On Saturday, October 24, 2015, a walking tour organized by “Alluring Kharkiv”—“Destroyed Churches,” Part 1—took place.
We visited sites where churches and chapels once stood, which were destroyed during the Soviet era as part of an anti-religious campaign that was particularly intense in the 1920s and 1930s. Some churches were completely lost, while others were converted into utility buildings. Since our city has always been a model of peaceful coexistence among many faiths, we included lost places of worship from various religions in our tour—the route featured 9 Orthodox churches and chapels, 3 Old Believer churches, and 2 mosques. The route was about 8 km long. We looked at historical photographs of the places of worship and at what remained of them—or, in some cases, nothing at all—and learned about their history…
1. The lost gate with the chapel of the Pokrovsky Monastery, as seen from Klochkivska Street. Built in 1895 according to a design by architect V.H. Nemkin.
2. The Alexander Nevsky Chapel on Serhiyiskyi Square was built in 1882 by architect Pokrovsky. It was demolished in 1928.
3. The Church of the Nativity of Christ at the beginning of Kontorska Street. The first wooden church on this site was built no later than 1655; the stone church was built in 1783 (designed by P. Yaroslavsky).
The stone bell tower was built in 1800, also based on a design by P. Yaroslavsky, and was expanded in 1860 (it housed a heated side chapel).
From 1900 to 1902, the church was renovated according to a design by M. Lovtsov. The church, which was combined with the new bell tower into a single building, came to resemble a long “ship.” The reconstruction was accompanied by heated debate in the press—the public did not want to lose the spirit of traditional Ukrainian architecture that was present in P. Yaroslavsky’s original design. The church was demolished in the early 1930s; a Vladyslavy Chernyh Garden now stands in its place.
4. The Kharkiv Cathedral Mosque, built in 1906. Demolished in 1936.
The current Kharkiv Central Mosque was built in 1998-2006, not far from the site of the destroyed mosque. Its address is Yaroslavska Street, 31.
5. Old Believer Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. Yaroslavska Street, 28. It was built in 1912–1914 according to a design by architect Boris Mikhailovich Kornienko. The church was distinguished by its very tall and narrow drum-shaped structures and domes, which were later lost.
In the late 1940s, the dilapidated church was transferred to the Evangelical Christian Baptist congregation, to which it still belongs today.
6. St. Demetrius Church, Poltavskyi Shliakh, 44. The first wooden church dedicated to St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki was built in 1689; the stone church was built in 1808 according to a design by architects E. Vasilyev and P. Yaroslavsky.
Between 1885 and 1896, the St. Demetrius Church was renovated in an eclectic style based on a design by architect M. Lovtsov. The church combined elements of the Neo-Byzantine style and the Gothic Revival style (the bell tower).
The church was considered one of the most beautiful in Kharkiv.
In the mid-1930s, the church was rebuilt; the dome and bell tower were demolished, and for a long time it housed the “Sport” movie theater. Only one facade of one small service building remains untouched. Since 1992, the church has belonged to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which restored the dome in 2011–2012; since 2020, the St. Demetrius has been part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
7. The Trinity Old Believers Church was built according to a design by V. Nemkin between 1892 and 1911 at Katerynynska Street, 67.
After 1917, the church was demolished, and the House of Cinematic Culture—a film-duplication factory—was built from the remains of its walls (the church building was significantly expanded).
8. The Transfiguration Church was once located at Moskalivska Street, 38. The church was built in the second half of the 1860s and expanded in 1890 according to a design by architect Nemkin.
The Transfiguration Church was demolished in the 1960s. Today, a small park and a monument to the “Svitlo Shakhtarya” factory stand in its place.
9. Another Old Believers church in Moskalivka neigborhood was located in the courtyards on Hrekivska Street and was also called the Trinity Church.
10. The Church of the Resurrection, now located on Maydan Iryny Buhrymovoyi, near the Circus. The first church was built in the 1660s; the stone church was built in 1797. In 1857, it was reconstructed by A.I. Podyakov.
11. The 1906 and 1907 editions of the address and reference book *All of Kharkiv* list another Muslim address—“the Provincial Muslim Parish”—at Netichenska Street, 47. The buildings in this section of the street were severely damaged during the World War II.
12. The Church of the Archangel Michael, which was built on Mikhailovskaya Square between 1783 and 1787 according to a design by architect P. Yaroslavsky.
The church was blown up in the 1960s. Today, it is Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred Square.
13. Church of the Ascension, Oboronnyi Val Square, 16.
The first wooden church here was built in 1675; the stone church, which can be seen in the photograph, was built in 1876 (designed by I. Karpovich). In the 1920s, the church was closed, in 1931 it was converted into a sports center and expanded; the bell tower and domes were demolished; and in the 1950s, it was repurposed as a laboratory building, which now belongs to Kharkiv Biotechnology University.
14. The Church of the Holy Spirit, built between 1848 and 1856, was demolished in 1937. Today, this is Defenders of Ukraine Square. A new Holy Spirit Church is being built according to a modern design at a different location—behind Palace of Culture of the Kharkiv Electromechanical Plant.
The tour was led by Ivan Ponomarenko and Anton Bondarev.
The second part of the tour took place in the city center.