Wednesday, 30 September 2020

Pokrovsk. The Yuvileinyi Park. Metamorphoses of a Favourite Place of Rest

The Yuvileinyi Park in Pokrovsk is one of the largest parks in Donetsk region. Its territory covers 26.8 hectares.
 
Pokrovsk. The Yuvileinyi Park

This green expanse was laid out on the southern outskirts of the town, on the banks of the ponds in the Sazonov gully.
 
The Nulivka pond

The park was given a resonant but trivial name, like hundreds of its counterparts across the country, probably tied to the anniversary of the Great October. Every town resident was a guest of this green friend, and the park brought joyful occasions and a wonderful mood. This park of culture and leisure was a place for meetings and strolls, and festive events were held in it. But the crisis-ridden 1990s could not fail to affect the state of the town's green attire, and the following 2000s made the situation worse. The park stood neglected, cluttered with fallen branches and leaves, and turned into a rubbish dump. The rides lost their popularity, and the structures became dangerous to use. The people of Pokrovsk repeatedly complained about the neglect of the Yuvileinyi and appealed to the local authorities with proposals for its improvement. A reconstruction project for the park was drawn up, and funds and machinery were allocated.
 
Reconstruction of the park. 2018.

The refurbishment of the recreation zone lasted 3 years, and after its resurrection the townsfolk saw a modern, beautiful park.
 
Reconstruction of the park's central avenue. 2018.

An avenue on the bank of the pond

Instead of the old trees, the landscapers planted around 10 thousand birches, maples, spruces, pines, thujas, and lindens.
 
An avenue in the Yuvileinyi Park

The widened avenues, framed with rose bushes, are fitted with benches and lamps.

A monument to the victims of the Chornobyl NPP disaster

An avenue on the bank of the pond

The flower beds have turned into bright living pictures.
 
The central avenue in the park

The park administration still has much work to do, and the technical services are housed in a building resembling a watchtower.
 
The park administration

A fountain has appeared, its jets adding a note of positivity.
 
Pokrovsk. A fountain in the park

The stage has been moved to the centre of the park, and a square for mass events has been created.
 
The coat of arms of Pokrovsk in the park beside the stage

The stage in the park

The white gazebo is now located on the bank of the pond and fitted with a ramp.

Pokrovsk. The lovers' gazebo

Lovers of walking and Nordic walking do not bypass the ecological trails.
 
Nordic walking is gaining popularity

An eco-trail

The sports grounds have been modernised and improved. New children's play complexes and rides have been installed.

A play complex

The children's ride 'Railway'

During the defence of the town in 1941, an anti-tank ditch was dug on its outskirts. On the site of this defensive structure a memorial sign now stands.

A memorial sign beside the anti-tank ditch

The concrete pedestal abandoned by a monument-aircraft has undergone a metamorphosis, turning into the summit of a cliff with a deer.
 
The pedestal before the reconstruction

A sculpture of a deer on the renewed pedestal

The sculptor Zhanna Kadyrova made the statue in the origami technique.
 
A sculpture of a deer. Author — Zhanna Kadyrova

Zhanna is the author of another cultural object — the sculpture 'Notebook'. On the pages of the diary one can read the notes of an owner who lost his notebook. The Notebook serves as a bench and a bicycle parking stand.

The sculpture 'Notebook'. Author — Zhanna Kadyrova

A layout plan will help you make sense of where the objects are located.
 
A layout plan of the Yuvileinyi Park

The look of the central entrance has changed.
 
The reconstruction continues. 2018.

The central entrance to the park

An arch in the park

At the entrance, visitors are met by Mykola Leontovych, who worked as a music teacher at Hryshyne station in 1904-1909.
 
A monument to M. D. Leontovych

The full-length sculptural depiction of the composer is complemented by a model of the railway station and of the school where workers were trained to serve the station and where Leontovych taught choral singing to the railwaymen.
 
A model of Hryshyne railway station

The notes of 'Shchedryk' crown the sculptural composition, alongside a depiction of the coal giants — the Krasnolymanska and Sviato-Pokrovska mines.
 
A monument to M. D. Leontovych. The musical composition 'Shchedryk'

To Mykola Dmytrovych's most famous creation it is planned to dedicate a museum of the same name, as a memorial sign has attested since 2018.
 
A memorial sign about the creation of the 'Shchedryk' museum

The assertion that this Ukrainian musical brand was born in Pokrovsk is disputable. The place where the famous shchedrivka was created is unknown even to music historians, since the first edition of the New Year song dates to 1901-1902, and there were five in all. In the Iziaslav area, in the village of Pidlistsi, where Leontovych's wife was born, they believe that it was there that the celebrated Christmas tune was born, and moreover that it resembles the song of their ancestors.

The proposal to rename the park in honour of Leontovych did not win wide support; the townsfolk are content with the name Yuvileinyi. The people of Pokrovsk are glad of the positive changes in the renewed park and consider it their favourite place of rest.
 
Pokrovsk. The Yuvileinyi Park

Coordinates: 48°16’0"N 37°10’21"E

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