| Sumskaya
is one of the few streets of our city that it is not tiresome to walk both up and down despite its significant
length. It has historically developed as the main street of Kharkiv. Not being
distinguished for its width among the other large cities' main streets, it is
nevertheless known among
national and foreign architects and city builders for a long time. It is mentioned as one
of the most successful examples of solution of the central part of
a large city, the creation on
a basis of the so-called "linear centre".
Let us try to look at this street, familiar
to us, not with the eyes of a simple citydweller who often does not raise his sight higher
than the level of show-windows and advertisement boards. Let us view it as professional
architects and, may be, this will make us see it a little differently. Having been
developed for more than 150 years, the street, similarly to a live organism, grows and
changes. And today it is not what it was 10 or 100 years ago. The majority of buildings
has gradually changed its appearance and function, some buildings have unfortunately
disappeared. According to the way of our life, the "face" of our main street has
recently changed very dynamically.
Many people
agree that in the eyes
of a pedestrian Sumskaya street is somehow divided into several, rather equal, parts. If
we start from the city centre, the first part is
characterized in the beginning of the street
by a solid building in the corner of Sumskaya and Bursatsky descent
(Sumskaya
street) and in the end by the building of the new Opera Theatre and the beginning
of Shevchenko Park. Here is an active crossing of roads with Skrypnika street, (turning
into Rymarskaya street), and Pobedy Square creating a cozy green island.The
landscape begins rising more actively.
This is the most ancient
part, which was
built up already in the beginning of the XVIII century, though no building of that time has
survived there. On June 2, 1709, Pyotr the First visited Kharkiv. Due to the fact that
Kharkiv that time was an important strategic unit, built under the plan of the second
"defense line" , a system of fortified cities protecting the southern borders
of Russia, the tzar ordered to expand the fortifications of the city and enhance them
with shaft, ditch, parapet and erect five new bastions and other improvements. According
to the plan of 1785, the territory of the city mostly extended in the lower western
direction to the Lopan river along the road to Poltava (former
Ekaterinoslavskaya,
Sverdlova street) and partially to the other bank of the river of
Kharkiv. From the
north, on the elevated part of the city's landscape, the city was protected with lunette, a fortification for plains, "locking" the space between the two rivers. In
accordance with the growth of the city, it was the third defense line, stretching along
today's Skrypnika street (former Chirikovsky passage), and further along Rymarskaya
street. |
 Myronositska Church
The Kharkiv inhabitants and
the guests of the city are all familiar with a special landmark in
downtown Kharkiv called «Mirror Stream». Not many of them, however, are aware that one
of the most frequented city churches stands at this location
for several centuries.
Proletarian
Square
Every Kharkivite is sure to have visited this seemingly unremarkable square more than
once. This place, where the city's heart used to beat once, has an eventful and
distinguished history.
 Sviato-Blahoveshchensky
Cathedral
In all cities
there buildings and structures regarded as symbols of the city.
Also Kharkiv
is rich in landmarks, the Blahoveshchensky (Annunciation) Cathedral being one of its
worthy representatives.
Mirror
Stream and Victory Garden
More than forty years back, a fountain called "Glassy Stream" (although, many
refer to it as "Mirror Stream") emerged and has since become an intergral part
of the city scape
Bursatsky Spusk
The Bursatsky Spusk (students' slope) street closes the northern link in the circle of
city's main squares that encircle the historical centre of Kharkiv. Its early days
date back to the city's emergence, and its growth was especially notable in the times of
the Kharkiv Collegium
The Gosprom
There exist buildings that are considered important
landmarks of the city. The House of State
Industry (the Gosprom) became the face of the Soviet Kharkiv. It was the first
high-altitude ferroconcrete building in the country. In it there were organically merged
lightness, airiness, and a dynamic and monumental static character. The building was
erected in 1925-1928s, being an embodiment of the first steps of Soviet building
engineering, of the school of national engineering and building staff. It marked the
beginning of formation of the new architectural shape of city.
After
the revolution of 1917 Kharkiv had become a large industrial, technological, and coordination
centre of Ukraine. From 1918
to 1934 it was the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet
Socialistic Republic. At that time there were created some large enterprises with
comfortable living quarters growing near them, while
the municipal economy developed in fast rates.
Then there emerged a necessity for
re-organization of the new public centre of Kharkiv: large
areas for accommodation of technology personnel, design organizations, design bureaus were
necessary. The majority of Boards and
Trusts were at that
time placed in the building of the
former insurance society "Salamandra". For those who
could not get room there,
premises in living houses were rented.
 It was required without
delay to solve the problem of uniting territorially isolated bodies of
the national economy
management of the republic with the purpose of improving their business and
organizational communication, putting common economic activity in order. It would also
allow to free 51 thousand square meters of living area, occupied by the
Boards and Trusts,
that was also important under the conditions of sharp (despite forced construction) lack
of living premises.
Under
the initiative of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a Head of VCK, a project
for the square and the
adjacent new residential area was developed.
In
1924 it was decided to start construction of an office building.
A State
Share Society was established to take hand of
construction and operation of state industry buildings in Kharkiv. Its
shareholders became all the State
Trusts.
As
place for the new public centre, which was to become the centre of political,
economic, and public life of that time's capital of Ukraine, was chosen a site in the
Highland part of Kharkiv, in one of its outskirts on the former University's lands.
The further development of the city was planned in this very direction.
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