Attractions of Kharkiv region

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.

The municipal institution "Dvorichna Museum of Local Lore" was founded in 1992.

It is located in a specially built room in the center of the village of Dvorichna.

The stock collection of the museum includes about 3,000 exhibits, which acquaint visitors with the history of the region, life and traditions of its inhabitants, famous people of Dvorichna region.

The historical exposition presents tools of the Stone Age, arrowheads of the Scythian era, remains of pottery from different times, as well as weapons from the Second World War: anti-tank gun ZIS-3, Maxim machine gun, Shpagin's machine-pistol, part of Dehtyaryov machine gun, Mosin rifle model 1891-1930, etc.

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 Feldman Ecopark family recreation complex near Kharkov is a charity project of the Oleksandr Feldman Foundation. Since 2013, it has the status of a regional landscape park.

Ecopark is an area for family recreation with entertainment and a zoo where tigers, wolves, monkeys, kangaroos, proboscis, raccoons and others are kept. Visitors have the opportunity not only to observe the animals, but also to communicate closely with some of them in the "Contact Zoo" zone - to feed and pet the animals of the so-called tactile group: chickens, geese, ducks, peacocks, rabbits, alpacas, Cameroonian goats, decorative sheep, donkeys, ponies, Vietnamese pigs (the feed is provided by the ecopark). A group of young naturalists works.

For lovers of active recreation, the ecopark has a rope town, trampolines. The territory is equipped with gazebos, each of which has a samovar, tea, sugar, cups and bagels. In the winter time, on weekends, visitors are treated to kulish and sweets, and in the spring and summer period, small visitors are treated to cotton candy and popcorn.

Russian-Ukrainian war

In the very first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022, the territory of the ecopark, where about five thousand animals lived, was in the zone of Russian shelling, and battles were going on nearby. For 199 days, Feldman Ecopark was under daily enemy fire.

Every day, Ecopark employees and volunteers, risking their lives, broke into its territory to feed, water and warm the animals. Six people - park employees and volunteers - died while trying to save their wards. Among them is a minor boy who helped his parents.

During the fighting for Kharkiv, the Russians destroyed 97% of the enclosures and buildings of the Ecopark. More than 300 animals died. 4,750 animals and birds were saved from death and evacuated.

From February 2023, 140 hectares of the territory of the Ecopark will be demined from stretch marks, remnants of cluster munitions, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, clearing rubble. The shot enclosures, as a reminder of Russian aggression, will not be cleaned yet.

The Fighting Fraternity Museum was opened in the village of Sokolove, where Czechoslovak volunteers of the 1st Separate Czechoslovak Battalion under the command of Colonel Lyudvik Svoboda first fought against the German-fascist forces in 1943 during the Second World War.

During the battle, about 300 enemy soldiers and officers, 19 tanks and 6 armored personnel carriers were destroyed. Second Lieutenant Otakar Yarosh was the first foreign citizen to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). Other Czechoslovak and Soviet soldiers who fought side by side with them also received orders and medals.

The diorama "The Battle of March 8, 1943 in the village of Sokolove" occupies the central place in the exposition of the Fighting Fraternity Museum.

Documents, personal belongings, uniforms of Czechoslovak soldiers, samples of military equipment are also presented. Gifts and souvenirs from foreign guests are displayed separately.

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.

Historical and archaeological museum-reserve "Verkhniy Saltyv" named after Vasyl Babenko is located on the high right bank of the Pechenehy reservoir (Siverskyi Donets river).

In 1900, local teacher Vasyl Babenko discovered a large iron age catacomb burial here. Later, the ancient city of Sarada (VIII-X centuries), founded by Alans (immigrants from the Caucasus), which was part of the Khazar Khaganate, was excavated. The hillfort with an area of 120 hectares was surrounded by three lines of fortifications. The inner shaft is fortified with a stone wall 3 meters thick. According to the place of discovery, this archaeological culture was called Saltivska.

In 1989, the historical and archaeological museum-reserve "Verkhniy Saltiv" was created on the basis of the Verkhniy Saltiv complex. Part of the archaeological finds made here is presented in the museum exposition.

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 the History of Izium Optics was opened in one of the halls of the "Optics City" shopping center in Izium, opposite the upper passage of the famous Izium Optical and Mechanical Plant (IOMZ), whose products have been known for over a hundred years.

At one time, the Izium glassmakers held the fifth place among the world leaders in the production of optical glass. The exposition begins with the words of Mykhaylo Lomonosov: "I sing before you in delight the praise of neither precious stones nor gold, but glass."

The hall presents the products of IOMZ and IPO Izium factories: glasses, equipment, devices, various types of glass, photographs and other exhibits representing the history of production, unique characteristics and innovations.

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 Holy Ascension Cathedral in Izium was built and consecrated in 1826 instead of the old church, which was located on the left bank of the Siversky Donets.

Even in the old church, a miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Pishchanska appeared to Saint Yosyp Horlenko of Belhorod. Now it is one of the most famous and revered shrines of Eastern Ukraine.

Nearby is the healing spring "Kyrychenkova krynytsia" with a small chapel-bath.

The Holy Ascension Cathedral was heavily damaged during the battles for Izium during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Church of the Ascension is the only church in Zolochiv that survived out of the four that existed before the Soviet-Ukrainian war.

Founded in 1884.

In Soviet times, the church was closed, but in the post-war period it resumed its activities.