Kharkiv Sights

  1. 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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  2. 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.

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  3. Kharkiv History Museum

    On pl Konstytutsiyi, 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 that dominates the square. This has an OK guns exhibit for WWII buffs but can otherwise be skipped.

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  4. 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.

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  5. 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.

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  6. 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.

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  7. 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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  8. Tsentralny Rynok

    The city's Tsentralny Rynok is well worth a browse for its eclectic collection of everything from fur shapky (hats) to vegetables and used car parts.

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  9. 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.

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