Donetsk

Ukraine City Guides: Donetsk

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Donetsk Донецьк

Fifth largest city in Ukraine
Population of almost one million inhabitants
Features the Donbas Arena, considered the most high-tech football stadium in Eastern Europe
Former industrial heartland with rich mineral deposits and a booming modern metropolis
Home to the Donbass Palace, Ukraine's most luxurious hotel
"Black Pearl" of Eastern Europe
Named "Stalino" from 1924 to 1961

Donetsk, named after the nearby 2,000 km long Don River, is the Ukraine's fifth largest city, with just under one million people, located far east, only 60km from Russia at the closest point.

Donetsk is at the center of one of Ukraine's most minerally rich and economically prosperous regions. Donetsk has a short, sharp history, built on the mining and steel industry. It was founded in 1869 on the site of an old coalmine. The Welsh engineer, John Hughes, was contracted by Tsar Alexander II to manage the region's steel production. Hughes set up mines and the Russian Empire's most productive iron plant, and also produced steel railway tracks which were used in part to build the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Donetsk today is a booming, very Russianized city. Donetsk is clean, green, modern, and highrise, with generously laid out streets, parks, squares, neighborhoods and ample green spaces. It incorporates two large, scenic bodies of water: the Kalmiuskoe (60 hectares) and the Donetsk Sea (206 hectares) (that belie their origin as coal pits), and five rivers: the Kalmius, Asmolovka, Cherepashkina, Skomoroshka and Bakhmutka. The ecological development of the city is also noticeable over recent times with a commitment to open spaces and cleanliness across the expanding city.

However, Donestsk still has over 20 coal mines, and other industry, operating within the city boundaries, meaning that however spic and span the city may be, the air can be smoggy.

Ukrainian independence saw a notable addition of picturesque religious buildings to the cityscape. Donetsk has numerous museums, several universities, five theaters, and a plethora of monuments and statues - mainly to mining memories - that dot the city.

The remarkable Donbas Arena (see below) is known as Eastern Europe's most high-tech stadium and will be home to Euro 2012 matches next year. It is located in its own dedicated parkland in the north-east of the city.

Donetsk, Ukraine

Things to Do In Donetsk

Artema Street is the main sightseeing artery of Donetsk, running from Donetsk Railway Station down to the south of the city. Almost everything is on, just off or accessible via Artema Street. Google Map to Artema Street, Donetsk

Lenin Square

Lenin Square (Ploshchad Lenina) has formed the heart of Donetsk since the 1950s. It represents (the city's former) political life, having as its focal point the Lenin Monument; civic life, being a venue for events, recreation and celebrations; culture, being home to the Prokofiev Concert Hall and the Donetsk Drama Theatre; and its economic life, being home, also, to the grandly columned Ministry of Mining Industry. Also facing it is the famous Donbass Palace Hotel.
Google Map to Lenin Square, Donetsk

Donetsk Regional Museum of Art

The Donetsk Regional Museum of Art, founded in 1939, has over 11,000 paintings, sculptures and graphic works of artists the world over, but prides itself most of all on its collection of works by Ukrainians. 35 Pushkina Boulevard
Google Map to Donetsk Regional Museum of Art

Donetsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet

The Donetsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet is built in classical style, set off by beautiful grounds on the city's It was founded in 1932 and has been an important and loved part of Donetsk's cultural life since then, and the whole of the Ukraine's since in 2009, when it became a national theater. Donetsk, Artema Str, 82
Google Map to Donetsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet

John James Hughes Brewery

The John James Hughes Brewery is a big brewery and pub named after the Welsh engineer who founded modern Donetsk. It is well worth the visit for its delicious British and German style beers lovingly brewed on the premises and served in comfortable, classic surroundings, with live music. 129-B Artyoma str., Donetsk, Ukraine +38 (062) 208 98 00
Google Map to John James Hughes Brewery, Donetsk

Donetsk Digital Planetarium

Donetsk Digital Planetarium is a state of the art, digital facility built in 2008 features exceptionally high-resolution, three-dimensional recreations of space, with hi-fi sound effects. It offers the unforgettable experience of virtual travel through space and time, in armchair comfort. The commentary is all in Russian, but the spectacle alone is well worth it. 165 Artema Str., Donetsk
Google Map to Donetsk Digital Planetarium

Forged Figures Park

Donetsk is historically all about iron - even the coal mines were only to fuel the forges. The Forged Figures Park features iron forged figures, and opened in 2001 with just 10 figures, which has now grown to over 90, and still increasing. With a Tree of Life Pavilion, a Sweethearts Pavilion, Zodiac Signs Alley, a Fairy Tales Alley, and more. Humor, imagination, inspiration - all in iron. You'll no doubt see married couples here on weekends, as the Park is a popular venue for wedding shots. The Forged Figures Park is about 1 kilometer from the Donbass Stadium.
Google Map to Forged Figures Park, Donetsk

Sherbakova Amusement Park

The huge Sherbakova Amusement Park is in the center of Donetsk and offers a tranquil but fun alternative to the bustle of the city. Walk through the rose garden, rent a boat, listen to the outdoor orchestra on weekends, eat at a stall or stop in at a cafe.
Google Map to Sherbakova Amusement Park, Donetsk

Metsalov's Palm

Metsalov's Palm is a focal point of Pushkin Boulevard (Bulvar Pushkina). It is a replica of a palm tree made from a rail by a craftsman in 1898 that won first prize at the World Exhibition in France in 1900 and was made using only a hammer and chisel, with no welding or joints. The original is now housed in the Museum of the Mining Institute in St Petersburg (the capital of Russian Empire then). This exact replica was brought to Donetsk in 1999.
Google Map to Pushkin Boulevard, Donetsk

The Cathedral of Christ Transfigured

The Cathedral of Christ Transfigured is a picturesque, domed and golden-spiked cathedral on the major corridor of Artem Street retains a human dimension in spite of its size, and is surrounded with greenery. It was first built in the 19th century, the project being launched in 1883, but was destroyed by the Bolshviks in 1933. Rebuilding began in the mid-1990s and was completed only in 2006. The bronze of the Archangel Michael on a plinth in front of the cathedral was a gift from the capital city, Kiev, from its Independence Square.
Google Map to Cathedral of Christ Transfigured, Donetsk

Donbass Palace Hotel

The Donbass Palace Hotel lives up in to its name by being, indeed, palatial. Described on its website as a "harmonious alliance of magnificent interiors," this 129-room landmark has been named by the World Travel Awards Association as the leading hotel in the whole of the Ukraine. The Donbass Palace stages a weekly chocolate buffet and afternoon tea that rivals the Ritz and includes two gourmet restaurants and a wonderful spa. The hotel looks out over Lenin Square. 80, Artyoma Street, Donetsk, 83001, Ukraine Phone: +38 062 343 43 33
Google Map to Donbass Palace Hotel, Donetsk

The Donbas Arena is set to become the city's most famous sight in the run-up to Euro 2012 and beyond. The space-age stadium cost $400 million and took three years to build, including dedicated parkland surrounding it. Next year, it will host a quarter-final and a semi-final in addition to its group games. Google Map to Donbass Arena, Donetsk

Nightlife & Entertainment In Donetsk

Donetsk has a range of restaurants that befits its burgeoning cosmopolitan status in the east. If you're flush with cash and have the right wardrobe on hand, the ultimate place to start a night out on Donetsk is the Donbass Palace Hotel. A more budget option is Ba Na Na, a South American themed diner open all day and all night, recently voted one of the best dining experiences in Ukraine (Artema Str., 80-а).

Syr (Cheese) serves anything with cheese in it as the name implies, and even has pockmarked yellow walls for that Swiss effect. (Oktyabrskaya Str., 77)

Yo-mo-yo in the heart of the city makes its own vodka. (Illicha ave., 15-д) Donetsk has even more nightclubs than the capital, Kiev. Many of them are entertainment complexes where you can choose to boogie, bowl, bathe, banquet, or belt out some karaoke, such as Chicago (Artema Str., 123), Fort Knox (230th Strelkovoy Divizii Str., 39), Garage (Leninskiy Ave., 11-б), Hollywood (Arhitektorov Str., 21) Litsa (Illicha Ave., 89), or Virus (230th Strelkovoy Divizii Str., 1).

For a totally over-the-top, ultimate nouveau riche, experience of nightclub "elegance," try the night club, theatre, restaurant, Seven Heaven (if you're allowed in!) (Illicha Ave., 99-б) Detroit Music City is a live music venue for the younger crowd east of the main city center (Illicha ave., 21-в )
Google Map to Detroit Music City, Donetsk

Local Sports

Coal is such an omnipotent feature of Donetsk that Shakhtar, the city's flagship team, are known as the Miners. Despite their four Ukrainian championships, the club's greatest triumph was its 2009 UEFA Cup victory over Werder Bremen. The city's other major football team, Metalurh Donetsk, also play in the Ukrainian Premier League. It also has a team in the Ukrainian Basketball Super League and has, in the past, hosted David Cup tennis matches.

Tourist Offices

The national tour operator Pilot has an office at Shevchenko 3a. Intours has a desk in the Hotel Druzhba.

Getting There

Air

Direct daily flights connect Donetsk with Kiev (1.5 hours), Moscow (2 hours) and Vienna (3 hours). Regular flights also service Odessa and Kharkiv.

Rail

There is a daily overnight train to and from Kiev, which takes 12 hours. You can also reach Donetsk from Kharkiv (6–8 hours) and Lviv (24 hours) to travel between Euro 2012 venues.

Bus

The shortage of rail tickets to the capital means visitors are often forced to deal with the 11-hour bus trip to Kiev. However, bus is an easy mode of travel around eastern Ukraine, especially for day trips to Luhansk (2.5 hours) and Mariupol (2 hours). Kharkiv is 6 hours by regular bus service.

Getting Around Donetsk

Local buses tend to be very slow and tedious, but Donetsk has no metro service because of the coalmines that linger beneath the city's surface. Most visitors will make frequent use of the trams and trolleybuses that pass up and down the main thoroughfares (Artyoma, Kommunarov, Mira & Universiteskaya), but local taxis are also plentiful and cheap.

Accommodation

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Eating

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Weather

Donetsk's weather sees the area experience very cold, snowy winters and warm, hot summers; average temperatures are -5 ° C in January and +18 ° C in June. Expect daytime temperatures to rise to the high +20 ° C mark in June, cooling off in the evening.

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