Sviatohirsk


Svjatohírs’k or Svyatogorsk is a town in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. A part of the Sloviansk Municipality, it stands on the banks of the Seversky Donets River, from the city of Sloviansk. Population: 5,136.

History

A settlement in the area of the Holy Mountains was first mentioned in written sources in the 16th century. 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. One of the new owners built a bathing house on the nearby lake, which led to the settlement being called Banne /Bannoye or Bannovskoye ; literally bathing. Proximity of a nearby selo of Tatyanovka lead to the both places sometimes being collectively referred as Bannoye-Tatyanovka.
During the Soviet times, the selo was officially known as Bannoye. In 1938, it was granted urban-type settlement status and renamed Bannovsky. The settlement served as a resort destination and steadily grew in size, until in 1964 it was granted town status and renamed Slovianohirsk /Slavyanogorsk, with the first part of the name being after the nearby city of Sloviansk, and the second part being after the Holy Mountains. In 2003, the name was changed to Sviatohirsk, after the monastery itself.
Unlike neighboring Sloviansk, Sviatohirsk was never controlled by the pro-Russian forces who in spring 2014 had made Sloviansk their stronghold.

Culture

Sviatohirsk includes the Holy Dormition 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 and a World War II memorial 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. However, since the Artem monument is listed as "National Cultural Heritage" it will not be demolished.

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.