Wednesday, 10 March 2021

The Princely Town of Sambir. Heritage and Potential

The architectural and historical heritage of Sambir is an inseparable part of the cultural heritage of the Lviv region and of Ukraine as a whole. In Sambir 72 monuments of cultural heritage are on the state register, of them 7 monuments of national significance: 56 architectural monuments, 10 historical monuments and 6 monuments of monumental art.

Sambir, Lviv region. The Market Square
Sambir, Lviv region. The Market Square

Sunday, 7 March 2021

The 8th of March. Sweets and Flowers, or a Fight for Rights

The 8th of March is one of the few pre-revolutionary holidays that has carried over into modern society, though it has changed somewhat over its more than century-long history. Already in the first days of March a pre-holiday fever begins, with ceremonial gatherings at enterprises, corporate parties in companies and festive events in schools.

The 8th of March. The pre-holiday celebrations

Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Ocheretyne. A Junction Station and Its Settlement

The Ocheretyne junction freight-and-passenger station lies at the intersection of the Pokrovsk-Yasynuvata and Ocheretyne-Horlivka lines, in the settlement of the same name in the Yasynuvata district of the Donetsk region.
 
Ocheretyne railway station. Donetsk Railway
Ocheretyne railway station. Donetsk Railway

Wednesday, 24 February 2021

The Prosiana Kaolin Quarry. Winter Scenery

There are places on earth that draw you with a magic force and enchant at any time of year. Hikes to the abandoned Prosiana kaolin quarry in the summer and autumn period left unforgettable impressions. But the artist-winter transforms nature with special magic, and one wants to see its tricks after the noticeable frosts and the snowfalls that have been rare in recent years.


Wednesday, 17 February 2021

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.
The Siverskyi Donets river. Sviatohirsk, Donetsk region.

Wednesday, 3 February 2021

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

Wednesday, 27 January 2021

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.
 
The Blue Lakes, Lyman district. The pine forest in winter

Wednesday, 20 January 2021

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
Synelnykove-I railway station

Wednesday, 13 January 2021

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
Kramatorsk. Donetsk region

Wednesday, 6 January 2021

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.

Modern New Year tree decorations and festive toys