Where to go in Kharkiv: a selection of museums for children and adults

Kharkiv is known as a city of students, science, Constructivist architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Despite the daily trials of wartime, Kharkiv continues to live, develop and cherish its history and culture.

At different times the city was one of Ukraine's main intellectual centres, and today its museums preserve the memory of Slobozhanshchyna and introduce Ukrainian art, literature, science and technology.

This selection presents interesting museums of Kharkiv that reveal different sides of the city, from its history and art to science and contemporary cultural projects. There are places for lovers of classic museum collections, fans of unusual spaces and everyone looking for where to go and what to see in Kharkiv.

What Kharkiv's museums tell about

Mykola Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum

One of the largest history museums in Ukraine, introducing the centuries-old history of Kharkiv and Slobozhanshchyna. Its collection numbers more than 330,000 objects, from archaeological finds, early printed books and weapons to ethnographic artefacts and materials on the region's recent history.

The museum, founded in 1920, is located at 5 Universytetska Street, in the building of the former city pawnshop built in the early 20th century.

Because of the security situation, the museum is temporarily closed to visitors. On its website you can take a virtual tour of the “Slobozhany” display and explore digital projects devoted to the history and culture of Slobozhanshchyna.

Kharkiv Art Museum

One of the oldest and most valuable art collections in Ukraine, whose history dates back to 1805. The museum holds about 25,000 works from the 15th–21st centuries: painting, graphic art, sculpture, porcelain and decorative art. Among them are works by Taras Shevchenko, Serhii Vasylkivskyi, Mykola Pymonenko, Ilia Repin and Albrecht Dürer.

The Kharkiv Art Museum is at 11 Zhon Myronosyts Street, in a former mansion built in 1912 to a design by the architect Oleksii Beketov. The building has been repeatedly damaged in Russian attacks, and on 14 June 2026 it was hit by a Russian drone.

The museum currently works only online. On its website you can view exhibitions and permanent displays, explore the “Exhibit of the Month” feature and listen to audio guides on Ukrainian and Western European art.

Museum of Archaeology

Archaeological finds thousands of years old, Scythian treasures, ancient pottery and artefacts from the Bilsk hillfort: all this is gathered in one of the oldest university museums in Ukraine, founded in 1807.

The display features Bronze Age objects, Scythian jewellery and weapons, artefacts of the Cherniakhiv and Saltiv cultures, items of the early Slavs and many other finds. For children the museum holds interactive classes where they can learn how archaeologists work, identify fragments of ancient pottery, play ancient games or design a Scythian costume.

The museum is in the main building of Karazin University at 4 Svobody Square. Allow up to an hour. Visits and tours must be arranged in advance.

Museum of Nature

One of the oldest natural history museums in Europe, founded in 1807. Its collection holds more than 250,000 specimens from around the world, from minerals, fossils and insects to stuffed animals, skeletons and wet specimens.

The display occupies 23 halls and covers geology, the evolution of the organic world, invertebrates and vertebrates, and nature conservation. Here you can see skeletons of prehistoric animals, inhabitants of seas and oceans, exotic birds, large mammals, vivid dioramas and collections of rocks and minerals. Children will find it especially interesting.

The museum is at 8 Trinklera Street. Allow about one and a half to two hours. The museum has a basic shelter.

Kharkiv Literary Museum

One of the most interesting literary museums in Ukraine, devoted to Ukrainian and Slobozhanshchyna literature. Its main collection numbers more than 30,000 objects, and the most valuable are materials from the era of the Executed Renaissance, the Sixtiers and the Ukrainian resistance movement.

Here you can see books autographed by Mykola Khvylovyi, Maik Yohansen and Mykola Kulish, manuscripts, Les Kurbas's passport, Pavlo Tychyna's pince-nez, the VAPLITE seal, writers' personal belongings, photographs and archival documents. The museum also runs an art residency in the flat of the writer Petro Lisovyi in the legendary “Slovo” building, where house concerts, lectures, literary readings and meetings with artists are held.

The Kharkiv Literary Museum is at 6 Bahaliia Street. Allow about one and a half to two hours. If you plan to attend an exhibition, lecture or book presentation, allow a little more time.

Museum of Women's and Gender History

The first and only specialised museum in Ukraine devoted to women's and gender history. Its collection numbers more than 4,000 items showing how gender roles were formed, stereotypes arose and the position of women in society changed over time.

Among the most interesting exhibits are a “women's” euro, a reminder of the gender pay gap, a clock with stopped time, a tape measure of gender equality, and items and publications that show how society imposes different roles on girls and boys from an early age. Separate displays are devoted to Ukrainian women artists, sexism, the history of 8 March, women at war and female figures in Ukrainian history.

The museum is at 124-A Heroiv Kharkova Avenue but is currently temporarily closed to visitors. On its website you can view virtual displays and learn more about women's history, gender equality and combating stereotypes.

Museum of Theatre Puppets

The oldest museum of theatre puppets in Ukraine, with more than 11,000 items from different countries. The collection covers the history of puppet theatre from antiquity to the present and introduces works by Ukrainian and foreign masters.

In three halls you can see puppets from old productions of the Kharkiv theatre, posters, sketches, models, theatre programmes and rare gifts from well-known directors and puppeteers. Children particularly enjoy looking at characters from different eras and countries, comparing how they are made and learning how puppet theatre techniques have changed.

The museum occupies the third floor of the Kharkiv Puppet Theatre at 24 Konstytutsii Square. Allow 45 minutes to an hour and a half. You can visit before a performance or separately by arrangement with the theatre.

Mykola Barabashov Museum of Astronomy

The museum is devoted to the history of astronomy and space exploration. It holds old telescopes, geodetic and astronomical instruments, archival documents and other exhibits telling how astronomical science developed in Kharkiv.

The museum is located in the pavilion that houses the 1886 Repsold meridian circle, one of the most valuable astronomical instruments of its time. A visit can be combined with a planetarium show.

The museum is at 4 Svobody Square, on the grounds of the Institute of Astronomy of Karazin University. Allow about an hour for a tour, and up to two hours with the planetarium programme. Visits must be booked in advance.

Museum of Ceramic Tiles and Plumbing

An unusual museum devoted to the history of ceramics, tiles and plumbing, opened in 2003. Its collection numbers more than a thousand items, many of which were saved during the reconstruction of old Kharkiv buildings.

Here you will find antique ceramic tiles, decorative friezes, stamped bricks, faience, 19th–20th-century plumbing and two authentic tiled stoves. Of particular value are products of Baron Bergenheim's company and ceramics based on designs by Vasyl Krychevskyi.

The museum is at 257a Heroiv Kharkova Avenue. Allow about an hour. Admission is free.

Museum of Advertising

The first and only museum in Ukraine devoted to the history of advertising, from the second half of the 19th century to the present. It opened in 2007 at the advertising group “Kharkiv na doloniakh”, and specialists from the Kharkiv Historical Museum helped shape the display.

Thirteen themed displays present old advertising posters, trademarks, packaging, sweet wrappers, labels, advertising directories, documents and materials on outdoor, political and social advertising. The museum shows how ways of promoting goods and services changed and how advertising influenced everyday life in different historical periods.

A large part of the collection is now available online. Offline visits and tours must be arranged with the administration in advance. Allow about an hour.

Museums of Kharkiv: tips before you visit

If you plan to spend a whole day in Kharkiv, combine several nearby museums into one route. For example, the Karazin University museums are easy to combine with a walk in Shevchenko Garden and the city centre.

Before your visit, be sure to check the current opening hours, as because of the security situation some institutions receive visitors only by appointment or work on a changed schedule.

Save this selection so you don't lose ideas for your next trip to Kharkiv. You will find more interesting museums from all over the country in the “Museums of Ukraine” section, which brings together a large list of places for cultural trips.