Novooleksiivka. The Terminus

Novooleksiivka is an urban-type settlement in the Henichesk district of Kherson region.

Novooleksiivka. Henichesk district. Kherson region

The railway station of the same name appeared in 1874, when the Lozova — Simferopol railway branch was being laid.

The settlement beside the station was founded at the end of the 19th century.

Rail service with the Crimean Peninsula ceased on 27 December 2014. The station is now the terminus for trains heading from Kyiv, Minsk, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Kovel.

In 2017, according to the Ukrzaliznytsia timetable, 18 trains stop here.

Novooleksiivka railway station

The suburban train Novooleksiivka — Henichesk whisks you to the district centre, 13 kilometres in 13 minutes. In summer the passenger flow swells with the influx of holidaymakers to the beaches of Henichesk and the Arabat Spit.

To the delight of the local people, the early strawberries and cherries are in high demand at the markets, and at the fish stalls the fish never sits around for long.

The station is small, but two water towers have survived, which once served to supply water to the steam locomotives, the depot and the settlement.

Novooleksiivka. Water tower

Before the 1917 revolution there was drinking water in only one well in the station yard, and residents would come here from all around and line up in a queue.

From September 1941 to October 1943 Novooleksiivka was under Nazi German occupation.

Novooleksiivka. War memorial

In the battles for the liberation of the settlement, 76 soldiers were killed.

Novooleksiivka. War memorial

In their memory and in honour of 576 fellow countrymen who took part in the Second World War, a war memorial has been erected.

In the nursery I found no great abundance of flowers and shrubs.

Novooleksiivka. Plant nursery

And yet the land here is fertile: stick a stake in the ground and it will burst into bloom.

Novooleksiivka. Plant nursery

The mosque was built in 2001 by the Muslim community.

Novooleksiivka. Mosque

On that day the Crimean Tatars were marking the day of remembrance for the victims of the genocide of their people, and a rally was being held by the house of culture.

Novooleksiivka. A rally on the day of remembrance for the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people

In 1944 they were deported from their native land.

Novooleksiivka. A rally on the day of remembrance for the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people

In Novooleksiivka the Crimean Tatar language has been a regional language since 2013.

Novooleksiivka. Mosque

What I managed to learn and see in the half hour before the train's departure, I now share with you.