Attractions of Donetsk region

The Polovtsian Steppe Regional Landscape Park was created in 2000 to preserve areas of pristine steppes of the Northern Azov region.

The landscape park is located on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions between the village of Starchenkove and the village of Zakharivka. Territorially, the park covers the backwaters of the middle course of the Berda River and its tributaries (Karatyuk and Temryuk rivers), pristine steppe areas.

This territory is a place of growth of medicinal, rare and listed in the Red Book of Ukraine species of plants, as well as a place of residence of various representatives of the fauna.

Over the centuries, a landscape cut by river valleys was formed with unique vegetation and animal life. The "Polovtsian Steppe" preserved rock-loving and drought-resistant vegetation. Currently, the territory of the park is a typical area of various grass-sedge-sedge steppe with artificial plantations of forest crops.

Reservoirs located on the territory of the park attract fishermen. The ichthyofauna is represented by such species as pike, crucian carp, crucian carp, bream, perch and others.

In 2010, the Polovtsian Steppe Regional Landscape Park became part of the Meotida National Nature Park.

Regional landscape park "Zuyivskyi" is located on an area of 1.2 thousand hectares in the area of the village of Zuivka, surrounded by rocky hills covered with steppe and forests.

The Zuyivskyi regional landscape park includes the Vilkhivske and Khanzhenkivske reservoirs, the Lypove tract, a stream near the village of Vedmezhe, the valley of the Krynka River, Zui-Hill, the valley of the Vilkhova River, outcrops of rock outcrops, and forest massifs of the Makiivka Forestry.

Along the Vilkhova River between the Vilkhivske and Khanzhenkivske reservoirs, there are vertical walls of rocks that are used as a natural climbing wall. A rock ridge with a height of 20 meters and a length of more than 300 meters drowns in the shade of trees, from the cliffs there is a wonderful view of the Donetsk steppe. The Zuivka skeledrome includes about twenty routes, from the simplest to the most difficult.

There is a museum of mollusk shells at the Zuyivskyi landscape park, where about one and a half thousand shells from all over the world are collected.

The "Stone Graves" tract is a small mountainous country among the steppes of the Azov region.

Volcanic rocks about 2 billion years old formed a series of peaks here, which as a result of weathering turned into many expressive natural sculptures.

The rocky island was a cult place of ancient peoples and gave rise to many interesting legends. The ancient name of the area "Beshtash" is translated from the Turkic "five mountains". Today, these peaks are called Panorama, Vityaz, Hostra, Zhaba and Pivdenna. Their height is 200 and a little meters, in the past they rose up to 3 kilometers.

Picturesque landscapes, a combination of steppe and alpine vegetation, historical events of these places inspired many artists and poets.

The Karatysh River – the left tributary of Berda – washes the ridge of rocks on the eastern side. According to Academician Kudryashov's version, during the battle of Kalka, the fortified camp of Prince Mstyslav of Kyiv was located near the Stone Graves (a chapel and a large stone cross were built).

The wooden two-throne Saint Nicholas Church in Bakhmut is one of the oldest churches in Donbas.

It was built in 1797 over the Bakhmutka River on the territory of the Pokrovska sloboda. It is made in the style of Slobojan architectural traditions.

Along in 1861. the stone John the Baptist church-bell tower was built.

In September 2022, during a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russians shelled the Saint Nicholas Church with mortars. Shelling damaged the dome of the bell tower. In the wooden temple itself, the windows were blown out, the facade was cut.

In July 2023, during the temporary Russian occupation, the Saint Nicholas Church burned to the ground.

In the register of miraculous sources of the Russian Empire, the Avdiivka source of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker dates back to 1700.

According to legend, the phenomenon of Nicholas the Wonderworker was observed here many times.

In 1930, the activists of the Union of Atheists covered up this source, but it broke through again. There were several more attempts to destroy it, but the source exists and is still a place of pilgrimage for believers.

The chapel of the Mother of God "Handcuffs of Sinners" was built above the source.

Drive in from the Donetsk - Kostyantynivka highway according to the sign.

The single-seat Saint Peter and Paul Church in the village of Sontsivka was built in 1840 at the expense of the then owner of the estate, the Oryol Governor Petro Sontsov.

In the second half of the 19th century, the mother of the future composer Serhiy Prokofyev was the guardian of the Sunday school that operated at the church. Little Serhiy Prokofyev himself was baptized in this church, and until 1904 he sang in the church choir. Later, being famous, the composer came to his native village to pray at the temple.

Peter and Paul Church was restored in 1991 for the 100th anniversary of Prokofyev's birth. Her silhouette is depicted on the village coat of arms.

The world's only museum of the composer Serhiy Prokofyev was opened in the village of Sontsivka, where he was born in 1891.

The exposition is located in the building of the former village school, where the composer's mother, Mariya Prokofyev, who later took over the patronage of the school, taught.

The composer's personal belongings, his works, and a fragment of his parents' interior are presented in three halls of the museum.

The memorial area, dedicated to the life and work of the composer, also includes a magnificent concert hall for 120 seats, a monument to Serhiy Prokofyev by the sculptor Vasyl Polonyk, the Saint Peter and Paul Church, where little Serhiy was baptized, and a memorial sign on the site of the house- estates of his parents.

The Slovyansk Museum of Local Lore, founded in 1970, is housed in a 19th-century merchant mansion near the city center.

The exposition consists of four main sections: the nature of the region, ancient history (archeology and the founding of the city), the city in the period 1917-1990, modern socio-economic development. The pearl of the historical collection is a bronze aquarius (aquamanil) of the XIII century.

Museum and private collections are shown in two exhibition halls.

In front of the entrance are guns from the Second World War.

The healing spring in the village of the same name is called "Zolotyi Kolodiaz" (Golden Well).

According to legend, the name was given to this settlement by the Russian Tsar Peter I. Returning from a successful Azov campaign in 1696, the Tsar rested in these places, and was offered a cup of healing water from a miraculous well. "Ah, the water is golden!" - uttered Peter I, took out a gold coin from his pocket and threw it into the well, loudly prophesying: "From now on he will be the Zolotyi Kolodiaz!"

Now, a historic log cabin has been restored at the legendary spring, and a four-ton figure of Peter I, sitting on a well log cabin with a bucket in his hands, has been installed nearby (sculptor Yuriy Artemov).

The water in the spring is a mineral treatment-dining room. Its composition includes chlorides, bicarbonates, sulfates, magnesium, sodium and calcium. When significant volumes of the spring were established, a water pump appeared and the "Zolotyi Kolodiaz" mineral water bottling plant was opened.

The sand spit to the east of the village of Bezimenne, as well as the bay of the Sea of Azov located behind it, are called Lukomorye.

According to legend, this braid and oak, which once grew on the seashore, were described by the poet Pushkin in the prologue to "Ruslan and Lyudmyla" ("The oak is green by the sea...") and, perhaps, in "The Tale of Fishing and Gold fish" ("There lived an old man and an old woman, near the bluest sea ..."). Pushkin really passed through these places in 1820 on his way to the Caucasus. According to the memories of his fellow travelers, they stopped in the shade of a huge oak in the village of Bezimenne. Now there are no oaks in these places, but you can find a large tree that fits Pushkin's description.

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.

The People's Museum of the Velyka Novosilka Village History was founded in 1961 and is located on the second floor of the district cultural and recreational complex.

More than 3,300 exhibits are stored in the museum's funds. Five museum rooms present expositions reflecting the ethnography of the residents of Novosilka, pages from the history of the Ukrainian Revolution and World War II, the history of the formation and development of local agriculture, science, and art.

In the museum you can get acquainted with the works of local folk craftsmen.

The Velykoanadolsky Forest State Reserve was established in 1834-1845 by Forestry Corps colonel Viktor Hraff, the founder of steppe forestry.

In the bare and arid steppe, Hraff first created an artificial forest and founded a school of foresters.

During Soviet times, the Velykoanadolsky Forest was declared a natural monument, and a 7-hectare arboretum was created. Mixed stands of common oak, ash, maple, hornbeam, and linden prevail here. There are birch, poplar, Crimean pine, Amur velvet, European larch, common pine, chestnut and Caucasian oak, walnut, Japanese sophora.

The Velykoanadolsky Forest Museum has been opened in the premises of the former Hraff meteorological observatory. A recreation area "Forest Park" has been created on the shore of the pond with a beach, a camping site, a restaurant, and a hotel.

The Valeryanivka Village History Museum is a department of the Local History Museum of Volnovakha City Territorial Hromada. The museum is located in the village house of culture.

The museum fund includes more than 2,000 exhibits. The exposition in four halls tells about the ancient past of the village, starting from its foundation in 1838, about the period of the Ukrainian revolution, Soviet collectivization and the Holodomor, about the events of the Second World War, the post-war development of the village and about the participation of the inhabitants of the village in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

A separate exhibition is devoted to the nature of the region.

Kramatorsk Regional Landscape Park, established in 2004, has 5 separate plots around the city of Kramatorsk.

Their unifying center is the Visitor Center of the Kramatorsk RLP in the village of Komyshuvakha, located on the territory of the former estate of the landowners Bantysh. A reconstructed house of the 19th century and a swan lake remain from the landowner's estate.

There is a recreation area with gazebos, barbecues, a playground and an aviary complex with wild deer, wolves and wild boars.

There is an ecological and naturalistic center, where lectures and other events are held.

The administration of the visitor center organizes excursions along the ecological trail "Forest Tale", which is laid through the largest forest in the landscape park - the tract "Hrakovo-Komyshuvakha".