Attractions of Kharkiv district

The Donets Hillfort is located on the right bank of the Uda River on the northern outskirts of Pokotylivka near Kharkiv.

The ancient Rus fortress-city of Donets is mentioned in the "Ipatiev Annals" and the "Words about Ihor's Campaign" as the first Rus city reached by Prince Ihor Svyatoslavych, returning from Polovtsian captivity after an unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsy.

Donets was a border town and trade center of Ancient Rus, it was inhabited by artisans and herders. The city ceased to exist after the Mongol-Tatar invasion.

Powerful earthen ramparts of the Donets hillfort of a triangular shape with sides from 200 to 400 meters have been preserved, as well as several semi-underground dwellings. Archaeological excavations are regularly conducted here, as a result of which many interesting finds have already been made.

A wonderful view of the Uda Valley opens from the ramparts of the Donets hillfort.

An open-air Fantasy Park was opened in Kharkiv in 2021.

The park of light sculptures is located in a public garden near the Kharkiv Municipal Cultural Center, the former Metallist House of Culture.

Art installations and figures of fantastic heroes are installed on park alleys and lawns. In the evening, the figures are illuminated and come to life with the help of projection technologies. A stage has been set up in the park, a large playground has been equipped, a fountain has been reconstructed, pedestrian paths have been laid, and recreation areas with benches have been landscaped.

It is assumed that young sculptors, designers, lighting designers, architects, musicians and artists will be able to embody their creative ideas on the territory of the creative space of the Kharkiv Fantasy Park.

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).

The largest memorial complex in Kharkiv was opened on the northern outskirts of the city in 1977 in honor of Kharkiv residents who died during the Second World War.

Sculptors Vasyl Ahibalov, Yakiv Ryk, Mykhaylo Ovsyankin, artist Serhiy Svitlorukov, architects Ihor Alforov, Anatoliy Maksymenko, Yerik Cherkasov.

Visitors are greeted by two walls with flags and inscriptions on the reverse side. The forest alley leads to the tall sculpture "Motherland", at the foot of which an eternal flame burns. On the left is a wall with bas-reliefs depicting various episodes of the city's defense. A few years ago, a wooden cross surrounded by flower beds was installed on the square.

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.