Attractions of Kharkiv region

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.

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.

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.

Humpy sands are the only semi-desert in the Kharkiv region (sometimes called the Kharkiv or Kytsivka desert).

Aeolian sand deposits, similar to dunes, arose on the site of a tank training ground near Chuhuiv, which was operated from the 1960s to the 1990s. The sandy hills are covered in places with moss, lichen, grass and shrubs.

A huge sandy area attracts extreme jeepers. Sometimes there are rusty shells.

The building of the Land Bank in Vilshany was built in 1912 (according to other data - in 1903).

Architecture in the Art Nouveau style. Currently, the building houses the village council of Vilshany.

Krasnohrad Museum of Local History named after Porfiry Martynovych is located in a historical building in the city center.

It bears the name of the founder - Ukrainian painter, folklorist, ethnographer Porfiry Martynovych.

Museum funds include 24,000 exhibits. In particular, the exposition tells about the construction of the Ukrainian fortified line and the Byelovska fortress, which started the history of Krasnohrad.

In the section devoted to the history of the gas industry of Ukraine, a model of a drilling tower, documents and photographs of drill rigs, rock samples are presented.

The Lozova Museum of Local Lore has been operating since 1967 and is now subordinated to the Lozova City Council.

The archeological exposition presents items from the burial of a nomad and stone women of the XII-XIII centuries. Objects of the Cossack era are acquainted with the history of the region: saber, clay flask, fragments of pipes.

The foundation of the town of Lozova in the XIX century is told in photographs, plans and orders, which show the construction of the railway, household items of the first railwaymen, furniture of different segments of the population.

In 2001, the history hall of the Lozova Forging and Mechanical Plant was opened.

The square in the center of Kharkiv at the intersection of Pushkinskoy, 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 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.

The current Serhiivskyi Maidan below the Universitsky Hill, along the former embankment, was formed at the beginning of the 18th century as a shopping area with benches and taverns, where auctions were held 4 times a week.

It was called the Basarna Square or the Lopansky Bazaar. In the 19th century, a wooden covered market was built at the Lopansky Bazaar. In 1835, all the houses burned down during a great fire. In the middle of the 19th century, the construction of stone commercial buildings began, in particular, Serhiivskyi row, named after the Kharkiv governor (the square was called Serhiivskyi). In 1868, stone stairs were built instead of wooden ones, which were located in the place of the current ones.

In 1875, the construction of Novo-Serhiivskyi row was completed, in which the city museum soon opened. In 1890, a two-story Mykolaivskyi row was built on the site of the burned-out Serhiivskyi row according to the project of the architect Alfred Spiegel. In 1898, stone shops were built on the banks of Lopan according to the project of the academician of architecture Oleksiy Beketov. The "Grand Hotel" was located in the southern part of the square.

In 1932, the square was renamed Proletarska. After the Second World War, the square was reconstructed. Trees have been planted along the banks of Lopan, and a square with flower beds and lawns has been laid out. The Universitsky Hill and its slopes were arranged, and new stairs were built.

In 2016, the historical name of the square was returned - Serhiivskyi Maidan.

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. 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.

The private manor-museum of Slobozhansk life "Ukrainian House" in the village of Nyzhnia Ozeriana was created by the Yelahin family in a restored 300-year-old village house in Mazanka with an authentic interior.

The exhibition presents a variety of rural household items: spindles, chests, stags, cauldrons, pots. Lots of towels and embroidered bedspreads.

Theatrical tours are conducted.