Kharkiv. City Overview

History of Kharkiv is more than 350 years and it is full of traditions and unique history.

The area of the city is 30 thousand hectare, the population - 1.5 million people. Due to its convenient geographical position the city was increasing its economic power and developing its transport system during the centuries. Today there are 12 railway and bus stations, one international airport, and an advanced system of public transport in the city.

Extension of roads in the city is 1.5 thousand km. Kharkiv underground system is the second largest in Ukraine. It consists of 26 stations; the total extension of lines is 33.04 km.

High concentration of scientific and educational institutions in the city promotes the further spread of knowledge and its use in various sphere of activity. Kharkiv scientific schools of fundamental research are leading in the fields of solid-state physics, cryobiology and cryomedicine, manufacture of crystals, cryogenics, genetics and selection and are widely known all over the world.

High-tech industry enterprises: power machine building, electrotechnical industry, transport and agricultural mechanical engineering, instrument-making industry, radio electronics, aerospace industry are the basis of industrial potential. Production of many Kharkiv enterprises, particularly such high-tech industries as modern tanks and planes productions, is well-known in the world market.

Training of more than 180 thousand future experts in different branches of knowledge is performed by 69 higher educational institutions of all levels of accreditation, among which there are 7 academies, 14 universities, 14 institutes. The first university, founded on January, 17th, 1805 by the initiative of a noted scientist and public figure V. N. Karazin, operates in Kharkiv now.

Due to these and other factors Kharkiv is a center of business tourism. Business-tourists make a significant part of tourist flow in the city of Kharkiv. Considering constant increase of interest of business tourists to Kharkiv, new business and the congress centers, new hotels, which meet the world standards, are being built in the city and old hotels are being restored. Today the leaders of hotel business of Kharkiv are such hotels as "Aurora" (4*), "Cosmopolit" (4*), “Сhichikov” (4*) and “Kharkiv” (4*).

Restaurant business of Kharkiv steadily becomes more versatile. The dishes of the Ukrainian cuisine enjoy the deserved popularity far outside the country. However, one should not forget that Kharkiv is traditionally an international city and that is why dishes and drinks of different nationalities are combined in the menu of cafes and restaurants.

Kharkiv is a great cultural centre of Ukraine. There are 6 theatres, philharmonic society, cinema and concert halls, circus, 8 museums, libraries and other book and archival collections, among which – the fundamental State Scientific Korolenko Library (one of the biggest in Ukraine) and Kharkiv National University Library (archives of the State Scientific Korolenko Library contain more than 6.5 million books).

Historical heritage of the city contains a big number of monuments of different centuries. Kharkiv has a plenty of architectural unique monuments of 19th-20th centuries, but also it has outstanding buildings of the earlier period (Pokrova Cathedral and Uspensky Cathedral, the old building of the University, etc.). Among the monuments of monumental architecture there are: one of the best in the world Monument to Taras Shevchenko and the monument to Vasyl Karazin and many other which draw attention. Technical thought monuments (the oldest observatory in Ukraine, etc.) are also of considerable interest.

Gardens (6) and parks (26) (among them there is the University Botanical Garden - the oldest in Ukraine, Lesopark and Memorial Complex) are of a great historical-architectural value.

Our city is open for friendship and cooperation; it establishes connections with cities from all over the world. Kharkiv successfully realizes joint international projects, in particular in the sphere of tourism development. The city of Kharkiv actively develops the municipal partnership relations with 17 foreign partner-cities.

Kharkiv is the only city in Ukraine which was rewarded with three main European awards by the Council of Europe: the Flag of Honour, the European Diploma, the Plaque of Honour for active promotion of the idea of European unity.

There are more than 300 organizations which provide tourist services in the city of Kharkiv. The quantity of tourist-routes in the city of Kharkiv and in Kharkiv region of Slobozhanshchyna constantly increases. There are various theme routes, for example: "The Poles in Kharkiv"- developed both for Kharkovites and visitors from Poland. This tour provides visits to the Roman-Catholic Church, Memorial to "The Victims of Totalitarianism ", tombs of Jakuba Vajda, the Kharkiv Art Museum (to see the works of Semyradsky, Olhovsky and others).

Kharkiv as one of the cities where the matches of the European Football Championship EURO 2012 is going to be carried out. The city will become a tourist centre not only for Slobozhanshchyna, but also for whole Ukraine.

Kharkiv is a city open to the world – you are welcome to visit our city and see it at first hand!

See you in Kharkiv!