Soborna Street in Mykolaiv: nearly 200 years of history of the longest pedestrian street in Ukraine
The street changed its name, had a horse-drawn railway and a tram, and became fully pedestrianized after 1954
Soborna — one of the most famous streets of Mykolaiv, which today attracts residents and guests with walks and city events. At the same time, over almost 200 years its name, role and manner of use have changed repeatedly. The history of the street was presented by the Administration of the Central District as part of the column «Secrets of the Central District».
Today Soborna has a length of about 1.5 kilometers and is considered the longest pedestrian street in Ukraine. Its transformation into a space without motor and horse-drawn traffic took place after a decision of the city authorities adopted in 1954. Then the tram tracks were removed from Soborna and moved to Potemkinska — today’s Marka Kropyvnytskyi Street. By the end of that same year the movement of carts and horses was also banned here, after which the street effectively became fully pedestrian.
Before that Soborna had a rich transport history. At the end of the XIX century horse railway routes ran along it, and in 1914 a tram began to run. At the corner of Soborna and then-Khersonska Street a tram substation was built. The building has survived to this day and now has the status of an architectural monument.
Already at the end of the XIX century the street had turned into the main thoroughfare of Mykolaiv and a center of the city’s trade. Shops, hotels, restaurants and printing houses operated along it, and there were also houses of civic and noble assemblies.
The first name for the street was proposed in 1822. They wanted to name it Yelysavetgradskaya, but that option was never approved. Thirteen years later, in 1835, the police chief Hryhoriy Avtonomov proposed to name it Soborna. This name was associated with the fact that the beginning of the street was located near the Admiralty Cathedral of Saint Gregory the Great of Armenia. It was finally approved by Admiral Mykhailo Lazarev.
In subsequent years the name changed several more times. In 1915 the street was renamed Oleksandrivska, but after the February Revolution its historical name was returned. In the 1920s it became Soviet and retained that name throughout the Soviet period. Later the street’s name was again returned to Soborna.
Today Soborna remains one of the symbols of Mykolaiv, combining the city’s historical heritage with modern urban life.
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