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Guide · Then and now

Sumy then and now

Drag the slider on each photo left or right. The angles don't always match exactly, because old photographers stood wherever it was convenient then, but the place is the same.

Trinity Cathedral — Now — The cathedral has just been built with Pavlo Kharytonenko's money, a smaller copy of St Isaac's in St Petersburg. Its interior was designed by Oleksii Shchusev, with paintings by Mikhail Nesterov and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Андрій Мозговий, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Trinity Cathedral — Then — The cathedral has just been built with Pavlo Kharytonenko's money, a smaller copy of St Isaac's in St Petersburg. Its interior was designed by Oleksii Shchusev, with paintings by Mikhail Nesterov and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Андрій Мозговий, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Altanka on Pokrovska Square — Now — The carved gazebo was put up over an artesian well in 1900–1905. It is said to be the only wooden structure in Sumy to survive the Second World War, and it is now the city's unofficial symbol.Then: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Now: Андрій Мозговий, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Altanka on Pokrovska Square — Then — The carved gazebo was put up over an artesian well in 1900–1905. It is said to be the only wooden structure in Sumy to survive the Second World War, and it is now the city's unofficial symbol.Then: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Now: Андрій Мозговий, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The House with Caryatids — Now — The uyezd zemstvo board building at 2 Herasyma Kondratieva St went up in 1885–1886, with a corner balcony held by atlantes and caryatids. It now houses the regional museum of local history.Then: Марина Бойко, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Now: Yur4ik, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The House with Caryatids — Then — The uyezd zemstvo board building at 2 Herasyma Kondratieva St went up in 1885–1886, with a corner balcony held by atlantes and caryatids. It now houses the regional museum of local history.Then: Марина Бойко, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Now: Yur4ik, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Alexander Gymnasium — Now — The boys' gymnasium opened on Troitska St in 1873, built on the old district school, with a teaching block, boarding house and annexe. The building at 3–5 Troitska St still stands.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Olga Loboda 0806, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Alexander Gymnasium — Then — The boys' gymnasium opened on Troitska St in 1873, built on the old district school, with a teaching block, boarding house and annexe. The building at 3–5 Troitska St still stands.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Olga Loboda 0806, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The fortress hill — Now — The 1768 plan shows an oak fortress with towers between the Psel, Sumka and Strilka rivers. Not a log survives, but the streets of the historic centre still follow the old ramparts.Then: Алексей Докудин, Public domain · Now: Андрій Мозговий, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The fortress hill — Then — The 1768 plan shows an oak fortress with towers between the Psel, Sumka and Strilka rivers. Not a log survives, but the streets of the historic centre still follow the old ramparts.Then: Алексей Докудин, Public domain · Now: Андрій Мозговий, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Kharytonenko orphanage — Now — The N. M. Kharytonenko orphanage on a postcard of about 1910 and the same building today, with the same stepped gable.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: О. Погодін, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Kharytonenko orphanage — Then — The N. M. Kharytonenko orphanage on a postcard of about 1910 and the same building today, with the same stepped gable.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: О. Погодін, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

St Zinaida Hospital — Now — Pavlo Kharytonenko opened the hospital on Troitska St in 1896 and named it after his daughter Zinaida. It has been a children's hospital since 1926, and its neo-Gothic tower is still recognisable more than a century on.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: О. Гайденко, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

St Zinaida Hospital — Then — Pavlo Kharytonenko opened the hospital on Troitska St in 1896 and named it after his daughter Zinaida. It has been a children's hospital since 1926, and its neo-Gothic tower is still recognisable more than a century on.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: О. Гайденко, CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

St Peter and Paul Church — Now — The 1851 cemetery church. Beside it is the Kharytonenko family necropolis with Antonin Croisy's 'Two Angels'.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Olga Loboda 0806, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

St Peter and Paul Church — Then — The 1851 cemetery church. Beside it is the Kharytonenko family necropolis with Antonin Croisy's 'Two Angels'.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Olga Loboda 0806, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Pavlivka sugar works — Now — Then: chimneys and sidings up to the shops of the region's biggest refinery. Now: ruins, after it closed in 2008.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Віктор Полянко, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Pavlivka sugar works — Then — Then: chimneys and sidings up to the shops of the region's biggest refinery. Now: ruins, after it closed in 2008.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Віктор Полянко, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The railway station — Now — A wooden platform with lamps on a postcard of about 1910, and the 1982 building after renovation. After the Second World War the station was rebuilt in 1948, and the new building went up in 1982.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Користувач:IgorTurzh, Attribution (вільна) · Wikimedia Commons

The railway station — Then — A wooden platform with lamps on a postcard of about 1910, and the 1982 building after renovation. After the Second World War the station was rebuilt in 1948, and the new building went up in 1982.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Користувач:IgorTurzh, Attribution (вільна) · Wikimedia Commons

The Resurrection Church — Now — The city's oldest building, consecrated in 1702, in the 1980s and today, when it is a cathedral.Then: Star61, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Now: Olga Loboda 0806, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Resurrection Church — Then — The city's oldest building, consecrated in 1702, in the 1980s and today, when it is a cathedral.Then: Star61, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Now: Olga Loboda 0806, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The girls' gymnasium at 39 Soborna St — Now — The former girls' gymnasium in the 1980s and in 2020: the same facade, with new paint, signs and trees.Then: Star61, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Now: Tanya210104, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The girls' gymnasium at 39 Soborna St — Then — The former girls' gymnasium in the 1980s and in 2020: the same facade, with new paint, signs and trees.Then: Star61, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Now: Tanya210104, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The centre over the rooftops — Now — 1897: only church domes rise above the low roofs of a district town. 2016: the same cathedrals, now ringed by apartment blocks.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Максим Бондаревский, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The centre over the rooftops — Then — 1897: only church domes rise above the low roofs of a district town. 2016: the same cathedrals, now ringed by apartment blocks.Then: автор невідомий, Public domain · Now: Максим Бондаревский, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Plan and result: the Trinity Cathedral — Now — The 1901 drawing and the cathedral the city saw in 1914. Compare the domes and porticoes: the design was built almost unchanged.Then: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Now: Андрій Мозговий, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Plan and result: the Trinity Cathedral — Then — The 1901 drawing and the cathedral the city saw in 1914. Compare the domes and porticoes: the design was built almost unchanged.Then: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Now: Андрій Мозговий, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Archive: old Sumy

Sumy in 1897: church domes over the roofs of a district town in the middle of its sugar boom. — Sumy in 1897: church domes over the roofs of a district town in the middle of its sugar boom.Photo: автор невідомий, Public domain

Sumy station on a postcard of about 1910 — Sumy station on a postcard of about 1910. The railway arrived in 1877–78 and carried Kharytonenko sugar across the empire.Photo: автор невідомий, Public domain

The Pavlivka sugar works on a 1900s postcard: chimneys, warehouses and a siding right up to the shops. — The Pavlivka sugar works on a 1900s postcard: chimneys, warehouses and a siding right up to the shops.Photo: автор невідомий, Public domain

The design for the Trinity Cathedral, 1901 — The design for the Trinity Cathedral, 1901. It took thirteen years to build, until 1914.Photo: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Trinity Cathedral in a rare early 20th-century photo, with cabs waiting on the square. — The Trinity Cathedral in a rare early 20th-century photo, with cabs waiting on the square.Photo: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0

The zemstvo building on an early 20th-century colour postcard — The zemstvo building on an early 20th-century colour postcard. It now houses the regional museum.Photo: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0

Zemstvo draughtsman Matvii Shchavelov, who designed the Altanka, on the porch of the Scholz house, early 20th century. — Zemstvo draughtsman Matvii Shchavelov, who designed the Altanka, on the porch of the Scholz house, early 20th century.Photo: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0

Architect Gustav Scholz, who completed the Trinity Cathedral, with his wife Vitalia and relatives, about 1910. — Architect Gustav Scholz, who completed the Trinity Cathedral, with his wife Vitalia and relatives, about 1910.Photo: Alexkrakovsky (архів), CC BY-SA 3.0

The Scholz house on Troitska St after repairs, 1932 — The Scholz house on Troitska St after repairs, 1932. The caption reminds us the street had already been renamed.Photo: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0

An aerial photo of 1918 showing Pokrovska and Psilska streets and the Psel floodplain, one of the oldest views of the city from the air. — An aerial photo of 1918 showing Pokrovska and Psilska streets and the Psel floodplain, one of the oldest views of the city from the air.Photo: Alexkrakovsky, CC BY-SA 3.0

1924: a cycling team from Druzhkivka lines up in Sumy. — 1924: a cycling team from Druzhkivka lines up in Sumy.Photo: автор невідомий, Public domain

Sumy in a US Geological Survey image of 14 April 1979, showing the city spreading onto the left bank of the Psel. — Sumy in a US Geological Survey image of 14 April 1979, showing the city spreading onto the left bank of the Psel.Photo: U.S. Geological Survey, Public domain

A zemstvo school in Sumy, photographed before 1918, one of dozens the district zemstvo opened with the region's sugar money. — A zemstvo school in Sumy, photographed before 1918, one of dozens the district zemstvo opened with the region's sugar money.Photo: автор невідомий, Public domain

The building on Pryvokzalna St that housed the library and first lecture rooms of Sumy State University in the 1990s. — The building on Pryvokzalna St that housed the library and first lecture rooms of Sumy State University in the 1990s.Photo: Kiselova22, CC BY-SA 4.0

The SumDU library in the 1990s. — The SumDU library in the 1990s.Photo: Kiselova22, CC BY-SA 4.0

2 September 1943, the day Sumy was liberated — 2 September 1943, the day Sumy was liberated. Residents and soldiers of a railway battalion rebuild the track wrecked by the retreating occupiers. The city still marks this day as its Liberation Day at the Eternal Glory memorial.Photo: Сурен Кафаф'ян, Public domain

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Have an old photo of Sumy?

We add pairs when we find an old photo under a free licence and can match the same spot today. We are especially short of the station, Soborna and Petropavlivska before the 1940s.