Kharkiv is a modern city with a 1.5 million population. It was founded in 1654, and is a large industrial, scientific, educational, commercial and transport center of Ukraine.
Amazing is the city in its beauty, monuments and architectural contrasts, with the marvelously interwoven past and present: the aristocratic manors of the nobility, Modern Era buildings, constructivist buildings of 1920s, Stalinist neoclassical structures form the unique architectural style of Kharkiv. The "Seven Wonders of Kharkiv" are the Monument to the Famous Ukrainian Poet Taras Shevchenko, the Mirror Stream fountain (the architectural landmark of the city), the Pokrovsky Cathedral of Kharkiv Pokrovsky Monastery, the Annunciation Cathedral, the Dormition Cathedral, the Derzhprom State Committee for Industrial Policy (Building of State Industry) and the residential building with a spire.
The main symbol of the city is Svobody Square, the largest square in Ukraine and Europe (22.5 thousand square meters), with Kharkiv Regional State Administration, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Taras Shevchenko Garden and Derzhprom around it.
What makes the industrial giant of Kharkiv stand out is that it is very green. Kharkiv is located at the intersection of four rivers (Kharkiv, Lopan, Udy, Nemyshlia). There are 29 gardens and parks, 4 water parks, 92 garden squares, 5 quays and many other places for recreation in its territory. The gem of Kharkiv is Maxim Gorky Central Park for Culture and Recreation, one of the 15 best entertainment grounds in Europe, according to the famous travel portal Tripadvisor (2017 ranking).
Kharkiv is a multinational city: there are 50 national cultural associations there; it houses Catholic and Protestant churches, a synagogue, a mosque, prayer houses of many other religious denominations, schools with in-depth studies of the national cultures. It is worthy of note that in its long history Kharkiv has never witnessed national, racial or religious clashes of its citizens.
Today, Kharkiv remains stable and calm, with the national police ensuring safety and security in the city.