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Kharkiv is a city in north-eastern Ukraine and the country's second largest, famous for its constructivist Derzhprom, the vast Freedom Square and its universities. It grew from a 17th-century Cossack fortress above the Lopan and Kharkiv rivers, and from 1919 to 1934 it was the first capital of Soviet Ukraine.
The centre is compact and walkable. Sumska Street runs north from Constitution Square past the Mirror Stream, the opera house and Shevchenko Garden to Gorky Park, while the striped Annunciation Cathedral, the Dormition bell tower and the 1689 Intercession Cathedral mark the old core on University Hill. Karazin University, founded in 1804, keeps the city young, with a large student population and plenty of cafes.
Since 2022 Kharkiv, close to the Russian border, has been struck repeatedly during the full-scale war, and landmarks including Derzhprom and the Art Museum have been damaged. The airport is closed and trains from Kyiv are the usual way in; check official travel advice before planning any trip.
Derzhprom, the State Industry Building in Kharkiv, was finished in 1928 as one of the first Soviet high-rises and is a textbook of constructivist design, its linked concrete blocks and skybridges closing the western end of Freedom Square. Shelling has damaged it, so view it from the square.
Freedom Square in Kharkiv is one of the largest city squares in Europe, stretching for roughly 750 metres from Sumska Street to Derzhprom and framed by the main building of Karazin University and the regional administration. Walk its length at dusk, when the long facades catch the low sun.
The Mirror Stream is Kharkiv's best-loved symbol, a cascade fountain built in 1947 beside Sumska Street with a white columned pavilion above a calm, reflecting pool and a favourite spot for wedding photos. It sits between the opera house and Shevchenko Garden, an easy stop on a centre walk.
The Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre, officially the Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, is an angular brutalist block on Sumska Street that opened in 1991 after about two decades of building. Its stark concrete terraces divide opinion; check the current programme before you go.
The Annunciation Cathedral is Kharkiv's main Orthodox cathedral, standing near the Kharkiv River and the Central Market, its red-and-white striped brickwork, gilded domes and tall bell tower raised between 1888 and 1901 in a Byzantine revival style. Dress modestly and speak softly inside.
The Dormition Cathedral crowns University Hill in central Kharkiv and is best known for its Alexander bell tower, raised between 1821 and 1844 to mark the victory over Napoleon and close to 90 metres tall. Its white and gold spire is seen across the centre and looks best from the streets below.
Pokrovsky Monastery in Kharkiv is home to the Intercession Cathedral of 1689, the oldest surviving building in the city, a white Ukrainian Baroque church with three domes above the Lopan valley. Its quiet walled courtyard sits beside the Kharkiv Historical Museum on University Hill.
The Kharkiv Choral Synagogue on Pushkinska Street was completed in 1913 and was among the largest synagogues in Europe; closed in the Soviet years, it was returned to the Jewish community in 1990 and carefully restored, with a domed prayer hall. Contact the community before visiting.
Kharkiv Gorky Park, rebuilt and reopened in 2012, is the city's main leisure park, with shady alleys, a pond with swans and a swan house, children's rides and cafes, and it merges into the large Forest Park to the north. Arrive in the late afternoon for a long, cool stroll under old trees.
Shevchenko Garden in central Kharkiv was laid out in 1804 together with the university and is built around a 1935 bronze monument to the poet Taras Shevchenko, ringed by 16 figures from Ukrainian history. Fountains, flower beds and the zoo entrance line its paths; in autumn the maples glow.
Kharkiv Zoo, founded in 1895 and one of the oldest zoos in Ukraine, reopened in 2021 after a long reconstruction, with new enclosures, a lake, peafowl and walking routes beside Shevchenko Garden. Allow a relaxed half-day, especially if you are travelling with children.
Sarzhyn Yar is a long wooded ravine in northern Kharkiv where the Sarzhynka stream runs past ponds, footpaths and a mineral spring with a small chapel and bathing font, crowded with swimmers at Epiphany in January. On other days locals come for shaded walks and spring water.
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