Loieva. The Landmarks of a Carpathian Village

Loieva is a village in the Nadvirna district of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, 5 kilometres from the district centre and 45 from the regional one. The village stretches out at the foot of Mounts Tatarka, Lysiania and Strahora. According to the tales, the god Perun rode his chariots across these Carpathian peaks, and on the twin-peaked Strahora there was a cult centre and a sanctuary of the ancient Slavs. An observation tower lets you take in the surroundings and the neighbouring mountain ranges. In Loieva you can enjoy not only the living nature of the Carpathians but also the village's other notable landmarks.

Malynivka. Folk Architecture and Green Corners

In Ukraine there are dozens of settlements named Malynivka. In almost every region there is a toponym formed from the name of the bright and fragrant berry. In the Donetsk region, judging by the articles on Wikipedia, there are no fewer than four Malynivkas, and one of them is located in the east of the Pokrovsk district.

Malynivka, Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Villages of the Synelnykove Area

In the morning, on the way to the suburban train, there was a good omen, one that foretells luck. A rainbow band began from the dark clouds, curling into an arc, then became double and astonished me with its illusion of light for several minutes.

 

Closed Schools. Abandoned Temples of Learning

For thousands of school leavers, after a many-year marathon of dictations and tests, the last bell has sounded as a leitmotif. Saying goodbye to their school and their teachers, yesterday's pupils have stepped, with dreams and hopes, onto the new starting stage of adult life. However each person's path in life turns out, through all the rises and falls, achievements and failures, we are all bound by an unbreakable invisible thread to our school, our teachers, our friends. The wise word of a teacher is always with us, and their blessing before the long road. At different moments in life we return in our thoughts for an instant to our own school, climb the school porch and enter the classroom where there was so much that was important and essential. Reunions of classmates and teachers are often held within the walls of the alma mater, and a wonderful immersion into the times of happy childhood and youth takes place. 

Not all former pupils have anywhere to come back to, because their schools are not only closed but destroyed by mismanagement and indifference.

 

Mykolaivka, Donetsk region. An abandoned school

Hryshyne. The Oldest Church in an Old Pokrovsk Village

The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God in the village of Hryshyne was built in 1804 and is the oldest church in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk region.

 

Hryshyne, Donetsk region. The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God

Zaporizke, Slavne, Ukrainka. A Photo-Journey in Mezhova

I shall begin my journey through the villages of Mezhova district from a road sign on the boundary of the district centre of Dnipropetrovsk region.

 

A road sign on the T-04-28 road in Mezhova district

Udachne. A Settlement and Its Railway Station

Sociologists have calculated that one village disappears in Ukraine every week. There is no work, the young leave, the birth rate falls, and investors are in no hurry to put money into developing dying settlements. The urban-type settlement of Udachne lies in the west of the Donetsk region, in the Pokrovsk district, on the border with the Mezhova district of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Like thousands of other small Ukrainian settlements, Udachne has come to a halt in its development, is degrading rapidly and is losing its people.

The settlement of Udachne. Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region

Dibrivka. The Stud Farm. Interesting Tours and Encounters

Seeing a live horse these days is difficult, but possible. Despite the fact that cars have driven horse-drawn transport off the city streets and agricultural labour has been mechanised, horses remain among the most faithful companions of humankind over six millennia and give people strength and inspiration. The beauty and endurance of these animals — which served humanity on the battlefield and at the plough, carried people over long distances and won tournaments — were valued in ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, where equestrian statues were erected in their honour. A touching and very fine sculptural depiction of a horse and a foal has been installed in the village of Dibrivka, Myrhorod district, on the grounds of the stud farm.

Dibrivka, Myrhorod district, Poltava region. The stud farm