The Siverskyi Donets River

Rivers, like people, are born, grow and gather strength, find their path in life and their protecting banks, have their own character and interests, work and rest, feel care and suffer from pain. Their tributaries, like a person's friends, strive to meet, so as to overcome obstacles together. Sometimes abysses seize them, but after the whirlpools follow little islands of well-being and prosperity. The Siverskyi Donets is the largest river in the east of Ukraine and the seventh largest on the country's territory.

 

The Siverskyi Donets river. Sviatohirsk, Donetsk region.

Water Towers

The water tower was invented in order to hold a reservoir of water up high and to create pressure in the water-supply system. With the growth of towns and the increase in consumers, the main function of this important element of the water supply has been lost. The most interesting examples can be seen at railway stations or in industrial zones. Most of them are not used for their intended purpose, since there is no need to fill steam locomotives with water. The water tower at the junction station of Koziatyn can be considered a masterpiece of hydraulic engineering architecture. Exquisite in its beauty, with lacy brick decoration, the tower was built at the end of the 19th century by the famous architect O. V. Kobeliev.

 

Koziatyn, Vinnytsia region. The water tower at the railway station

The Blue Lakes. An antiviral winter

How to spend a day off when quarantine restrictions are in force and the theatres, museums and cafes are closed? The best choice for a Sunday outing at the height of the rampage of disease-causing bacteria always remains the forest. Trips to out-of-town green zones and landscape parks are not outlawed yet. Let us make an excursion into the pine forest in the area of the Blue Lakes of the Lyman district of Donetsk region.

 

Synelnykove. A junction station and a town of railwaymen

The town of Synelnykove came into being thanks to the appearance of the railway station, which bears the same name, taken from the name of the landowner General Synelnykov. The junction station of Synelnykove, ceremonially opened on 15 November 1873 during the construction of the Lozova-Sevastopol line, played an important role in the circulatory system of the southern region of tsarist Russia.

 

Synelnykove-I railway station

Kramatorsk. What Draws Tourists to an Industrial Centre?

Why do trips to not very popular tourist places attract travellers more and more? In little-known corners there are as yet no artificially created spectacular attractions, no distracting stage sets to tangle the tourist in their nets. In Kramatorsk, connoisseurs of architecture will find much of interest in the town's cultural heritage of the interwar period and in the post-war "Stalin-era" blocks, and will see some historical monuments that appeared with the industrial rise of this administrative centre of Donetsk region.

 

Kramatorsk. Donetsk region

New Year Decorations. A Symbol of Dreams and Wishes

It is impossible to imagine the coming of the New Year without tree decorations and bright toys that stand for dreams and wishes. Modern technologies allow New Year ornaments to be made from all sorts of materials on every possible theme.

New Year Cards. A Fairy Tale and the Wait for a Miracle

The New Year and Christmas are the most beloved holidays of kindness and of dreams coming true. Looking at old New Year cards from the family relics, you recall the atmosphere of winter days and the expectation of a miracle on the eve of the holy evening, the family celebration, the merry holidays and the parties with carnival costumes and presents.

 

Serhiivka. The Holy Sergius Convent and Its History

The Holy Sergius Convent is situated in the village of Serhiivka of the Sloviansk district, 10 kilometres from Kramatorsk.

Serhiivka, Donetsk region. The Holy Sergius Convent

Dachne. How Do You Live in a Village Where All Is Closed?

"My dear and guiltless land!

For what does the Lord punish you,

Punish you so hard?"

T. H. Shevchenko. Hosea. Ch. XIV.

Travelling around the corners of our country, meeting people, getting to know the history and the notable sights of towns and villages, you always see something moving that surprises and astonishes you. The Ukrainian people are famed for their industriousness and hospitality, for their rich traditions and centuries-old history. The nature of Ukraine has been sung by writers and painters. But most of our villages frighten you with their empty streets and abandoned houses. The infrastructure in the small settlements has been destroyed, there are no pharmacy points and no shops, the schools and kindergartens are closed. How unlike Ukrainian villages are to the European hamlets with their chalet-style villas.

The village of Dachne of the Mezhova district of Dnipropetrovsk region lies on the bank of the Vovcha river.

 

M. D. Leontovych and Pokrovsk. The Shchedryk Composer

Pokrovsk positions itself as the town in which the world-famous composer Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych lived and worked. By the entrance tothe Yuvileinyi park, in 2018, the second monument in Ukraine to the brilliant conductor, musician and teacher was unveiled.

Pokrovsk. Donetsk region. The monument to M. D. Leontovych