From the author

I'm Serge Vasil. I grew up in Kharkiv and have followed the city's history since childhood — the pre-war Kharkiv I first encountered through archival photographs, historical maps, and old postcards. I began collecting these materials long before I understood what I would eventually do with them.

Over the years the research deepened. I corresponded with historians, museum staff, and Kharkivites carrying stories that had never been recorded. A picture came into focus — of an early-twentieth-century Kharkiv that had been the cultural capital of eastern Ukraine, and of how systematically it had been dismantled: first by Soviet planners, then by war, and now, daily, by Russian missiles.

I set out to preserve that Kharkiv — at least in pixels. For each significant building on University Hill I assembled the archival material — photographs, historical maps, survey drawings, postcards — and turned it into a visual brief. On that foundation I commissioned a Kharkiv-based architect, Georgy, who over many months modelled every building from the prepared references and returned it to its original location. This is a project I've thought about for years. Thank you for being here.

The site is intended as the beginning of a conversation with the community and the wider world — not a definitive record. Some details will be imprecise; some elements are still unfinished; mistakes are inevitable. Read it with a measure of understanding, and reach out if you can help make it more accurate. The work continues.