Parks

Shevtchenko Garden

It is the oldest of 27 parks and gardens of the city. In 17 th-18 th centuries the territory of the park used to be a natural oak wood, which protected the Kharkov fortress at the north. In the 30 th of the 20 th century the area of the garden was expanded, and in 1935 at the entrance from Sumskaya Street a monument to the prominent Ukrainian poet Taras Shevtchenko was open and since that time the park has been holding his name.

The qriginally shaped building merges well with the gardens green environment. There are lots of interesting Kharkov traditions connected with the park. For many years chess amateurs have been meeting here to play chess right on the benches. Right next to them were gathering football players, discussing recent football news. Very often an orchestra would play for the walking crowd near the Shevtchenko monument. In 2000 the Shevtchenko park gained one more interesting monument…to a football. It is situated on the place of the former football fans get-togethers.

At the far end of Shevchenko Garden there is a Movie and Concert Hall “Ukraina” know for its excellent acoustics.

Not far from the Concert Hall there is the main entrance to the Zoo, which was founded in 1985. Now it has about 5 thousand animals representing 340 species of mammals, reptiles, amphibian, birds, and fishes from all continents.

Kharkov Zoo

Kharkov zoo is located in the center of the city next to Shevchenko City Park. There are more than 384 species of animals in the zoo, 103 of which are rare. Many animals breed in the zoo.

The zoo is open from 8 am during the daytime, without days off. Ticket price is:

Adults - 5 grivnas.,

Children - 2 grivnas.