Sviatohirsk

Not to be confused with Sveta Gora.
Sviatohirsk
Святогірськ
City

View of the St. Nicholas Church and the St. Andrew Chapel of the Holy Mountains Lavra

Flag
Seal
Coordinates: 49°02′N 37°34′E / 49.033°N 37.567°E / 49.033; 37.567Coordinates: 49°02′N 37°34′E / 49.033°N 37.567°E / 49.033; 37.567
Oblast Donetsk
First mentioned 16th century
Population (2013)
 • Total 4,654
Monument to Artem in Sviatohirsk
Sviatohirsk monastery

Sviatohirsk (Ukrainian: Святогі́рськ) or Svyatogorsk (Russian: Святого́рск) is a town in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. A part of the Sloviansk Municipality, it stands on the banks of the Seversky Donets River, 30 kilometers (19 mi) from the city of Sloviansk. Population: 4,654 (2013 est.);[1] 5,136 (2001 est.).

History

A settlement in the area of the Holy Mountains was first mentioned in written sources in the 16th century.[2] In 1624, a monastery was established here, but in the end of the 18th century all monastic lands were secularized and passed on to private owners.[2] One of the new owners built a bathing house on the nearby lake, which led to the settlement being called Banne (Ukrainian: Банне)/Bannoye (Russian: Банное) or Bannovskoye (Банновское); literally bathing.[2] Proximity of a nearby selo of Tatyanovka lead to the both places sometimes being collectively referred as Bannoye-Tatyanovka (Банное-Татьяновка).[2]

During the Soviet times, the selo was officially known as Bannoye.[2] In 1938, it was granted urban-type settlement status and renamed Bannovsky (Банновский).[2] The settlement served as a resort destination and steadily grew in size, until in 1964 it was granted town status and renamed Slovianohirsk (Ukrainian: Слов'яногірськ)/Slavyanogorsk (Славяного́рск), with the first part of the name (Sloviano-/Slavyano-) being after the nearby city of Sloviansk (Slavyansk), and the second part (-hirsk/-gorsk) being after the Holy Mountains.[2] In 2003, the name was changed to Sviatohirsk, after the monastery itself.[3]

Unlike neighboring Sloviansk, Sviatohirsk was never controlled by the pro-Russian forces who in spring 2014 had made Sloviansk their stronghold.[4]

Culture

Sviatohirsk includes the Holy Assumption Sviatohirsk Lavra, the Holy Mountains National Park, an historical and architectural reserve, as well as a resort of national importance; thirty objects, among them a monumental sculpture of Communist leader Artem (Fyodor Sergeyev) and a World War II memorial (opened on the day of 40th anniversary of victory) are included in the historic monuments complex of the reserve. The town has been visited by well-known cultural figures, including Hryhorii Skovoroda, Fyodor Tyutchev, Ivan Bunin, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Ilya Repin.

On May 15, 2015, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a bill into law that started a six months period for the removal of communist monuments and the mandatory renaming of settlements with a name related to Communism.[5][6][7]

Tourism

The development plan of Sviatohirsk provides a significant expansion of the resorts, recreational, and tourism network. Within the Sviatohirsk resort are the Holy Mountain sanatorium and hotel-and-tourist complexes. The town carries out a construction and modernization of recreation departments for children and adults.

Early in 2009, a four-star hotel opened. Sviatohirsk also offers the Seversky Donets River, chalk mountains, coniferous and mixed forests, centuries-old oak trees, and clean air.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Чисельність наявного населення України (Actual population of Ukraine)" (in Ukrainian). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pospelov [1], p. 31
  3. ↑ Pospelov [2], p. 387
  4. ↑ Ukraine Declares One-Week Cease-Fire in Fight With Pro-Russia Rebels, The Wall Street Journal (June 20, 2014)
  5. ↑ Poroshenko signed the laws about decomunization. Ukrayinska Pravda. May 15, 2015
  6. ↑ Poroshenko signs laws on denouncing Communist, Nazi regimes, Interfax-Ukraine.
  7. ↑ Goodbye, Lenin: Ukraine moves to ban communist symbols, BBC News (April 14, 2015)

Sources

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