ul. Svobody 5, -

Kharkiv is located at the banks of the Kharkiv, Lopan, and Udy rivers, where they flow into the Seversky Donets watershed in the North-Eastern region of Ukraine.

Historically, Kharkiv lies in the Sloboda Ukraine region (Slobozhanshchyna also known as Slobidshchyna) in Ukraine, in which it is considered as a main city.

The approximate dimensions of City of Kharkiv are: from the North to the South - 24.3 km; from the West to the East - 25.2 km.

Based on Kharkiv's topography, the city can be conditionally divided into four lower districts and four higher districts.

The highest point above sea level in Pyatikhatky in Kharkiv is 202m, the lowest point above sea level in Novoselivka in Kharkiv is 94m.

Kharkiv lies in the large valley of rivers of Kharkiv, Lopan', Udy, and Nemyshlya. This valley lies from the North West to the South East between the Mid Russian highland and Donetsk lowland. All the rivers interconnect in Kharkiv and flow into the river of Northern Donets. A special system of concrete and metal dams was designed and built by engineers to regulate the water level in the rivers in Kharkiv.

Kharkiv has a large number of green city parks with a long history of more than 100 years with very old oak trees and many flowers.

Kharkiv is one of the main cultural centres in Ukraine. It is home to 20 museums, over 10 theatres and a number of art galleries. Large music and cinema festivals are hosted in Kharkiv almost every year.

Theatres

• The Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after N. V. Lysenko is the biggest theatre in Kharkiv.
• Kharkiv Ukrainian Drama Theatre named after T. G. Shevchenko is popular among Ukrainian speaking people.
• The Kharkiv Academic Russian Drama Theatre named after A.S. Pushkin was recently renovated, and it is quite popular among locals.
• The Kharkiv Theatre of the Young Spectator (now the Theatre for Children and Youth) is one of the oldest theatres for children.
• The Kharkiv Puppet Theatre (The Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theatre named after VA Afanasyev) is the first puppet theatre in the territory of Kharkiv. It was created in 1935.
• The Kharkiv Academic Theatre of Musical Comedy is a theatre founded on 1 November 1929 in Kharkiv.

Literature

In the 1930s Kharkiv was referred to as a Literary Klondike.[citation needed] It was the centre for the work of literary figures such as: Les Kurbas, Mykola Kulish, Mykola Khvylovy, Mykola Zerov, Valerian Pidmohylny, Pavlo Filipovych, Marko Voronny, Oleksa Slisarenko. Over 100 of these writers were repressed during the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. This tragic event in Ukrainian history is called the "Executed Renaissance" (Rozstrilene vidrodzhennia). Today, a literary museum located on Frunze Street marks their work and achievements.

Today, Kharkiv is often referred to as the "capital city" of Ukrainian science fiction and fantasy. It is home to a number of popular writers, such as H. L. Oldie, Alexander Zorich, Andrey Dashkov, Yuri Nikitin and Andrey Valentinov; most of them write in Russian and are popular in both Russia and Ukraine. The annual science fiction convention "Star Bridge" has been held in Kharkiv since 1999.

Music

• There is the Kharkiv Philharmonic Society in the city.
• There is the Organ Music Hall in the city. The Organ Music Hall is situated at the Assumption Cathedral presently. The Rieger–Kloss organ was installed in the building of the Organ Music Hall back in 1986. The new Organ Music Hall will be opened at the extensively renovated building of Kharkiv Philharmonic Society in Kharkiv in November, 2016.
• The Kharkiv Conservatory is in the city.
• The Kharkiv National University of Arts named after I.P. Kotlyarevsky is situated in the city.
• Kharkiv sponsors the prestigious Hnat Khotkevych International Music Competition of Performers of Ukrainian Folk Instruments, which takes place every three years. Since 1997 four tri-annual competitions have taken place. The 2010 competition was cancelled by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture two days before its opening.
• The music festival: "Kharkiv - City of Kind Hopes" is conducted in Kharkiv.

Movies

From 1907 to 2008, at least 86 feature films were shot in the city's territory and its region. The most famous is Fragment of an Empire (1929). Arriving in Leningrad, the main character, in addition to the usual pre-revolutionary buildings, sees the Gosprom - a symbol of a new era.

Movies festival

• The Kharkiv Lilacs international movie festival is very popular among movie stars, makers and producers in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and North America.
• The annual festival is usually conducted in May.
• There is a special alley with metal hand prints by popular movies actors at Shevchenko park in Kharkiv.

Visual arts

Kharkiv has been a home for many famous painters, including Ilya Repin, Zinaida Serebryakova, Henryk Siemiradzki, and Vasyl Yermilov. There are many modern arts galleries in the city: the Yermilov Centre, Lilacs Gallery, the Kharkiv Art Museum, the Kharkiv Municipal Gallery, the AC Gallery, Palladium Gallery, the Semiradsky Gallery, AVEK Gallery, and Arts of Slobozhanshyna Gallery among others.

Museums

• There is the Kharkiv History Museum named after M. F. Sumtsov in the city.
• The Natural History Museum at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University was founded in Kharkiv on April 2, 1807. The museum is visited by 40000 visitors every year.
• The V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University History Museum was established in Kharkiv in 1972.
• The V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University Archeology Museum was founded in Kharkiv on March 20, 1998.
• The National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute" Museum was created in Kharkiv on December 29, 1972.
• The National Aerospace University "Kharkiv Aviation Institute" Museum was founded on May 29, 1992.
• The "National University of Pharmacy" Museum was founded in Kharkiv on September 15, 2010.
• There are around 147 museums in the Kharkiv's region.
• The Kharkiv Maritime Museum - a museum dedicated to the history of shipbuilding and navigation.
• The Kharkiv Puppet Museum is the oldest museum of dolls in Ukraine.
• Memorial museum-apartment of the family Grizodubov.
• Club-Museum of Claudia Shulzhenko.
• The Museum of "First Aid".
• The Museum of Urban Transport.

Landmarks

Of the many attractions of the Kharkiv city are the: Dormition Cathedral, Annunciation Cathedral, Derzhprom building, Freedom Square, Taras Shevchenko Monument, Mirror Stream, Historical Museum, Choral Synagogue, T. Shevchenko Gardens, Zoo, Children's narrow-gauge railroad, World War I Tank Mk V, Memorial Complex, and many more.

After the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea the monument to Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny in Sevastopol was removed and handed over to Kharkiv.