the colonnade in front of the entrance was restored on the side of Sumska Street. The central fountain were also restored.

In 2012, a renewed amusement park was opened, including a "roller coaster" and a Ferris wheel, which are most popular with visitors. Many original bronze sculptures symbolizing each recreation area appeared on the alleys.

During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Central park of culture and recreation in Kharkiv was repeatedly targeted by Russian artillery. As of the beginning of February 2023, during the Russian-Ukrainian war, there were about 70 hits from rocket launchers and two missile strikes on the territory of Park. About 20 attractions, park alleys, lawns, sculptures, and trees were damaged as a result of shelling.

The city garden named after Taras Shevchenko is the oldest green area in the center of Kharkiv, one of the most favorite places of rest for the citizens.

Founded in 1804 by Vasyl Karazin, the founder of Kharkiv University, on the basis of a natural oak grove on the outskirts of the city, it was then called University. A monument to Karazin (1907) was erected on the north side of the park.

A chestnut avenue leads from the monument to Taras Shevchenko (1935) to the university building. Next to the "Ukraine" movie concert hall - the central entrance to the Kharkiv Zoo (1895). The Astronomical Observatory (1808) is located in the garden.

Other monuments installed in the park: Monument to repressed Kobzars (1997), sculpture "Soccer Ball" (2001), monument to Archangel Michael moved from Kyiv (2004), sculpture "Aksakal" (1989 -2007 years).

A high cliff above Siverskyi Donets on the southern outskirts of the village of Korobiv Khutir, from its 60-meter height offers wonderful views of the surrounding area.

Nicknamed Cossack Mountain, because the Cossack Nicholas monastery was located nearby, the ruins of which have been preserved in the village. When Empress Catherine II liquidated the Zaporizhzhia Sich in 1788, the monastery in which many fugitive Cossacks were hiding was also destroyed.

According to legend, Cossacks in monastic robes broke through the ranks of Russian troops surrounding the monastery and threw themselves from the bank cliff into the river, trying to escape by swimming. Today, a memorial cross has been erected on the Cossack Mountain.

The building complex of the Building of State Industry was built in Kharkiv on the initiative of Feliks Dzerzhynskyi, becoming the core of the new administrative center of city, which was then the capital of Ukraine.

This is the first high-rise reinforced concrete structure in the USSR (63 meters). The useful area of the premises is 60,000 square meters. The building was designed by a group of Leningrad architects in the then fashionable and advanced style of constructivism. Construction under the leadership of engineer Pavlo Rottert was completed in record time - in 3 years.

Until 1934, the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine was located here. In 1955, one of the first 45-meter television towers in the USSR was installed on the roof. Now the building houses the regional government, offices of many companies.

In the 5th entrance there is a museum of Derzhprom, created in the 1980s with the participation of Kharkiv writer Eduard Zvonytskyi.

The Derzhprom building is recognized as an architectural monument of national importance - it is the largest monument of constructivism in the world.

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine on March 1, 2022, Maidan Svobody, where the Derzhprom complex is located, was attacked by Russian Kalibr missiles. One of them hit the historic building of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, injuring twenty people and killing ten. All the windows were broken and significantly damaged, and in some places the ceilings were completely destroyed.

On September 7, 2023, UNESCO included Derzhprom in the list of objects for enhanced protection and in the preliminary list of World Heritage.

On January 2, 2024, the Derzhprom building suffered severe damage for the second time, when a Russian missile hit next to the building. The impact of an enemy rocket damaged the glazing of windows and stained-glass windows in almost the entire northwestern part of the Derzhprom building.

On October 28, 2024, the Derzhprom building was once again destroyed. As a result of a direct hit by a FAB-500 guided aerial bomb in one of the entrances of Derzhprom during the aerial bombardment of Kharkiv by the Russian occupiers, 3 floors of the building were completely destroyed.

The sculpture "Fiddler on Roof" was installed on the building of the Kharkiv Conservatory - an architectural monument of the 19th century.

The author of the composition is Seyfaddin Hurbanov. The prototype of "Fiddler" was the famous violist Yuriy Bashmet, but the image is considered collective, and the monument is dedicated to all Kharkiv artists, artists and musicians - people of creative professions.

"Fiddler on the Roof" became a symbol of the "People's Recognition" award - the "Kharkiv Oscar", which is awarded every year in the nominations "Music", "Fine Art", "Literature", "Theatre" and "Architecture".

In 2017, the monument was moved to the roof of the Platinum Plaza building.

Cossack Kharko (Kharyton) is the mythical founder of the city of Kharkiv, about whom several urban legends have been compiled.

According to the "Topographical description of the Kharkiv governorship" (1785), "...if we believe the rumor, one of the wealthy Ukrainians established a farm in this place, but who he was, where and when, there is no information about it, by the name of Kharyton, and according to the colloquialism, Kharko, from which this city and the river supposedly got their title."

The monument to the Founders of Kharkiv in honor of the city's 350th anniversary was opened in 2004 at the beginning of Nauky Avenue. Presented to the city by the famous sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. This is the first equestrian monument in the history of the city. It is a 12-ton bronze sculpture of a horseman, the Cossack Kharko. In his hand he holds a spear, a shield, behind his shoulders is a bow and a quiver of arrows. The height of the sculpture is 6 meters, the pedestal is 7 meters.

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

The Governor's Palace is the oldest building in Kharkiv in the classicist style. Kharkiv University was located in the governor's house from 1805 to 1958. Later, the university was moved to new buildings on Svobody Maidan.

Currently, the premises of the governor's palace are occupied by the Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogical Academy.

Kremenets Mountain is a geological monument of nature, the historical core of the city of Izium, the highest point of the Kharkiv region (218 meters above sea level).

The place where the Siverskyi Donets River bends over a huge ledge of Upper Miocene and Jurassic rocks has long served as a natural fortification for the people who lived here. Stone statues gathered on the outskirts are installed on the mountain slope. According to an ancient legend, the tribes living in the steppe worshiped the sun god, but they angered him and were turned into stone. Dated to the middle of the 12th century, they give an idea of the physical appearance of the nomads, their clothes, jewelry and weapons.

The rampart and moat of the Izium Fortress, built in 1681 to protect the southern borders of Russia from raids by the Crimean Tatars, have been preserved on the heights. The fortress was one of the most powerful fortifications of that time and became the foundation of the city.

Other monuments remind of the events of the 20th century - the Soviet-Ukrainian and Second World Wars. In 1985, a magnificent memorial complex was built. Military equipment from the period of the Second World War is on display: the legendary "Katyusha", T-34 and KV tanks, self-propelled artillery installations and others.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, during the battles for Izium, the Russian army repeatedly fired at Mount Kremenets. As a result of these shellings, the "Attack" memorial, dedicated to those who died in the Second World War, was destroyed, and one of the nine Polovtsian women (dating from the 9th to 13th centuries) was destroyed.

The square in the center of Kharkiv at the intersection of Hryhoriya Skovorody, Zhon Myronosyts and Darvina streets near the metro station named after the architect Beketov is called  Maidan Arkhitektoriv.

In 2009, the square was completely reconstructed and turned into a kind of sculpture park. Sidewalks were laid, lawns were laid, and benches were installed. In the center of the square is a romantic Monument to Lovers, created based on a sketch that won the city's student competition.

Around the monument are the "Seven Wonders of Kharkiv" - white marble models of the city's best architectural buildings: Derzhprom, Assumption Cathedral, Taras Shevchenko monument, Annunciation Cathedral, "Mirror Stream" rotunda, "House with Spire", Intercession Cathedral.

The Maidan Konstytutsii arose at the same time as the Kharkiv Fortress and until the 19th century was called the Yarmarkova (Fair) Square (since 1659, the annual Assumption Fair was held here, which by the middle of the 19th century had become one of the largest in the country).

In winter, the square was a favorite place for sledding. Over time, the square was named Mykolaivska in honor of the church of the same name, which was located on it.

In the 19th century, the first brick buildings appeared on the square. In particular, the Noble Gathering, near which stood two cannons that were once armed with the Kharkiv fortress (not preserved). Opposite, according to the project of the architect Oleksiy Beketov, the following bank buildings were built: St. Petersburg International (building 22; now the Central branch of the Savings Bank), Volga-Kamsky (building 24; now the Puppet Theater), Moscow Merchant (building 26; now the House of Technology) and Zemelny (building 28 ; currently a motor vehicle technical school).

At the beginning of the 20th century, the building of the square was supplemented by the Metropol hotel, the multi-apartment residential building of the insurance company "Russia" (building 1/17; now the Labor Palace), the building of the Azov-Donskoy Bank (building 14; now "Ukrbiznesbank") and others.

In 1919, Mykolaiv Square was named after Moisei Tevelev, a member of the Kharkiv underground regional committee of the CP(b)U. In Soviet times, the stock exchange building and the Mykolaiv Church were demolished to make way for a tram line.

During the Second World War, many buildings were destroyed. After the liberation of the city, the people of Kharkiv restored the Maidan, including the Beckett houses. For a long time, the square had the name of the revolutionary Tevelev, then - Soviet Ukraine. Since 1996 - Maidan Konstytutsii.

In 2012, the Monument to the Independence of Ukraine was opened in the center of the Maidan Konstytutsii, created by Kharkiv sculptors Oleksandr Ridnyi and Hanna Ivanova.

On March 2, 2022, during the battles for Kharkiv during the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Maidan Konstytutsii in Kharkiv was fired upon by the Russian army. The Palace of Labor was severely damaged. Buildings adjacent to it were damaged, in particular, an adjacent residential building, the building of the Kharkiv City Council, and others.

Maidan Svobody in Kharkiv is the central square of the city. It is among the twenty largest areas in the world.

According to legend, at the time of its construction it was the largest square in Europe (11.9 hectares), although in reality Chess Square in Bordeaux had a similar area (12 hectares), and Kuybyshev Square in Samara with adjacent squares was even larger (17.4 hectares ).

Maidan Svobody was built in 1926-1928 as the new administrative center of Kharkiv, which was then the capital of Ukraine. Initially, it bore the name of the revolutionary Dzerzhynskyi, who was engaged in construction (it is believed that he was the initiator of the clearing of chaotic buildings in the historical center of Kharkiv).

Since 1995, the square has had its current name - Maidan Svobody. Political actions, fairs, festivals and concerts often take place here.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine on March 1, 2022, Maidan Svobody was attacked by Russian Kalibr missiles. One of them hit the historic building of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, injuring twenty people and killing ten. All the windows were broken and significantly damaged, and in some places the ceilings were completely destroyed. According to preliminary estimates by experts, the building cannot be restored.