NOTE: this post was written and posted before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kharkiv has suffered badly in the war. For a time it was under Russian control and even though now liberated it has been relentlessly targeted with airstrikes. The city’s mayor has said that more than 6,500 houses were damaged, and 500 multi-story residential buildings were so badly wrecked they cannot be restored. Clearly it is not the same place I visited ten years ago but I’m leaving this post as a record of what it once was and a tribute to its people who have endured so much.
When Newcastle United reached the last 32 of the Europa League in 2013 we held our breath to see what team we would be drawn against, dreaming of a February trip to warmer climes, maybe Italy, Spain or Portugal. Instead we got Metalist Kharkiv, a team we had never heard of, in the eastern depths of chilly Ukraine. Would we go? You bet we would!
So we booked flights and hotel, applied for match tickets, and then started to do some research into where we were headed. I learned that we would be in Ukraine’s second largest city, a major industrial centre (Metalist took their name from the metal-workers who founded the club); but one not without history and attractions for the visitor, including some stunning churches.
A goalless draw in the home leg meant that everything was to play for in the away game. We didn’t expect to go through the round, but we knew we had a chance. So match-night saw us wrapped up against the cold and heading for the stadium in good spirits. Newcastle fans are always in good spirits away from home, even after a defeat!
In the end a 1-0 win, thanks to a Shola Ameobi penalty, was enough to see us through, and a good trip became an excellent one!
In addition to the football match and plenty of socialising with fellow fans, we did, as we always did on such trips, make time for some sightseeing over our couple of days in the city. In this post I will focus on the very centre of the city, in and around Freedom Square.
So what’s that about Lenin?
It is sometimes mistakenly said that the impressive and autocratic statues of Lenin that were a feature of every major city in the Soviet Union were all pulled down, in 1991 or soon after, when the Union was dissolved. Not so. Many remained, especially in Russia, Belarus and here in Ukraine.
The one in Kharkiv, which dominated Freedom Square, was erected in 1964. At the time of our visit it was the largest standing statue in Ukraine.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin stood on a red-granite pedestal carved with patriotic revolutionary scenes from where he gestured towards the former Communist headquarters, now Kharkiv Oblast Administration. Although as one local irreverently pointed out to us, he seemed rather to be pointing the way to the public conveniences!
We didn’t know it at the time, but we were among the last visitors to Kharkiv to see this statue. On 28 September 2014 it was toppled and destroyed.
After much debate over the following years it was determined firstly that current Ukrainian law would not permit its replacement; secondly that a controversial huge monument, topped by an angel with an Orthodox cross, would take its place in the square; and finally that there should be a fountain on the spot where Lenin once stood. The fountain was opened on 23 August 2020.
Ploshchad’ Svobody
Freedom Square (sometimes also translated as Liberty Square) is clearly one of the prides of the city, not least because of its size. Wikipedia says that it is the eighth largest city square in Europe and lists it as 31st in the world (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_city_squares_by_size). According to the same source it is approximately 690-750 metres long and 96-125 metres wide.
It was developed during the late 1920s and early 1930s during a period of growth for the city. It has a somewhat unusual shape, with a long rectangular section that runs westward from Sumskaya Street, and a rounded area at its western end.
There are a number of classic 1930s buildings around the square. These include the building of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration on the eastern side (on Sumskaya Street) and the old Kharkiv Hotel on the north. The south side of the square is edged by Shevchenko Park.
This is the focal point for collective activity in the city, whether celebration (a large Christmas tree is erected here each year) or protest. It was also the venue for the Fan Zone during the Euro 2012 Football Championships. But when we visited it seemed vast and almost empty.
Shevchenko Park
To the south of Ploshchad’ Svobody lies Shevchenko Park, a popular spot for locals to stroll and relax. The park was established in 1804-1805 by Vasiliy Karazin, the founder of Kharkiv University, and thus predates Freedom Square to the north although they seem to belong together.
It wasn’t the weather for enjoying the park’s botanical gardens or cafés, but there are a couple of monuments here that drew us for rather different reasons.
Taras Shevchenko monument
I have noted elsewhere my fascination with brutalist architecture and sculpture; and this monument to Ukraine’s national poet is a wonderful example. The large bronze statue, 5.5 metres tall, stands on a round pedestal of natural silicate giving an overall height to the monument of 16.5 metres. The work of Soviet sculptor Matvey Manizer and Soviet architect Joseph Langbard, it was erected in 1935 and unveiled in a great ceremony in March of that year.
The main statue is surrounded by 16 smaller statues made of bronze depicting characters drawn from the history of Ukraine and the works of Shevchenko. The figures include a collective farmer, a Red Army man, a miner and a peasant woman. The latter, according to one website I read, represents ‘the working people in the fight for their rights and freedoms’.
It seems that touching the foot of one of his characters, ‘Dying Gaydamak’, is considered to bring luck, as the big toe is polished and gleaming. And clearly Shevchenko is revered by local people as someone had left flowers (probably a wedding bouquet) at his feet.
Taras Shevchenko, poet and artist, might be said to be Ukraine’s equivalent of England’s Shakespeare. He was born into a peasant family and was orphaned by the age of eleven. After some difficult years when, among other things, he worked as a servant and as a shepherd, his artistic talent was recognised, and he got a place to study at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
But it is for his poetry that he is probably best known and most respected. Many of his works were inspired by the difficult conditions under which poor Ukrainians were forced to live. Shevchenko never forgot his humble roots and associated himself with the fight against the Empire. He was arrested in 1847 and imprisoned for writing works considered to be inflammatory. He was exiled, forbidden to write or paint. Pardoned in 1857 he planned to buy land in Ukraine and live there but was ordered to return to St Petersburg. His health suffered as a result of his exile and he died young, aged just 47, seven days before the Emancipation of Serfs was announced.
Understandably, his works and his life as a revolutionary poet are still revered by Ukrainians; and his impact on Ukrainian literature and culture is immense – as is this monument to him.
Monument to football
If the Ukrainians’ reverence for Taras Shevchenko is akin to worship, so too arguably is a football fan’s passion for the game. So it is perhaps fitting that not far from the monument to the national poet is this monument to football. When we saw it we assumed that it was a very recent addition, owing its presence here to Kharkiv’s role as a host city for the Euro 2012 Championships. But it is just a little older than that, having been set up by FC Metalist in 2001. And as we were here to watch Newcastle play that team, nothing could be more appropriate than a few fun photos in this spot!
The bronze ball is half a metre in diameter and weighs over two tons. It was unveiled by the Ukrainian player Oleg Blokhin, who played for Dynamo Kiev (I don’t know why a Metalist player wasn’t chosen!) and was a gift from the club to the fans. It was restored in 2012 for the championships, with a new granite pedestal and wiring for night-time illuminations. Apparently even before the monument was placed here this was a popular spot for local fans to gather, to read newspaper reports of matches and discuss the game. If you want to meet any fellow football fans it could be a good spot to try.
The 50th Parallel
Another sight to look out for on the eastern fringes of Shevchenko Park is this marker line for the 50th Parallel. It is claimed that Kharkiv is the largest of all the cities situated on this parallel worldwide; others include Krakow, Prague and Mainz. The parallel passes through 12 countries, among which are the Czech Republic, Poland, Mongolia, Canada, Belgium, Great Britain, China and Russia. The bronze globe set in the ground shows the distance from Kharkiv to some major cities, and local people believe that stepping on it will bring you luck. Well, Chris and Pete did step on it and Newcastle won the match, so maybe there is something in that?!
FC Metalist Kharkiv, like the statue of Lenin, is no more. The club ceased operations in 2016 due to insolvency. The club’s owner, businessman Serhiy Kurchenko left Ukraine in February 2014, following the 2014 revolution in the eastern part of the country and his current whereabouts are unknown.
As for Newcastle United, our days of regularly competing in Europe seem to be over, for the time being at least, but maybe that is a story for another day…
I visited Kharkiv in 2013
31 Comments
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ThingsHelenLoves
I have goosebumps reading that post and looking at the images, given recent events. There will be monuments to the people of today, in the future. Following Newcastle has certainly taken you to some varied places! And will again, I’m sure. One day…
Sarah Wilkie
I’ve seen photos of Freedom Square after the bombing and it looks dreadful. I hope football will take us to new places in the future but sadly I can’t imagine we’d ever come here again. I think the people of Kharkiv are in for a tough future or at least a tough few years 🙁
Manja Maksimovič
Fascinating. Soccer brings you places.
Sarah Wilkie
It does indeed. But I dread to think what it’s like in Kharkiv now. Certainly I’ve seen images of buildings around Freedom Square destroyed by shelling 😥
Manja Maksimovič
Yes. You can imagine it better after you’ve been there. Horrible.
Easymalc
Following your team around Europe is a great way to see places you would probably never dream of going otherwise. Unfortunately for me, the team I support has never made it into Europe and so I had to content myself with visiting places like Huddersfield and Walsall.
Sarah Wilkie
Ha, we’ve had those experiences too – icy cold temporary stands at Stevenage for a cup game, bitter defeat at Oxford United, victory in Ipswich and Swindon …
mtncorg
Football is another great excuse for travel! Sholokov was also from around there – just across the border near Rostov? Being a longtime supporter of Newcastle have you noticed any difference in the stands over the years?
Sarah Wilkie
I think St James’ Park, like a lot of higher league grounds, has got quieter in recent times, due in part to the closure of standing terraces and also to new audiences for the games, not just drawing on the traditional supporter base. But away from home (when allowed in, i.e. not at the moment) Newcastle fans are among the most vocal in the Premiership and there’s always a great atmosphere 🙂
katieshevlin62gmailcom
I didn’t’ know you were a football fan Sarah but I guess if it takes you to interesting places like this it’s a bonus! I really enjoyed taking a wander around the city with you.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Katie 🙂 This is probably the most unusual place football has taken us, but we’ve certainly been to quite a few towns and cities we wouldn’t otherwise have visited 🙂
100 Country Trek
Very interesting place to see.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂
littlesam1
Stories and histories of memorials fascinate me. So this was a fun read. I was thrilled to see all of the Soviet era statues that were removed in Budapest still on display in Monument Park outside of the city. As for the football game was there a big reaction to the loss? I was in Prague years ago and there was a championship hockey game between a US team and the Prague team I was not aware it was happening. But I saw it on a TV in a pub. It was crowded and the energy was over the top. Tie score and at the last minute the US scores. There was silence in the bar and then the shouts started. “F#ck USA” I looked at my friend I was with and said to him quietly if any one asks we are from Canada eh.
Sarah Wilkie
Hi Larry, yes, I know you are interested in monuments and statues – glad you enjoyed reading about this one 🙂 I don’t think there was too much trouble after the match but we didn’t hang around to see. Our hotel was two metro stops away but when we saw how many home fans were piling into the station we decided we would walk back. We kept our heads down and walked briskly, and had no problems. We waited to celebrate until we got back to the hotel. It had no bar but the receptionist was happy for us to sit in the lobby and drink a few beers we’d bought at the little supermarket nearby 🙂
bitaboutbritain
A little bit of history you can tell your grandchildren?
Sarah Wilkie
Well it might if I were likely to ever have any, but as we have no children it seems unlikely 😆 Maybe I’ll tell my nephews’ kids, if they have any?
Anna
My sister, who is a total princess and so opposite to me went to Ukraine, and Kharkiv with her husband who wanted to visit his ancestry. She was so shocked by what she saw she came home and said never again!! Lol. Remember this is a girl whose previous holiday was an overwater bungalow in Fiji 😂😂😂
Sarah Wilkie
Wow, I can imagine it was a bit of a culture shock for her! We would never have been were it not for the football, but it was actually an interesting city to explore for a couple of days. There is a beautiful Orthodox monastery what I’ll post about in due course 🙂
margaret21
It’s always good to visit somewhere that proves interesting, despite, or because of not being on the tourist trail. I would have come with you if you’d have promised not to make me go and watch the football 😉
Sarah Wilkie
I guess the football could be optional, although without it we would never have thought of visiting Kharkiv! We really miss these trips – at one time we would have maybe three or four during the course of a season and they took as to some interesting places as well as being fun times with our friends and fellow supporters 🙂
margaret21
We really are all different. I (jokingly, I think) always say that I knew my husband was the one when I realised there was no danger of his ever wanting me to go to any kind of sporting fixture with him
Sarah Wilkie
I had no intention of taking any interest in football when I got together with my to-be husband, but it was such a big thing in his life I thought I should go to a match and see what it was like – and I got hooked!
Nemorino
I also live quite close to the 50th parallel — 50.16, to be a bit more precise.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, I believe it runs all through your region?
Nemorino
On the Main River bicycle path there is a small monument (set up by the local chapter of the Social Democrats, I believe) marking the point where the river crosses the 50th parallel. If the pandemic lasts long enough, I might even dig out my photos from that trip and post them here.
Sarah Wilkie
Let me know if you do and I’ll add a link from this post 🙂
Nemorino
… post them on my blog, I meant to say. That was one of my first trips after joining VT, in 2004.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s what I assumed you meant 😆