Donetsk Travel Guide

Donetsk is an unusual green industrial city with the population of one million people. Here you can meet mines, slagheaps, located adjacent to apartment blocks, at the same time you can see beautiful green alleys, botanical gardens, lakes and reservoirs.

In 1970 Donetsk was recognized by UNESCO as the best industrial city in the world. Donetsk is not only a major industrial city but also a big cultural center of Eastern Ukraine. There are 140 museums and museum rooms in Donetsk Ukraine. There are two large state regional museums among them: Donetsk Regional Art Museum and the Donetsk Regional Museum.

Among the most interesting sightseeings of Donetsk is Mertsalov’s Palm. It is a representation of palm, forged from steel by Alexei Mertsalov. The Palm has got Grand Prix Award at the Paris International Industrial Exhibition in 1900. The Palm is made from a single rail. The original height of Mertsalov’s Palm is 3 m 53 cm. The original Palm is located in the Museum of the Mining Institute in St. Petersburg. September 12, 1999 a replica of Mertsalov’s Palm was established in Donetsk city not far from the exhibition center Expo-Donbass. There is a project to bring copies of Mertsalov’s Palm to capitals of major countries of the world. Copies of Mertsalov’s Palm have been already placed in Ottawa and Hanover. Those tourists who like diving should be interested to see a copy of  Mertsalov’s Palm placed by divers under the water near Cape Tarkhankut in the Crimea (Ukraine).

In Voroshilov district of Donetsk city you can find a park of forged figures. Every year in this park takes place an international festival of blacksmith's skill. After this festival, the best works are exhibited in the park. In forged figures park you can also find arbour of loving couple, Ukrainian arbour and arbour four dragons, the alley Zodiac signs, the alley Newlyweds and the alley of Tales.

The next sightseeing of Dontesk is Ukrainian Steppe, the park of sculptures on Pushkin boulevard. All the works have a common subject the Slavic mythology and everyday life. Eleven sculptures of the Ukrainian Steppe were donated to Donetsk by Ukrainian and German sculptors. In Donetsk tourists also can find the first monument to the Beatles established on the territory of the CIS and the Donetsk Small Railway installed in the park of the Leninskiy Komsomol. In August 2009 in this park was opened Donbass Arena stadium, designed and built in accordance with the standards of UEFA category Elite.

The Azov Sea located in 95 km south from the city of Donetsk, is a popular recreational area for those living in Donetsk (Ukraine).

Photos of Donetsk

Sightseeing of Donetsk
Donetsk at night
Sunset in Donetsk