Kharkov is a large and very interesting city. Not even all of its indigenous people realize how many unusual places and establishments are located in it! And for lovers of history, geography, culture, the first capital can offer a lot.
Kharkov museums are interesting and very informative. And some of them have no analogues in the whole world! In this article we will visit the most unusual of them in absentia.
From the history of museum work in Kharkov
The history of museum business in the capital of Slobozhanshchyna has been around for a century and a half. As early as in the first half of the 19th century, in parallel with the founding of the first university in Eastern Europe, the city began to actively work towards collecting and preserving historical and cultural relics.
In 1835, the Museum of Fine Arts at Kharkov University began its work in the city. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, other institutions are being created. In particular, ethnographic and art museums.
In the early 1920s, after the final establishment of Soviet power in Ukraine, a large-scale reorganization of the museum network began in Kharkov. This process was led by a special body - GubKOPMIS. On his initiative, many modern museums of Kharkov were opened. In addition, the city conducted numerous excursions, as well as informative lectures on architecture, history and art. In general, the 20-30s of the twentieth century were the most fruitful in the history of museum business in the city.
Museums of Kharkov: photos and thematic diversity
Kharkov is the second largest city in Ukraine, leading its chronicle from the middle of the XVII century. Its history is very fascinating and rich in various events. However, museums in Kharkov are no less interesting, of which there are about three dozen.
A tourist who arrives in the city for a few days can not only walk along the old streets, relax in beautiful parks or visit the largest square in Europe. Numerous museums of Kharkov will help the guest of this metropolis to better understand the history of the region, to learn about the cultural characteristics of the inhabitants of Slobozhanshchyna, to trace the history of settlement and development of the city.
The largest museum institutions in Kharkov include the historical, artistic, literary, as well as the Museum of Nature. The wealth of their collections will amaze any visitor.
The most interesting museums in Kharkov: description and list
Some Kharkov museums surprise with their themes and unusual expositions. So, in some of them, for example, you can learn about the history of city water supply, the features of the study of UFOs, or discover the specifics of various sexual cultures.
The following museums of Kharkov (list) are among the most interesting and unusual:
- Water.
- Plumbing and ceramic tiles.
- Complex "Cosmos".
- Sexual cultures.
- Kharkov police.
Water museum
This establishment is located on the banks of the Seversky Donets River, in the village of Kochetok. The Water Museum was founded in the 80s on the basis of a water supply company, which 70% meets the needs of the Ukrainian metropolis in drinking water.
The museum has at least a thousand different exhibits. These are ancient anchors, models of wells and water supply systems, ancient drops of water enclosed in salt crystals, and much more. The museum tells not only about the history of the Kharkov water supply system, but also about the geography of the Seversky Donets River, as well as the role of water in human life as a whole. Almost daily, excursion groups and individual tourists come here from different settlements of the region and Ukraine.
Museum of Sexual Culture
This institution has no analogues in Ukraine. The Museum of Sexual Culture was opened in 1999 by local sexologists. At the initial stage of existence, the basis of his exhibits was the personal collection of Professor V.V. Cristal. Today, it carries out active educational work with young people and couples in the field of sex and relations between the sexes.
The museum itself consists of ten halls, each of which presents a particular sexual culture of our planet. In them, the visitor will be able to get acquainted with the characteristics of the sexual life of the peoples of Africa and America, Europe and India, Ancient Rome and China. A separate room is completely devoted to the so-called sexual deviations (or deviations).
You can see the expositions of the Museum of Sexual Cultures in Kharkov daily, from 11:00 to 19:00. Entrance ticket costs 30 hryvnias, there are age restrictions (children under 18 are not allowed to visit the main halls of the museum).
Museum of Police
The museum building of the Kharkov police is hiding behind the dense foliage of old trees on Zhen Mironosits Street (former Sovnarkomovskaya Street), under the sinister number 13. It opened its doors to visitors forty years ago and tells in great detail about the history of local law enforcement agencies.
The attitude to police in modern society is extremely ambiguous. The Kharkov Museum helps citizens understand how difficult and dangerous this work is. His exhibits have collected numerous documents, photographs and awards. The features of protecting urban order during the Second World War are described in great detail. In a separate room, the names of those law enforcement officers who died at the hands of the Nazi invaders are immortalized.
In addition to standard museum work, lectures and meetings are regularly held here, as well as diplomas and awards to police officers.
