Sights in Kharkiv
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Ploshcha Svobody
Locals claim that Ploshcha Svobody is the second largest square in the world after Beijing's Tiananmen Square (although Moscow's Red Square might have something to say about that). Whatever, at 750m long it's indisputably huge and is certainly Kharkiv's most unique sight.
Planned as an ensemble of Ukrainian government buildings when Kharkiv was the republican capital, it was built between 1925 and 1935. (Damaged during WWII, it was largely rebuilt by German POWs.) The late-1920s Derzhprom (House of State Industry) at its western end was the first Soviet skyscraper - a geometric series of concrete and glass blocks and bridges.
On the southern side of the square is the unive…
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B
Kharkiv Art Museum
Kharkiv's most famous museum owns one of many versions of Ilya Repin's Zaporizhsky Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan, which is found in a room full of Repin paintings in the museum's permanent collection. The entire collection of romantic paintings here is of a high standard for Ukraine but the neighbouring exhibit hall is hit-or-miss. The museum also curates the little-known Parkhomivka History & Arts Museum.
While you're here check out the former KGB building a block west of the museum. Now the Department for Internal Affairs, it has a bust of Felyx Edmundovych, a high-ranking KGB member, on one wall.
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C
Pokrovsky Monastery
Just west of pl Konstytutsiyi, the gleaming domes of the Pokrovsky Monastery (Intercession of the Virgin) are visible from miles away. The predictably peaceful grounds (enter from pl Konstytutsiyi) have two attractive churches. The smaller and more important of the two is the blue, three-domed Pokrovska Church (1689). As in all Orthodox churches, the altar is under the east-pointing dome, and there's another altar hidden in the basement, which the attendant may show you if you ask.
The church is almost always open for services. The yellow church next to it is the Ozeyansky Church.
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D
Shevchenko Park
Central Shevchenko Park, just south of pl Svobody, is a great place to observe Kharkivites in their element - or win a stuffed animal in one of the myriad arcade games.
From the Lenin statue it's a pleasant walk through the park to the statue of Taras Shevchenko (vul Sumska), of which locals are perhaps overly proud. Yes, it's big and it does portray the heroic poet surrounded by 16 peasants, Cossacks and other Ukrainians representing the national history. However, it's also rather brutalist and is only softened by the park.
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E
Uspensky (Assumption) Cathedral
South of pl Konstytutsiyi on vul Universytetska is the Uspensky (Assumption) Cathedral with its landmark, 19th-century bell tower (89.5m tall). This church is now used only as a concert hall; ask your hotel about tickets.
The park across the street offers the best vantage point of the striking red-and-cream striped Blahoveshchensky Cathedral (1881-1901) down in the valley on pl Karla Marksa. Based on Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, the cathedral has a beautifully proportioned bell tower resembling a stick of candy.
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F
Kharkiv History Museum
You can’t miss the large granite sculptural ensemble commemorating Kharkiv’s designation as the first capital of Soviet Ukraine on 24 December 1917. Nearby are several anti-aircraft guns and tanks. These are associated with the Kharkiv History Museum, which occupies the big red-brick building. This has an OK guns exhibit for WWII buffs but can otherwise be skipped.
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G
Statue of Taras Shevchenko
Locals are perhaps overly proud of this statue. Yes, it’s big and it does portray the heroic poet surrounded by 16 peasants, Cossacks and other Ukrainians representing the national history. However, it’s also rather brutalist and is only softened by Shevchenko Park.
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Horkoho Park
About 2km to the north of pl Svobody, vul Sumska runs along Horkoho Park, where you'll find plenty of tree-lined paths, a funfair, cinema, summertime chairlift and children's locomotive, as well as hills for wintertime sledding.
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Stained-Glass Portraits Of Yuri Gagarin
Other attractions like Moscow's, Kharkiv's Metro is something of an attraction in its own right, featuring high ceilings and space-age chandeliers. Check out the above the stairs to the platforms at the Pr Gagarina Station.
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