Attractions of Druzhkivka

The Druzhkivka History and Art Museum was created in 1984 as a branch of the Donetsk Art Museum.

The basis of his collection was the art collection of the Druzhkivka Tretyakivska Gallery, which operated since 1951 at the Fine Arts Studio of the House of Culture of the Machine-Building Plant in Druzhkivka.

Now the Druzhkivka History and Art Museum is located on the second floor of the Lesya Ukrayinka Central City Library. A special place in the exposition is occupied by artistic works of masters of the Druzhkivka porcelain factory.

The historical and local history exhibition presents fragments of Druzhkivka petrified trees, objects of an ethnographic nature, objects of urban life of the XIX-XX centuries.

Separate expositions highlight the events of the Holodomor, the Second World War, the Russian-Ukrainian war, etc.

The Saint Nicholas Church was built in Druzhkivka in 1900 by the French-Belgian Joint Stock Company, which was the owner of the Druzhkivka Machine-Building Plant. The construction of the church was one of the conditions on which the tsarist government granted foreigners land for use.

The church was designed and built by French specialists. White silicate bricks for the temple were made in France, and the interior was decorated with local red bricks. The temple is built in the shape of a cross. The author of the project of the Saint Nicholas Church is unknown.

During the Soviet rule, the church was closed and converted into a club and cinema, the priest was arrested and shot.

During the Second World War, a shell hit the building of the Saint Nicholas Church, as a result of which a breach was formed in the western wall of the church. During the occupation of the city by German-fascist troops, services were resumed in the church building and renewed cross on the dome. Paintings and the iconostasis were redone, the hole in the wall was closed with a board shield. In 1962, the temple was closed again and a cinema was placed in its building. In 1984, the city art museum was opened in the church building.

In 1988, the temple was returned to the religious community. In 1993, the Saint Nicholas Church became a Cathedral. Active revival of the temple took place in the 2000s.

The Druzhkivka park of stone sculptures "Svyatohir" was created in Druzhkivka on the initiative of the famous athlete Yuriy Artemov, the director of the "Svyatohir" sports and environmental public organization, the head of the "Svyatohir" sports club.

About 50 sandstone sculptures depicting fairy-tale heroes and real historical characters have already been collected here. The heroes of the Rus epic are mainly presented. There is the hero Peresvit, Princess Olha, Volodymyr Monomakh and many others. All paths converge to the center - a mound with the figure of Mother Rus.

The authors of the project set a goal to awaken patriotism, love for history and art in the residents and guests of the city.