Kharkov with the population of 1,500,000 is one of the largest industrial, scientific and cultural centres of the country .In fact it was the capital from 1917 to 1934. That's why it is often called Ukraine's second capital. The origin of Kharkov dates back to 1655. It wall founded as a fortress. There are three rivers in Kharkov, they are the Kharkov, the Lopan and the Netecha, the biggest one lending its name to the settlement. With time it grew, developed and became a powerful and magnificent city. Recently our city has developed as a cultural, industrial and commercial centre. The architecture of the historical Kharkov integrally merges with its modem administrative buildings, cultural, educational and shopping centres which all form the unique ensemble of the city. There are a lot of theatres in Kharkov. Kharkovites have always loved theatre. They first saw theatre performances at the end of 18th century and in 1841 a building was erected for the permanent Drama Theatre. The fi rst two decades of the 20th century witnessed the appearance of a multitude of professional and amateur theatre companies, theatres of miniatures, variety shows. It was also a period of birth and growth of museums, cinemas, public libraries, clubs and art studios. Kharkov has a lot of places of interest associated with historical events and outstanding people. Kharkov can be proud of the largest square in Europe, the Square of Freedom. It occupies 11,6 hectares. The first multi-storeyed building in the former Soviet Union was Gosprom. The central street of Kharkov called Sumkaya. This a very busy transport way with heavy traffic. Kharkov keeps friendly relation. with its sister cities: Bologna , (Italy), Poznan (Poland), Lille (France) and Cincinnati (USA). The cities exchange their achievement in the fields of science, technology, culture and trade. Kharkov is famous all over Ukraine for its park and gardens. There are 160 parks and public gardens here. The Gorky Central Park of Culture and Recreation is very popular with Kharkovites. The Shevchenko Garden is a picturesque large green area in the centre of the city. Local people are fond of greenery and have seen to it that their city is embraced by parks and public gardens.

The area of this garden in xvn -XVIII centuries was a forest. At the begimling of XIX centure the territory was given to Kharkov University. It was a University garden, which became a favourite place for Kharkov's citizens. Right in the middle of the Shevchenko garden stands the monument to Vasil Karazin, a dedicated scholar and distinguished public figure of the 19th century .This monument was erected in 1906. Karasin did his best to promote in 1805 the foundation of Kharkov I. University, which was the country's third after the Universities of Moscow and Kazan. A maze of steps finally culminating in a look-out platform at the top climbs up the western slope of the Shevchenko Garden. Once there, you breath will surely be taken away with the panoramic view of the city below. There are a lot of cafes nearby. These cafes patronised by citizens and tourists alike, offer everything necessary for relaxation: cosy interiors, pleasant music and all sorts of dainties and choice dishes. Kharkov has quite a number of monuments of great historical and artistic value. One of them is the famous monument to the great son of the Ukrainian people T.G.Shevchenko. In 1934, when Ukrainian people celebrated Shevchenko' s 2Oth anniversary the cornerstone was laid for the monument near the main entrance of the garden. The decision to do this was taken in 1929. On the 21 of September in 1929 a competition was announced for the best design of the monument. After a long selection in 1933 the design made by Matvey Manizer was accepted. In 1934 work was started. People, who worked in Kharkov Drama Theatre went to Leningrad and asisted Manizer in making this monument. They sat for the monument. In 1935 the work was completed. Kharkov's citizens could see a majestic monument. The height of this monument is 16,5 metres. It includes a bronze sculpture of the poet and 16 bronze sculptures of characters of his poem round it. When this monument was opened, this park became the Shevchenko Garden. F or over half a century this monument to the great Ukrainian poet and revolutionary democrat Taras Shevchenko has actually been a city landmark. I The cinema and concert hall' 'Ukraine" is another place of interest in the park. It was built in 1963 by the architect Vasiliev. There are 2,000 seats in it. There is a Zoo on the territory of this park. One of the country's oldest, the Zoo come a long way since 1896, the year of its foundation. The founder of this Zoo was M.Ivanov. The area of the Zoo is 22 hectares. 5,000 animals live in it. There is an astronomical observatory near the Zoo which was founded in 1808. N .P . Barabashov, who directed the observatory over 50 years. The Shevchenko Garden adjoins the Square of Freedom. The Square of Freedom is the heart of present-day Kharkov the thirties it was still a waste land. On the initiative of F .E.Dzerzhinsky the Kharkovities made it a square and gave it his name. And now it is the Square of Freedom.

Sumskaya street appeared simultaneously with the Kharkov fortress as a road to Sumy. Its development went slowly and at the end of 18th century the street ended near the modern Theatral square, there it turned into an earth wall, which surrounded the city. At the place of modern Victory park stood the stone Mironositskaya Church, which was built in 1783. It was surrounded by a straw hedge, there were a hospital near it and a cemetery, which was closed in 1803. This cemetery had frightened the inhabitants of the nearest houses for a long time, because many vagabonds gathered in the neglected crypts and chapels. fu1818 a factory which produced woollen clothes was opened near the cemetery. At the beginning of the 19th century there were stables opposite the cemetery , many shops and storehouses, where hay and tar were sold. The years passed and Sumskaya street became wider. Many stone buildings appeared. On a Kharkov's plan of 1822 the University garden was indicated. It was to be situated at the place of the old forest, which close to the Kharkov fortress in the 17th century the place of the modem rose-garden a new big building for the cadet corps was built. But eventually this building was handed down to the hlstitute for Noble Maidens. At that time Sumskaya street looked like a mixture of a city and a village, of poverty and richness. For example, near the huge building of the Institute for Noble Maidens, stood a poor small house, coated with clay, with three small windows and a thatched roof The University garden extended to the north from it and the street ended in the place of modem University square. The right side of Sumskaya street opposite the institute and the garden was not covered with building. There was a neglected plot of land. At the end of the 30-s and at the beginning of the 40-s of last century the street began to be put in order. The University garden was separated from Sumskaya street by a beautiful stone fence with iron grates. fu 1839 part of the street opposite the institute and the garden was paved with stone, and in 1840-37 street-lights were set in. The cemetery was torn and in its place the trade of bread concentrated, and as a result Mironositskaya square was called Bread square. A few years later a number of small industrial establishments, as they were called at that time, appeared. They were situated between modem Theatral square and Sovnarkomovskaya street In the middle of the last century an institution of higher education appeared near the University garden. It was Veterinary Institute. This institute was based on the practical veterinary school, which was founded and attached to Kharkov University in 1839. In 1851 the school was separated from the University as an institution of higher education, and in 1873 it was renamed into Veterinary institute. The building of the institute was erected in 1851-1854 following the project of architect M.Lvov. Many famous scientists worked in the institute, among them: N.D.Galizki, L.S.Cenkovski, A. A. Raevsk, V.Y.Danilevski, A. Y.Krasnov. Here in 1860-1862 in the laboratory of L.O.Pavlovich the famous Russian scientist I.I.Mechnikov worked. In 1866 a district specialised school was opened, and in 1869 at 10 Sumskaya street an art school was opened by the Ukrainian artist and teacher M.R.Reavskaya-Ivanova. A number of boarding houses, workshops and shops were opened in Sumskaya street. The Street became busier. The laying of a highway between Kharkov and Kursk, which started in 1852 and where the traffic of post-passenger stagecoaches was opened, contributed much to the development of Sumskaya street. Many merchants used this revival and built a number of wine shops along the street. They organised many festivals and sold a great quantity of wine then. In summer, during the days of the Uspenskaya fair, many formal dances took place in the Institute for Noble Maidens. In winter, after the end of the fair, the trade stopped and the part of Sumskaya street behind the Institute for Noble Maidens turned into a neglected plot of land. In the 60-s of the last century sales of the land behind Mironositskaya square and opposite the garden started. During the next 1O years a number of streets and side-streets appeared between Sumskaya and Nemetskaya (modern Pushkinskaya) streets: Novo-Malo-Sumskaya, Veterenarnaya and others. At that time Sumskaya street continued to grow. Between modern University square and "Pravda" avenue a three-storey building was constructed. Later the medical faculty of Kharkov University was situated there. To the north of it there were several residential buildings and a military hospital. In September 1883 the traffic of horsecars along Sumskaya street from Veterinary institute to Bolshaya Moskalevskaya and Zaikinskaya streets was opened. At 30 Sumskaya street at the end of the 19th century there lived the famous Russian scientist, professor L.L. Girshman. He organised a hospital of eye diseases attached to the University .The fame of the outstanding specialist attracted thousands of patients from many countries to Kharkov. In 1905 he left the University and organized his private practise. The border of the development of the street to the north was determined at the end of the 19th century .fu 1893 -1895 a city park was planted by the efforts of Kharkov's schoolchildren and students at the end of the Sumskaya street. It was opened in 1907. At the end of the 19th -at the beginning of 2Oth century Sumskaya street became larger and larger. fu 1894 the land at the end of the street was sold and many stone buildings appeared there. At the end of 19th century the building of the editor's office of the newspaper "Yuzlmiy Kray" ("South land") was completed. In 1902 and in 1906 following the project of the architects the Zagoskin brothers two four-storey buildings were constructed, connected with each other, in which the Congress of mining f1rms of Southern Russia was situated. In 1910 at the corner of the Sumskaya street and the modern the Square of Freedom following the project of architects O.Munz and A. Spigel the building of Russian-Asian or Northern Bank was erected. Two decorative figures under the pediment were made following the models by V .Kuznetsov .Besides the bank, the apartments and laboratories of Women's medical institute were situated here. After the revolution of 1917 this building belonged to the Medical institute. The same year a six-storey residential building decorated with sculptures, was erected ( at 82 Sumskaya street), the project of it had been worked out by the architect V .Estrovich. Following the project of I. Gorohov in 1913 a private house was built, which belonged to the publisher of the newspaper "Yuzlmiy Kray" ("South land") Iozefovich. Now the Palace of Wedding is situated here. In 1910-1915 one of the most beautiful buildings of that time, known among the Kharkovities as the House of "Salamandra", was built by the insurance company "Salamandra". The building was constructed fo 11 owing the project of M. v. Redkin and D. D .Berdnicov , students of the art-school. This project had received the f1fst prize at the competition, which was organised by Petersburgh Architect Society. The emblems and sculpture belonged to the architect N .N .Verevkin, who created this building. In 1911 Sumskaya street was covered with buildings up to modern Mironositskaya street. The street was the witness of many revolutionary events. A great number of conflicts took place here. During the years of Soviet rule in Ukraine a great construction started. Opposite the University garden following the project of A.Molokin the construction started of the building, in which at first Night University for Workers was situated and then Engineering and Construction Institute worked. It was based on the Faculty of Construction of Technological Institute and on the Faculty of Architecture of Art Institute in 1930. Opposite the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR preparatory work for the creation of a huge square named after Dzerzhinsky later was conducted. The construction of new residential buildings at the neglected plot of land behind Mironositskaya square also started. When Kharkov was the capital of the Ukrainian republic, different offices concentrated in Sumskaya street. At the beginning of the street in the building of the former Northern Bank was situated People's Commissariat of Finance of Ukraine. In Sumskaya street the edition of the newspaper "Novosti" ("News") was also situated. Further up the street in the building of the Congress of mining firrms of Southern Russia was situated Industrial Academy, which was opened in February 1934. In the building of the former Institute for Noble Maidens at the beginning of the 20-s were situated a student dormitory (House of Proletarian Students ) and some students establishments (Kubuch - The Committee for the Improvement of the conditions of students' life, the edition of the magazine "Student revolucii" ("The student of the revolution". Later in this building the Management of the "Southern streets" was situated. In 1933 in this building Pedagogical Institute began to work. Medical Institute had been situated in this street for long time. Before the construction of University gardens the central place where demonstrations were held was Kharkov hippodrome, which was situated at the end of Sumskaya street. A great number of tribunes were built there and many outstanding people of USSR appeared on them. The years passed. Sumskaya became the most comfortable road of the city. The times when horsecars and trams went along the street passed. Comfortable trolleybuses occupied their place. The street was paved with stone, all sidewalks were covered with asphalt. The University garden changed. After opening here in 1935 a monument to Kobzar, it was named after T.G.Shevchenko. The city park was equipped with modern attractions and was named after the great proletarian writer A.M. Gorky. This park was connected to the "Forest park" with a tram-line, opened in 1930. During World War n the street suffered badly. Fascists destroyed the buildings of Pedagogical Institute (the former Institute for Noble Maidens ), of the Committee of Communist Party, of Medical Institute and many other buildings near Gorky park. Throughout its history Kharkov was more than of once destroyed to the ground by wars and fires, but each time it rose from ashes and ruin.~. The Sumskaya street was also destroyed. But now it is one of the busiest transport ways and the most comfortable road of the city. Shevchenko garden is one of the places where you can relax and enjoy its beauty.

By Kyudina D.V.