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Donetsk – is the beginning of all routes

Hello, dear friends!

Today we are going to take a closer look at an amazing city – the capital of miner’s region, that is the center of the Donetsk region – Donetsk. The theme of our excursion is “Donetsk is the beginning of all routes”. My name is __________________. I am a representative ___________________. The name of our driver is ________________, the mark of the bus is _____________, number____________.

Our excursion will last ______________hours. You will see the most prominent objects of the city. We’ll know about its past, present and future. The excursion will begin in Privokzalnaya square. There are only some sights of the city which we will see: the monument “Glory to Miner’s Labour”, the monument to “Your liberators, Donbass, ” the Donetsk Regional Museum, the Donetsk Academic Drama Theatre, the hotel complex “Victoria”, the five-star hotel “Donbass Palace”, the unique Park of forged figures, the shopping center “Donetsk-city”, the night-club “Chicago” and, of course, the sports complex “Olympiysky” and the stadium “Donbass Arena”.

The tour will come to the end in the Scherbakov Park of Culture and Recreation, which has been reconstructed recently, and its fountains have become the unique pearl of the city’s water necklace. Please do not stand up from your seats while driving, do not distract the driver, and ask me whenever necessary. We will leave the bus twice for visiting the most remarkable objects, and there will be on the way. You can buy souvenirs in the terminal of our route the Scherbakov Park, where the fan zone is situated. So, let’s start.

The Railway Station is the city’s gate and for Donetsk the railway is of great importance. The official date of the city foundation is 1869. At that time the Englishman John Hughes started to build “ironworks”, and the main products of the plant were rails for the railway. The building of the railway station is a monument of the architecture. It was constructed in 1951 according to the design of the architect I. Vorontsov. In 2003 the Museum of Donetsk Railway Development was opened here.

Donetsk arose and developed as an industrial city. The city is very young, it’s only 140 years. However, a lot of things have happened during that period. For example, the city’s name has been changed several times. The first city’s name was Yuzovka in the honor of John Hughes. Since 1924 it was called Stalino, in honor of strong metal, but not in the honor of the leader of ‘all times and nations’, as many people may think. And only in 1961 the city began to be called as Donetsk - in the honour of Donbass, the Donetsk coal field.

At the end of the 19 century for the plant building and work on it people arrived there from many countries. The city of those times was named New America or the New World. Today our city is characterized by huge variety of nationalities and nations of its one million population. The big variety of religious constructions is connected with this. In the city Orthodox temples prevail. We will see some of them. There is a synagogue, a mosque. Through the left windows of the bus after it passes under the railway bridge, you will see St Joseph’s Catholic church, and through the right windows – a Protestant temple.

Donetsk is beholden to the metal for its appearance; much is owed to mineral carbon for its development. Since the 1950s, when the mines, demolished during the occupation, were restored and new ones were built, it was the coal industry that formed the economy of the city and area. Waste banks are the integral part of the city landscape, which makes its special colouring. A ‘miner’ image has become the visit card of the city bringing coal to people. It is incarnated in the monument “Glory to miner’s labour” which you see in Shakhtyorskaya square. The monument was erected in 1967 on the project of the sculptor K. Rakityanskiy and the architect P. Vigdergauz.

By the way do you know, where the coal comes from? For many centuries from the coast of the Severskiy Donets to Priazovye the territory of present Donbass tropical woods extended. Died off plants falling in to the water were silted up and then turned into a thick layer of bottom sediment. During the orogeny epoch coal layers appeared under pressure from the vegetative rests. Later they became the main riches of the Donetsk region. The coal is a means of industry subsistence.

Totally there are more than 30 examples of monumental art, including the monuments to J. Hughes, the founder of the city, to writers T. Shevchenko, M. Gorkiy, A. Pushkin, our compatriots S. Bubka, A. Solovjanenko. You will surprise nobody by the monuments erected in the honour of the Great Patriotic War and V. Lenin, but there are also some, which you can find nowhere else, for example “Farewell to illness” which is a sculpture of a man breaking his crutches; the monument to hryvna, not to the Ukrainian currency (although there is such a monument in front of one bank), but to that, what our ancestors Scythians carried on a neck as a decoration.

The ensemble of Shakhtyorskaya square, as well as the one of the whole city, was formed in the 1960s. More than forty years have passed since then, and it is still changing now. The first example of the 21 century architecture is to the right of us. It is both business and shopping centre «Donetsk City». The Total area of premises of a complex is 40000 square metres. There is a big variety of shops, a supermarket "Varus", the Italian restaurant, some cafes, a bowling-centre, a slot machine arcade and, to be sure, a cinema "Multiplex" in four halls of which novelties of a film production are shown. Every hall is noted for a unique décor; they are different in level of comfort and their ticket price is also different. In the city it is also possible to watch any film in the cinema "Zvezdochka", the cinema named after T. Shevchenko, shopping centre "Zolotoye koltso", etc.

In Cheljuskintsev Street the Donetsk regional museum of local lore, the Exhibition centre «Expo Donbass», the Palace of youth "Yunost", the monument to I. Kobzon and the stadium "Donbass-arena" are waiting on us.

The Donetsk regional museum of local lore was established in 1924. The museum exposition consists of four departments «Nature of Donbass», «History of Donetsk steppes development», «the Soviet period», «Modern Donbass» and theme exhibitions are constantly held in its halls. There is also a regional art museum in Donetsk, with picture collections of outstanding masters Ayvazovskiy, Shishkin, Kuindgy, etc.

The first stop will be for detailed familiarization of our main attraction, the stadium "Donbass arena", but in the beginning we will pay attention to the exhibition centre "Expo Donbass", it was constructed in the 1980s and represents the typical sample of architecture of that time "from glass and concrete".

In front of the exhibition centre there is a copy of Mertsalov’s palm tree in the glass case. The original of this palm tree in the end of the 19 century was forged by a talented smith, the worker of John Hughes’ factory Alexey Mertsalov. He molded a palm tree exactly replicating lines of a live plant from a one-piece rail. At that time welding had not been invented yet and the Palm tree received a Grand Prix, that is the first award at the International technical exhibition in Paris, several years before the same prize in the same place was received for the world known Eiffel Tower. Then the Palm tree was transported to Saint Petersburg – the capital of the Russian empire. In one hundred years already the Donetsk master S. Kasparuk molded a copy of the Palm tree which you see here. Alexey Mertsalov’s skill embodies a spirit of the Donetsk land and that is why the palm tree image was placed on the arms of Donetsk region. The motto "possibility is proved by business" characterizes the inhabitants of Donetsk as creative, original and hardworking people.

The monument to our countryman, the crooner Joseph Kobzon, is located near Mertsalov’s Palm tree at the Palace of youth «Yunost». The monument is the work of Russian sculptor A. Rukavishnikov and it was established in 2001, when Joseph Davydovich headed the fund «Zolotoy Skiff». Kobzon is represented in such a way that you have an impression he goes to a football match.

Football… For Donetsk it is the king of sports… And its history in the city begins with the rise of Yuzovka. It is universally recognized, that the native land of football is England. The businessman Hughes and his experts were Englishmen. Later local residents were involved in this game too.

In Yuzovka till 1917 there were some teams, and the combined team of city repeatedly played against teams of Rostov, Moscow, Kiev, Kharkov and Saint-Petersburg. The new turn of Donetsk football history began in 1936, when our region team «Stakhanovets» was created from the best football players. During the first season the representatives of the miner's capital proved to be a strong team.

After the war «Stakhanovets» became «Shakhter», received its traditional Guards orange-black colors and turned to the true guards of football. Now it is impossible to imagine Donetsk without the soccer team of European class, the owner of numerous cups of the USSR and Ukraine, the winner and the prizewinner of the national football championships.

Two orange strips between three black ones are colors of the Guards ribbon. Since Peter the First’s time it was received by the best military units, which showed their worth in the heat of battles. Then already, during Soviet time, the representatives of a peace trade – miners received these colors too. It's not for nothing that they were called «Labour Guards».

In days of the Soviet Union our club was the owner of the Cup of the USSR in 1961, 1962, 1980.

Since 1996 at first there begins a cup, and then «golden» era of «Shakhter». The Donetsk club has very devoted fans, envied by any club. Donetsk is assured the most important, greatest and brightest victories of «Shakhter» are still ahead.

We are in unique Football square, to the left there is the sports complex “Olympiysky”, and to the right – a new stadium «Donbass Arena».

The construction of the stadium «Locomotive», now «Olympiysky», began in 1955, and came completely to the end in 1970; it was calculated on 42 thousand seats. Since 1997 the stadium «Locomotive» has been reconstructed. The western tribunes were built, the football ground was reconstructed. Budget cost of reconstruction was estimated in 31 million hryvnas.

The last reconstruction ended in 2003. The stadium was renamed «Olympiysky». Presently the capacity of the stadium is 34 sectors, 25, 093 seats.

The new stadium has appeared in the city thanks to the football club. Intended for 50,000 spectators, Donbass Arena is the first stadium in Eastern Europe designed and built according to the Elite-Class UEFA standards (5-Star Standard) with unprecedented security measures and the broadest hospitality. Project cost is 25 million dollars. 30 million more was allocated for creation of the park round the stadium. The construction was launched in 2004.The general contractor is a Turkish company ENKA Construction&Industry Co. The Stadium is due to be completed and opened in 2009.

Donbass Arena was designed by ArupSport Company, which built the City of Manchester Stadium (Manchester, England); Allianz Stadium (Munich, Germany); Montjuik (Barcelona, Spain); and Sydney Football Stadium (Sydney, Australia). An exceptional engineering solution – the soaring roof effect – will make the Stadium resemble an UFO. The oval shape and the glazed facade ensure a memorable outlook. The Stadium is located near RSC “Olympiysky” (Regional Sports Complex) creating an elegant architectural ensemble. The roof of the Stadium slopes from the north to the south matching the landscape and contributing to the natural lighting and airing of the pitch. The external lighting will make the Stadium shine like a diamond at night.

Donbass Arena will also host three restaurants, four bars for owners of season-cards, a lounge-bar, dozens of fast foods, sales outlets, the separate wing will be taken for the fitness centre. A fan-café, a museum and FC Shakhtar brand shop will be located here. Corporate customers of Donbass Arena will enjoy the opportunity to rent a corporate suite. On non-match days, the Stadium’s hospitality rooms will be available for corporate events: meetings, presentations, press conferences and official receptions. Donbass Arena will also be able to host international conferences and exhibitions. Round stadium it will be possible to park more than 3 thousand cars. "Donbass-arena" will lead a sanguineous life every day.

The interior design will accommodate all fans in a single bowl rather than in four separate stands. The first row of seats is located very close to the field, that creates excellent visibility. There are also 170 seats for disabled people and their escorts. Stadium will feature tours. The general concept of future trips is as follows: introduction to the unique characteristics and features of the Arena, visiting premises where there are football players, the Museum of FC «Shakhtar» and finally – a visit to the club shop for corporate gifts. In addition to football matches different concerts and shows will be held at the stadium. The equipment of the arena and acoustic system will allow to receive not only Ukrainian artists but also foreign pop stars.

The events occurring on the field, will be simultaneously broadcasted on 2 LED screens, the square of each is 100 m2. This will be one of the largest in Europe.

And now a few words about the park around the stadium «Donbass-Arena».

The scope of work in the park is 24 hectares adjacent to the stadium area and 35 hectares of the city park area. Design project includes flower gardens, lawns, playgrounds, the location of trees and shrubs. A lot of trees brought from the best kennels of Europe will be planted in the yard. Also, the design implies the existence of the fountains in the area of the pond, which is specially enlarged, and edit the coastlines, as well as the cascade of fountains on the western side of the stadium on a Cheluskintsev street, where previously the main entrance to the park has been located.

Now I suggest your looking on the right. Now we are at a sort of upland that is why we have a unique opportunity to examine the outside of the entire hotel complex «Victoria».

An enterprise with foreign investments «Victoria» began its work in 2001. The hotel complex «Victoria» is composed of the hotel VICTORIA ****, a construction site as five-star hotel, grounds and infrastructure. The complex is located in the center of Donetsk, built near the stadium «Donbass Arena». The construction of the hotel complex «Victoria» Donetsk commenced in June 2001 and on the 28^th of August in 2003 it opened its doors to the first visitors. Multifunctional Complex combines a large variety of entertainment, recreational and sporting facilities. Among them: the hotel with comfortable rooms, fitness and tennis clubs, entertainment center, health and aesthetic Spa-center, restaurant «Victoria», as well as a network of bars and cafes. Rooms base VICTORIA **** - 38 rooms.

To the left of the hotel, in front of us there are covered tennis courts. At the place where we are standing now, there are some welcoming summer cafes in which it is so pleasant to meet friends after your everyday routine.

There is also a bowling centre in the building of the complex. Besides, you can take the opportunity of relaxing in the Turkish sauna Haman in the recreation centre.

Over the complex the memorial to the "Liberators of the Donbass" raises which was built in 1984. The complex represents the figures of the miner and the soldier with the banner in the form of a five-pointed star. The authors of the monument are the artist Porozhnjuk, architects Ksenevich and Kishkan, the sculptor Baldin, the engineer Rajgorodetsky.

Nearby you can enjoy Children's railway with the length of 2.1 km, which was opened in 1972.

Now we'll come back to the bus to continue our excursion. Along the Mira Avenue we are approaching the central street of the city. It's called Artem Street. And in front of us there is a monument to Artem. The six-meter bronze figure on a high granite pedestal personifies the prominent revolutionary Fedor Andreevich Sergeev. Sergeev was the Bolsheviks’ party member, in the revolution of 1917 he headed the revolutionary committee of the city Yuzovka. Sergeev was known under a secret pseudonym Artem, which he will always bear. One of the oldest cities of the Donetsk region the city Artemovsk was named after Artem. The monument was constructed in 1967 to the 50-anniversary of the Soviet state. The authors of the project are the sculptor V. Kostin, architects N. Jakovlev, N. Poddubny. The monument is situated on the borderline of Voroshilovsky and Kievsky region.

In general in Donetsk there are 9 regions, 7 of them bear the names of revolutionary figures: Budenovsky, Voroshilovsky, Kirovsky, Kalininsky, Kuibyshevsky, Leninsky, Petrovsky. Kievsky and Proletarian are neutral.

Here we are leaving the bus to admire a unique Park of forged figures located in the square near the building of Donetsk City Council. Here the masterpieces of forged art are displayed with no analogues anywhere in the world: the Arbour enamoured, the Bouquet of masters, Avenue of arches. Only here it is possible to ride a unique swing, to stand under the shod umbrella to see as time flows, to touch a horseshoe in the human-height size. It is possible to stand and think of a wish to your sign of the zodiac on the Avenue of Zodiac Signs or to help to find the money to purchase a samovar for the Mukha-Zokotukha.

The traditions of blacksmith's craft in Donetsk, as you remember, are deeply rooted. Official delegations of our city usually give the Mertsalov’s Palm Tree copies as a present to the representatives of twin cities. In response, the city of Bochum (Germany) presented a bell of a royal size, and Moscow - a copy of the "Tsar-cannon" (Tsar Pushka). There is such a custom: to throw coins in the crater of this four-ton giant to have money in the pocket every time you wish.

The original of this Cannon is situated in the Kremlin. It was created in the 17^th century and it was named "Tsar-cannon" because of its great size. The object reaches 4 meters long and weights several tons. The Tsar-cannon and the Tsar Bell have never been used for utility purposes. According to the laws of ballistics (the science about the gunnery rules) if the cannon had been ever loaded, it would have simply exploded. At the memorial board one can find the following information: where, when and by whom it was made. On the gun-carriage you can see a lion with an open mouth. There is such a legend: if the man is honest and has never lied, he can put his hand in the mouth of the lion safely, but if he is a cheater and is in habit of telling lies, the mouth will shut and bite the hand off.

The neighbor of the Cannon is the bronze bell, which was given to Donetsk by the citizens of Bochum (Germany). The bell was erected in 1997. At the side of the bell you can see two boards with following texts:

the first one says: “The joint-stock company Krupp Hoesch Stahl. The professional training department in Bochum”;

the second one: “The gift of the citizens of Bochum in honour of the tenth anniversary of partnership between Bochum and Donetsk. It was presented by Bochum ober-burgomaster Ernst Otto Stüber on the 31 of august 1997.”

Behind the building of the City Council in the open air the Park of forged figures is situated, which we are going to visit now. The followers of Aleksey Mertsalov in 2001 created the Park of forged figures. Every year in the park the competitions take place, during which the smiths from all over the country in everybody’s presence create their masterpieces. These works of art are placed in the park. The first forged figure was a bunch of roses as a symbol of Donetsk. Among the first the sculptures “Inspiration”, “Time” and “The forged scales” appeared, there are swings for kids. The walls of the lovers pergola are decorated with forged flowers, each of them being a unique one and made by smiths from different regions of Ukraine. There are no benches in the pergola. The creators of the project believed that lovers should not wait for each other. On the top of the pergola, there is a small Cupid. He waits for new victims of love. So, lovers, don’t be late! From the two opposite sides of the pergola there are two clocks for the passers-by from both sides to see the time. One more wonderful part of the park is the Signs of the Zodiac Alley. Each of the zodiac signs has been made in its own manner. And now all of you can find your own sign and take a picture with it.

At the moment we are on the territory of the campus. Here we can see the oldest higher educational establishment of the city, which is over 80 years old, Donetsk National Technical University. It was founded in 1921 as a technical college. Nikita Khrushchev, Anatoliy Solovyanenko and many other famous people studied at the university. Apart from the university there are other universities in Donetsk such as Donetsk National University, Donetsk Medical University, Donetsk State University of economy and trade named after Tugan-Baranovskiy, Donetsk State University of management. All in all there are about 40 higher educational establishments the city and we have the right to call it a youth centre.

Near the building of Donetsk National Technical University there is a monument to the founder of the city John James Hughes. As you can see, the monument has no pedestal. J.J. Hughes is represented in overalls with a hammer in his hand. The monument was set up in 2001. The author of the monument is A.M. Skorykh. And now we get on the bus again and continue our tour.

In front of us we can see the Holy Transfigurational Cathedral, which is an exact replica of the cathedral of the old Yuzovka. It was situated in the district of the modern Central Department Store and it was exploded in1929. With the aim to revive spirituality in Ukraine a decision was adopted to restore the cathedral in accordance with the old technical drawings, which was done in the late 1990-s. Metropolitan of Donetsk and Mariupol has his platform in the cathedral. In front of the cathedral we can see the statue of archangel Mikhail. It is a present from Kiev. Some time ago it was situated in Independence square in Kiev. Opposite the cathedral there is the Ukraine Hotel. On the right you can see secondary school №2, which is one of the oldest schools in the city.

The monument to T.G. Shevchenko is situated on the crossroads of two boulevards Shevchenko boulevard and Pushkin boulevard, which symbolizes the relationship of two languages and two countries. The monument represents the poet’s statue on the high cylindrical pedestal, on the top of which there is a bas-relief with the characters of the poet’s works. It was set up in 1955. The sculptor of the monument is M.K. Voronskiy, the architects are A.P. Oleynik and V.A. Sharapenko. Behind the monument there is the building of the Donetsk regional state administration. Between the monument and the building one can see forged stands with the world philosophers’ sayings.