Novoekonomichne. A Short History of a Settlement

The Donetsk region — a conglomeration of industrial cities that grew out of small settlements founded in the 17th-18th centuries. How did they come into being, what has survived, and what is life like now in one such settlement — Novoekonomichne in the Pokrovsk district?

Novoekonomichne (Karakove). Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region.

Halych. A Modern Ancient Princely Town

Halych is one of the oldest cities in Ukraine and in Eastern Europe, its history reckoned from the year 898. In the 12th century the Galician-Volhynian princes chose Halych as their capital and turned it into a mighty political and spiritual centre. Let us see how modern-day ancient Halych is laid out and what landmarks make this district centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk region so rich.

Halych. Ivano-Frankivsk region. Nativity Square

Syniak. A Balneological and Ski Resort of Zakarpattia

As far back as the 16th century the messengers of Ivan the Terrible, crossing the mountain ridges and the hard-to-reach passes of the Sarmatian Mountains, reported to the tsar that the water in these parts was: "sour as cabbage soup, and there are wells in which you could boil an egg, and there are little streams in which, once you wash, you could turn into a bird". The healing properties of the Carpathian springs helped resorts to develop in this picturesque and ecologically clean locality. High on a mountain meadow, amid untouched forests, lies the small village of Syniak.

Novostriltsivka. The Stud Farm and Its High Standard

The stud farms of Ukraine were set up under the tsars; many have a two-hundred-year history, and some have passed the 250 mark. The Striletskyi stud farm in the Luhansk region was founded in 1798. Farming needed hardy draught horses, the army — riding horses, and prestige and amusement — trotters.

Zhovkva. A Walk with History

To immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of the Renaissance and see the historic centre of an ideal town of the early 17th century — welcome to Zhovkva, an old town of Prykarpattia.

Zhovkva. Viche Square. The Town Hall. The fountain

Kramatorsk. The Noble Nest of the Korshuns

Neglected and ruined estates, forgotten names and the tragic fates of their owners. Ruined family houses in which people grew up and lived who served their Motherland and their people faithfully and truly. On the northern edge of Kramatorsk, in oblivion and desolation, amid the thickets of an abandoned park, the mansion of a noble family gleams white and forlorn — the house in which the eminent microbiologist, the talented scholar Stepan Vasylovych Korshun, lived and worked.

Kramatorsk. Donetsk region. The Korshun house. Late 19th c.

Hodoriv. From Station to Station in 2 Hours

There are towns you get to know while passing through them in transit. Hodoriv is a railway junction that you can reach by suburban and long-distance trains from Lviv, Stryi, Zhydachiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Halych. To sit at the station for two hours waiting for the suburban train — no, that is not for me. A two-hour blitz-hike along the town's main streets proved instructive and successful, despite the rainy weather.

Hodoriv. The railway station

Novhorodske. A New York in the Donetsk Region

In 2016 a bill was registered on the Verkhovna Rada's website to rename the settlement of Novhorodske in the Donetsk region as New York. This was the name the former German colony bore until 1951. What of note has survived in this workers' settlement, founded by Mennonites in the 19th century, who gave it its overseas name?

Novhorodske. Donetsk region.

Halych. An Early-Mediaeval Castle in a Modern Reworking

The 14th-century Halych Castle — a mighty stronghold at the centre of the early-mediaeval Galician-Volhynian Principality, an architectural monument of national significance.

Halych. Castle Hill. The Starostyn Castle, 14th c.

Bakhmut. The World of Sparkling Wines

A New Year's table is hard to imagine without a bottle of sparkling wine, which creates a wonderful sense of celebration. With a glass of champagne we make a wish. How is it born, in what conditions is it made, and do we know how to drink the magical beverage? About this and much else you can learn by visiting the sparkling-wine factory in Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region.

Bakhmut, the sparkling-wine factory. Dionysus with the maenads in the tasting hall