Attractions of Kharkiv region

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.

Kharkiv National University named after Vasyl Karazin is one of the oldest and largest universities in Eastern Europe.

It was founded in 1805 as Kharkiv Imperial University. The initiator was the outstanding scientist and educator Vasyl Karazin, whose name the higher educational institution bears today.

Count Severyn Potoski became the first trustee of the university, he formed the teaching staff. Initially, the university was located in the Governor General's house, later it was moved to new buildings on Svobody Maidan.

Over two centuries, Kharkiv University became the center of Ukrainian national cultural revival, played an important role in the development of modern Ukrainian science and culture, and turned Kharkiv into one of the leading intellectual centers of the country. Today, 15,000 students study at 20 faculties of Kharkiv National University.

The University includes the Botanical Garden, the Museum of Nature, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, the University Museum, "Landau Center", "Yermilov Center", Henrikh Semiradsky Art Gallery.

From the first days of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian forces bombarded Kharkiv. Karazin University, which is one of Kharkiv's landmarks, was no exception to Russian missiles and projectiles. Some of its hulls are badly damaged. By the beginning of 2023, 25% of the university buildings have been destroyed.

The Kharkiv Planetarium was opened in 1957 on the initiative of the prominent Soviet astronomer Mykola Barabashov.

The "Middle Zeiss" apparatus is installed in the hall, which allows, in addition to the starry sky, to demonstrate other celestial phenomena.

The museum of cosmonautics and ufology (the science of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations) works at the planetarium. Presented are four-meter figures of aliens, models of flying saucers made on the basis of eyewitness accounts, photographs of UFOs.

"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.

Kharkiv Zoo is the oldest in Ukraine. The Kharkiv Zoological Garden was founded in 1896, when an exhibition of domestic animals and birds was organized on an area of 2 hectares rented near the University Garden. Later, the exhibition was replenished with wild animals, which were delivered to Kharkiv by residents of the surrounding villages.

In 1906, the construction and equipment of the main building of the aquarium was completed. In 1911, the South Russian Acclimatization Society decided to set up a zoo in Kharkiv, which became the third largest zoo in the Russian Empire. At the expense of the Society, winter premises and summer enclosures were built, wild animals and birds were purchased, some of which came from the Askania-Nova reserve.

During the Soviet-Ukrainian war at the beginning of the 20th century, the zoo was destroyed. In 1921, it began to be restored, and within a year, the capital's (at that time) Kharkiv Zoo was again open to visitors. In 1928, a whole echelon of animals arrived from Germany, including a lion, leopard, llama, kangaroo, mongoose, monkey, parrot, white-cheeked kazakh and many others. Swans, pelicans and about a hundred other species of waterfowl were brought from Transcaucasia. A pond with an area of 2,400 square meters was built in the ravine for geese, swans, flamingos and other aquatic animals. In the 1930s, a "mountain enclosure" with artificial slides was built, where turus, gazelles, and mouflons lived in conditions closest to natural ones. An elephant house, a monkey house, an aviary, pens for ungulates were built.

During the Second World War, most of the animals died, the zoo was rebuilt on an almost empty site. A new aquarium, winter quarters for large animals, pools for fish and waterfowl were built, and tens of thousands of trees and shrubs were replanted. During the time of the reforms, there were problems with financing and feeding the animals, and their number decreased somewhat.

Now it is one of the most favorite leisure places of Kharkiv residents - adults and children.

The Konhresivsky Sugar Plant in Klynova-Novoselivka was built in 1905 by Count Mykola Kleynmikhel, the leader of the nobility of Bohoduhiv County.

The premises of the sugar factory manager's office (1914) have been preserved. In the 1990s, the interiors were destroyed, in particular, the twisted cast-iron staircase leading to the second floor to the manager's office. The building of the dormitory and library of the sugar factory (1916) has also been preserved.

On the opposite bank of the Sugar Pond, in the historical part of Klynova-Novoselivka village, you can see the former house of the factory manager (1 Tsentralna Street), a water pump, and an old park.

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.

Kupyansk Museum of Local Lore is located in a building that was part of a complex of buildings destroyed during the Soviet era of the Intercession Cathedral (XIX century).

The museum was opened in 1972. Its funds number more than 1 thousand items. Here are stored historical documents and rare photographs, exhibited archaeological, ethnographic, numismatic collections that fully reflect the history of Kupyansk.

On April 25, 2023, the Russian occupiers launched a rocket attack on the center of Kupyansk and hit the building of the local lore museum with a S-300 missile. Two practitioners of the museum perished after the Russian attacks on the museum in Kupyansk.

Kyrychenko's Well , located near the Holy Ascension Cathedral, is one of the most picturesque corners of Izium.

Many wonderful stories are connected with the bathing chapel, located on the healing spring of the icon of the Pishchanska Mother of God.

Today, Kyrychenko's well is known far beyond the borders of Izium. Many people come to taste its healing water, tired tourists quench their thirst here, travelers stop to rest.