Attractions of Kharkiv region

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 Museum of Folk Art of Slobozhanshchyna was founded in Kharkiv in 1991. The museum is located in the building of the former Sunday school of the prominent Ukrainian writer and public figure Khrystyna Alchevska, which was built according to the design of architect Oleksiy Beketov at the end of the 19th century.

The museum collection includes about 2 thousand exhibits that reflect the history and main directions of folk art of the region. These are samples of ancient folk art and works of modern masters: embroidery, folk painting, pottery, carving and folk decorative painting. In addition to products made of clay, straw, vine, wood, beads, the museum presents non-traditional types of folk art for Slobozhanshchyna - miniatures on birch bark and works made of modeled colored glass.

The Museum of Folk Art of Slobozhanshchyna is a department of the Kharkiv Art Museum.

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.

The Governor's Palace is the oldest building in Kharkiv in the classicist style. Kharkiv University was located in the governor's house from 1805 to 1958. Later, the university was moved to new buildings on Svobody Maidan.

Currently, the premises of the governor's palace are occupied by the Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogical Academy.

The Henrikh Semyradsky Art Gallery opened in Kharkiv in 2015 to commemorate the birthday of the famous Polish artist, graduate of the Vasyl Karazin Kharkiv University, Henrikh Semyradsky, and was named after him. It is located in the northern building of the university.

The gallery organizes and holds art exhibitions to showcase domestic and international projects in the field of culture and art, and promotes communication between artists, critics, art historians, curators, and the public. Here you can see not only paintings by recognized artists and young authors in various styles and genres, but also the best examples of decorative and applied arts, photographs, musical instruments of the peoples of the world, pottery, embroidery, etc.

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.

The Museum of the History of Ambulance is located in the building of the Ambulance Station, built in 1914 in the Ukrainian Art Nouveau style. Mykola Molokhov was appointed as the senior doctor even before the station was established. He organized the work of the station, equipped it and was its permanent manager until his death. In the hall of the central dispatch room, Molokhov created a museum, which housed ten glass cabinets with anatomical specimens, weapons (knives, bullets), and poisons used by suicides. After the death of Mykola Molokhov in 1956, all the exhibits of the museum disappeared.

In 2000, at the initiative of the medical service workers, the Museum of the History of Ambulance was recreated in the premises of the Kharkiv Ambulance and Emergency Medical Service Department, where the dispatch service is located. In 2004, on the eve of the anniversary of the establishment of the ambulance service in Kharkiv, a memorial plaque was unveiled on the facade of the building in honor of Mykola Molokhov, the man whose efforts led to the establishment of this service a century ago.

The Hnat Khotkevych Museum was opened in Vysokyi in 1995 in the house where the famous writer, historian and art critic spent the last 9 years of his life. This estate was one of the informal cultural centers of the Slobozhanshchyna region. After Khotkevych was arrested by the NKVD and executed in 1938, the house was confiscated by the Soviet authorities.

The creation of the museum was initiated by the artist's daughter and wife - Halyna and Platonida Khotkevych, who in 1988 came to Kharkiv after many years of emigration. They managed to buy several rooms of the house from the new owners and open a memorial room-museum of Hnat Khotkevych on an area of ​​50 square meters. At the same time, the entire territory of the Khotkevych estate was included in the state register of historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine. Since 2005, the room-museum of Hnat Khotkevych has been a branch of the Kharkiv Literary Museum.

The museum's exposition recreates the image of the writer, historian, and art critic. It presents rare documents, manuscripts, letters, photographs, books, concert posters, musical instruments, sheet music, lifetime editions of Khotkevych's books, and translations of works by European authors into Ukrainian. The permanent exhibition "Hnat Khotkevych - Artist" presents a cycle of his paintings created in 1908-1909 in the Hutsul region.

It is planned to reconstruct the Khotkevych estate to restore it to its original appearance.

The grandiose architectural ensemble of the Holy Annunciation Cathedral in the Neo-Byzantine style with a 75-meter bell tower rises in Kharkiv 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 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 "Kyrychenko's Well" 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 Holy Ascension Church is the only church in Zolochiv that has survived out of the four that existed before the Bolshevik coup of 1917.

Founded in 1884.

During Soviet times, the Holy Ascension Church was closed, but after World War II it resumed its activities.

The tall and slender Holy Assumption Cathedral in the Ukrainian Baroque style was built in Kharkiv 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.