Freedom Square, Kharkiv
Encyclopedia
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
is the 6-th largest city-centre square in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Originally named (1926–1996) Dzerzhinsky Square after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Bolshevik secret police (the Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
, precursor to the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
), it was renamed after Ukraine became independent in 1991.
A monumental statue of Lenin was erected in 1964 and continues to dominate the square.
The main part of the square is limited to the west by the statue of Lenin, to the east by Sumska street, to the north by the hotel Kharkiv and to the south by Shevchenko park. It is approximately 690–750 meters long and 96–125 meters wide. The complete square is approximately 11.6 ha or 11.9 ha. An interesting landmark of the square is the Derzhprom building, one of the prime examples of Constructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture was a form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions, the movement produced...
.
Queen + Paul Rodgers
Queen + Paul Rodgers
Queen + Paul Rodgers was a supergroup collaboration between Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen and Paul Rodgers...
kicked off their Rock the Cosmos Tour
Rock the Cosmos Tour
The Rock The Cosmos Tour was the second and last concert tour by Queen + Paul Rodgers, promoting their first and only studio album "The Cosmos Rocks". The opening date was recorded for a DVD release. which was released on 15 June 2009. The tour included one of the largest open air concerts in...
at Freedom Square on September 12, 2008 & gathered 350,000 audience members, the show was recorded for a DVD release, entitled Live in Ukraine
Live in Ukraine
Live in Ukraine is a double live album and also last release by British rock band Queen + Paul Rodgers. It was recorded in September 2008 during the Rock the Cosmos Tour at Freedom Square in Kharkiv, Ukraine and was released on June 15, 2009...
, which was released on June 15, 2009.
