Kharkiv. The territory where contemporary Kharkiv stands was populated as far back as the 2nd mil. BC, which is testified by archaeological excavations. Here the remains of several settlements of the Bronze Age (2nd - 1st mil. BC) have been found. From the Sarmatian times (3rd c. BC - 2nd c. AD) a Scythian-Sarmatian burial mound has survived. Donets' settlement which is mentioned in the Ipatiivs'kyi Chronicle of 1185 in connection of the Novhorod-Sivers'kyi Prince Ihor's escape from the Polovtsian captivity is an outstanding archaeological monument of the 7th - early 13th cc.
The first reliable information on the city foundation belongs to 1654 when there appeared the migrants from Right-Bank Ukraine. After the construction of the Kharkiv Fortress in 1656-1659, the city became an important fortified point of the Russian state in the struggle against the Crimean and Nogai Tatars. The Kharkiv Cossacks took part in the Azov campaigns (1695-1696), in the Northern (1700-1721), Russo-Turkish (1735-1739) and Seven-Year (1756-1763) wars. By the end of the 18th c. the fortress lost its importance and was dismantled. In subsequent years the city developed as a commercial and handicraft centre of Slobids'ka Ukraine. In 1805 thanks to the efforts of scientist and public figure V. Karazin, the University was opened in Kharkiv. Now the University bears his name, and near its walls the monument to its founder stands. In the 19th c. a botanical garden attached to the University was laid out
Tourists will undoubtedly be interested in architectural monuments, among which are the Intercession (1689) and the Dormition (1778) Cathedrals, buildings of the University, etc.
The city has a number of museums: aerospace, art, literary, historical, museum of folk creativity and decorative and applied art.
Chuhuiv. On the territory of the contemporary town the remains of a Scythian site and a settlement of the times of Kyivan Rus were found.
Architectural monuments of the 19th c. include the Intercession Cathedral, the building of the town council, and rows of stalls. In Chuhuiv famous artist I. Repin was born in 1844. Now there is a monument to him in the town.
Izium. The town history is rich in events. There in 1111 the troops of the Kyivan Prince Volodymyr routed the Polovtsians. In 1185 almost on the same place the Novhorod-Sivers'kyi Prince Ihor Sviatoslavych set up his camp before his campaign against the Polovtsians.
Worthy of notice are the Transfiguration Cathedral (1684), St. Nicholas' and the Ascension Churches (19th c.), exhibits in the local Museum of Regional Studies. Picturesque Kremenets' Mount (218 m) is a geological monument of nature.
Sharivka. The estate was laid out simultaneously with the park at the beginning of the 19th c. It comprises houses for servants, the greenhouse, stables and a manege. Later garages and an electric power station were built. This architectural monument is the best-preserved estate complex in the eastern regions of Ukraine.
Oblast farmsteads