One of Kharkiv’s most characterful streets — a short walk from our hostels.
So what makes Poltavskyi Shliakh special?
Contents
- Name
- Water
- Triumphal arch
- Not a street — a prospect
- Time for stone houses
- Trams for nearly 100 years
- A city rarity
Name
Over time the street had many names: Poltavska, Kyivska, Novorossiyskaya, Katerynoslavska and Sverdlova. The current name is already the sixth.
Water
A lake from the Lopan chain once lay along the street, so constant damp kept it very muddy.
Triumphal arch
At the Malynovsky intersection stood a triumphal arch for Catherine II’s visit, plus a customs post that from 1804 searched arrivals under the wine tax system.
Not a street — a prospect
Katerynoslavska was called a prospect because Governor S. A. Kokoshkin ordered all uneven ground leveled toward Chervonoarmiiska Street, creating a straight line still visible from University Hill.
Time for stone houses
City authorities pushed wooden and clay houses beyond the limits. By the late 18th century poorer residents were moved to Kholodna Hora, their homes demolished, the lake drained, and stone houses replaced the clay cottages.
Trams for nearly 100 years
Trams have run here since 1917. By the 1850s the stretch from Lopan Bridge to Malynovsky was paved — city elites from the governor to landowners kept houses there.
A city rarity
During the war the stretch from Lopan to Malynovsky barely suffered and still holds mid-19th to early-20th-century buildings. It is a short walk from our hostels — come visit!
