Attractions of Kharkiv region

The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Recovery of the Dead" was built in 2006 in memory of fallen soldiers participating in local wars. The initiator was the Kharkiv Regional Union of Veterans of Afghanistan.

Initially, it was planned to build a chapel near the monument to internationalist soldiers who died in Afghanistan, but later it was decided to build a temple for 250 people. It was named after the icon of the Mother of God "Recovery of the Dead" - a revered image before which mothers pray for their dying children.

In the future, the temple complex should also include a bell tower and a church park.

The Art Memorial Museum house-museum of Illya Repin is located in Chuhuiv in a small one-story building from the time of military settlements (beginning of the 19th century) on the former Nikitynska Street, where the famous artist lived and worked in 1876-1877.

The initial - quite simple situation is recreated. The main exposition is devoted to the Chuhuiv period in Repin's life and work, as well as to the artist's close ties with Ukraine, which were not interrupted throughout his life.

Repin's personal belongings are collected here - a blue velvet beret, a white vest, a device for quick removal of shoes and others.

Unique works of local painters and icon painters of the 19th century - Repin's teachers from Chuhuiv are also presented. Four icons and some other works of Repin are exhibited: a portrait of Verovkina, drawings, etchings.

The museum's collections also include works by famous artists from the Repin area: Valentyn Syerov, Volodymyr Mayakovsky, Petro Vereshchahin, Mykola Pymonenko, Ivan Pelevin.

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 Borys Korniyenko. 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 Donets Hillfort 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 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.

"Kharkiv Switzerland" is a picturesque area in the valley of the Siverskyi Donets river south of Zmiiv.

The hills above the river offer wonderful views that have long inspired artists. Thus, the artist Petro Levchenko depicted this area in the painting "In the Kharkiv Region".

It is most convenient to climb the hills in the area of the bridge over the Siverskyi Donets at the entrance to Zadonetske.

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 noble estate of the Kulykovsky family in Rokytne is called the pearl of classicism.

The estate with a palace and a park was established at the end of the 18th century by the Kharkiv colonel Matviy Kulykovsky, after he married the widow of the former owner of the Rokytne Lipetsk centurion Chernyak. The palace was rebuilt in its current form by his son Mykhaylo Kulykovsky, the leader of the Valkiv nobility.

A luxurious two-story manor house with loggias is decorated with a colonnade in the Doric style. A stable, a kennel, an aviary, a greenhouse and a water mill were built on the territory of the manor. A magnificent garden with terraces and ponds was laid out around the palace.

After the death of the owner of the manor, his daughters lost the estate in Rokytne, and in 1880 it passed to the treasury. The wing was dismantled for building materials, but the main house was preserved - later a horticultural school was opened in it. Today it is the Rokytne Professional Agrarian Lyceum.

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.

A two-story half-timbered building opposite the central entrance to the territory of the Parkhomivka sugar factory is called Malevyich's house in Parkhomivka.

The enterprise was built at the end of the 19th century by Pavlo Kharytonenko, a sugar factory. In 1890-1895, Severyn Malevych, the father of the future artist Kazymyr Malevych, who also lived in Parkhomovka, went to school here and learned to paint, served as the manager of the factory.

Local residents claim that the Malevych family lived in this house, built for employees of the sugar factory.

The tall building with a clock tower in the center of Chuhuiv was built in 1831 to house the divisional corps and district headquarters of the military settlements of the Slobidsko-Ukrainian (Kharkiv) province, the district center of which was the city of Chuhuiv from 1817 to 1857.

The corps of military topographers was also located here, where 13-year-old Illya Repin studied in 1857. After the liquidation of the military settlements, the building was adapted for a military school, where many famous people studied. In different years, the following were located here: the school of red officers, the Suvoriv school, the school of junior flight officers, the training center of border troops.

Currently, the building has been partially restored, and an art gallery has been opened in it. The works of the laureates of the State Prize named after Illya Repin are presented: Lidiya Brodska, Oleksiy Hrytsay, Heliy Korzhev, Andriy Kurnakov, Oleksandr Laktionov, Mykola Romadin, Valentyn Sydorov, Volodymyr Stozharov, brothers Tkachovs, Borys Uharov, Mykola Fomin.

The building stands on a steep hill, which offers the best view of the picturesque surroundings of Chuhuiv.

Nataliyivka Park is a masterpiece of garden and park architecture of the 19th century.

The estate on the bank of the Merchyk River was founded by the famous industrialist and philanthropist Ivan Kharytonenko, naming it in honor of his youngest granddaughter Nataliya (married Horchakova). Construction was continued by his son Pavlo.

A manor house, outbuildings, outbuildings, and a playpen were built among the ancient timber (some trees are up to 300 years old). The park was surrounded by an elegant fence with a front gate in the form of a wide arch with a pointed roof.

The decoration of the estate is the Transfiguration Church (1913), built by the academician of architecture Oleksiy Shchusev, who designed the Lenin Mausoleum and the Kazan railway station in Moscow. The temple is made in the style of Pskov-Novhorod Orthodox architecture. The walls are decorated with ornaments and relief medallions by the sculptor Oleksandr Matvyeyev, the sculpture "Crucifixion" by Serhiy Konenkov is located near the southern wall. According to legend, an exact copy of the Transfiguration Church is located in Nice, but in fact Shchusev designed a similar church in Bari, Italy.

During the Second World War, the main building of Nataliyivka Estate was destroyed. Tuberculosis sanatorium "Volodymyrivskyi" was located in the outbuildings. Partial restoration has been carried out in recent years.

Currently, one of the buildings of the manor is in the care of the National Nature Park "Slobozhansky", repair work is underway, the creation of a visitor center and a museum of ecological and nature conservation orientation is planned.

The National Literary and Memorial Museum of Hryhoriy Skovoroda is located in the former estate of the Kovalevsky landowners, where the great Ukrainian philosopher died in 1794 (according to other sources, in the building of the former church-parish school).

The house has a memorial room - a "quiet cell", where Skovoroda loved to work and in which he ended his life.

In a cozy, well-planned park, maintained in perfect condition, preserved memorable places associated with the great thinker. This is the skeleton of a huge 700-year-old oak on the shore of a pond with a memorial sign (1972, sculptors Lyubov Zhukovska, Dmytro Sova), under the cover of which wrote a philosopher, a well and a huge wooden landlord's barn, on a wide lawn in front of which events organized by the museum are held.

Not far from the manor house in the park is the grave of Hryhoriy Skovoroda. On the stylized tombstone under the roadside stone (1972, sculptors Lyubov Zhukovska, Dmytro Sova) carved a laconic and surprisingly capacious, worthy of a great philosopher author's epitaph: "The world caught me, but did not catch." A modest monument to Hryhoriy Skovoroda was erected at the entrance to the square (1972, sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze, architect Vasyl Hnyezdilov).

During the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the building of National Literary and Memorial Museum of Hryhoriy Skovoroda was destroyed by a direct hit from a Russian missile. Part of the exposition was destroyed, but the most valuable exhibits were not damaged.