Lugansk city, Ukraine (Luhansk)

The capital city of Lugansk oblast.

Lugansk overview

Lugansk (also spelled Luhansk) city, former (1935-1958, 1970-1989) Voroshilovgrad, is an administrative center of Lugansk oblast, most eastern region of Ukraine. The city lies along the Lugan River at the latter’s confluence with the Olkhovaya River. The distance to Kiev is 811 km.

Lugansk population is about 465,000 (2012).

The phone code is +380 642; the postal code is 91000.

Lugansk city flag

Lugansk city flag

Lugansk city coat of arms

Lugansk city coat of arms

Lugansk city map location


Lugansk history

In 1795, Catherine II signed a decree on founding the cast iron mill - the first in the south of the Russian Empire. It was constructed in the river Lugan valley and due to it the town was founded.

In 1797, the settlement which grew round the plant was called Lugansky plant. Specialists and workers were recruited from inner Russian gubernias and partly from abroad. In 1800, the first blast-furnace at Lugansky canon foundry produced cast iron. It was the first blast-furnace in Ukraine. In 1812, during the war with Napoleon the plant became one of the main suppliers of canons and ammunition for the Russian army.

In the early 19th century, its favorable location on the ways among central regions of Russia and port towns Rostov and Taganrog promoted development of trade. Trade and handicraft institutions grew around the town.

In the mid 70s of the 19th century, Lugansk was involved in transportation construction. The railway was opened. In 1882, the emperor signed a decree founding the town of Lugansk on the base the settlement Lugansky.

In 1896, German businessman Gustav Hartman began constructing a large steam engine-making plant. The equipment was brought from Germany. In 1900, a steam engine left Lugansk - the first one built there.

In the early 20th century, Lugansk was a large industrial center of Russia. There were 16 plants and factories there and about 40 handicraft firms. In Lugansk there were 6 Orthodox churches, a synagogue, a Polish Rome-Catholic church and a Lutheran church.

The first church was built in 1761 in Kamennye Brody - a wooden Petropavlovskaya church. In 1792-1795, it was replaced by a church of stone. This is the only church preserved until today.

In December 1919, Soviet power was established in the city. In 1926, the population of Lugansk was 77,000. In 1931, a heavy cargo steam engine of “Felix Dzherdzhinsky” series was produced in Lugansk - the first in the USSR. In 1935, the city was renamed Voroshilovgrad.

In 1956, the population of Lugansk was over 250,000. In 1958, the historical name Lugansk was returned to the city. In 1970, it was again renamed into Voroshilovgrad after death of K.Ye. Voroshilov (1969).

In 1972, the football team “Zarya” (Voroshilovgrad) became the USSR champion for the first and the last time. It was the first USSR champion from the city which was not the capital of the republic.

In 1990, the original name of the city was returned to Lugansk.

Lugansk streets

Lugansk street view

Lugansk street view

Author: Alexander Byelkin

Lugansk city street

Lugansk city street

Author: Alexander Byelkin

Lugansk city view

Lugansk city view

Author: Alexander Byelkin


Lugansk features

Major branch of industry of Lugansk is heavy engineering, dominated by huge diesel-locomotive works. Steel tubes, coal-mining equipment, spare parts for motor vehicles, and precision instruments also are made in the city. Coal is mined in Lugansk. There are also wood and timber-working industries.

Lugansk has teacher-training, medical, agricultural, and machine-building institutes.

The climate of the area is of moderate continental type. Summers are hot, average temperature in July is 22 degrees C above zero, winters are cold, average temperature in January is 8 degrees C below zero.

Lugansk sights

The House-Museum of Vladimir Dal. A small one-story house where outstanding writer and lexicographer V. Dal was born in 1801. In 1986, the house became a museum. The exhibits in five rooms are devoted to the life and work of the author of “Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language”. Nearby is a monument to Dal (1981). Address: Lugansk, Dal Str., 12. Opening hours: 9:00-16:00, days off - Sunday, Monday.

Local History Museum. One of the oldest museums in Donbass is located in the constructivist building of 1976. Seven exhibits are devoted to the history of Lugansk region from ancient times to the present day. Nearby there are two World War I times British tanks Mark-5 “Ricardo” and an old gun. Address: Lugansk, Shevchenko Str., 2. Opening hours: 9:00-17:00, days off - Monday, Tuesday.

Tanks Mark-5. Two unique British tanks Mark-5 (Mark V) “Ricardo” are the part of the memorial complex “Monument to Revolutionary Fighters”. Both tanks were produced in the UK in 1917-1918. During the Civil War the tanks were supporting the fighting troops of Denikin. They were captured by the Red Army and formed the basis of its first tank brigade.

In 1938, the tanks on the initiative of the Defense Commissar Voroshilov were transferred to several cities of the USSR, in particular to Lugansk. The tanks were used as historic monuments of the Civil War (there is one tank preserved in Kharkov). In 2009, Lugansk tanks Mark-5 were renovated and returned to their places. Address: Lugansk, Shevchenko Str., 2.

Museum of the History of Lugansk. The museum of history and culture of Lugansk was founded in 1980 as a museum of Kliment Voroshilov, after whom the city in Soviet times was called Voroshilovgrad. The main exhibition is devoted to the development of the city in the 19th century. At the entrance there is an exhibition of old cannons made at Lugansk foundry. Address: Lugansk, Karl Marx Str., 30. Opening hours: 9:00-16:30, days off - Saturday, Sunday.

Lugansk sceneries

Lugansk view

Lugansk view

Author: Alexander Byelkin

Lugansk scenery

Lugansk scenery

Author: Alexander Byelkin

Lugansk railway station

Lugansk railway station

Author: Alexander Byelkin


Monument to Prince Igor. The monument to Prince Igor is located in the village Stanichno-Luganskoye (north-eastern suburb of Lugansk). It was opened for the 65th anniversary of the formation of Lugansk region. 14-meter statue of the prince, made of concrete, tinted in bronze, was placed on high hill above the highway Lugansk - Shirokiy. The monument was reconstructed in 2008. It is planned to create historical and cultural complex in this area.

Stone Statues Park. The park-museum has one of the largest collections of stone statues of the 11th-12th centuries in Ukraine. The museum is located on the territory of Lugansk National University. Statues are the sculptures 1-4 meters height, depicting warriors (sometimes women).

The statues were placed on the mounds of ancient peoples: Scythians, Polovtsians etc. These are the only remains of monumental art of long-extinct nomadic people lived in what is now known as Lugansk region. Address: Lugansk, Oboronnaya Str., 2.

Museum of Art. Lugansk Regional Art Museum is located in the former house of industrialists Venderovich (1876) on one of the oldest streets in the city. The museum was opened in 1920. A lot of exhibits had been brought from Moscow and Kharkov (paintings, furniture, porcelain, bronze), but almost all of them were lost during the Second World War.

Today the museum has about 8 thousand exhibits of domestic and foreign art of the 16th-20th centuries: paintings, sculptures, decorative and applied arts. The paintings of Italian, French, Flemish and Dutch artists of the 16th-18th centuries are especially valuable. Address: Lugansk, Pochtovaya Str., 3. Opening hours: 9:00-17:00, days off - Monday, Tuesday.

Ostraya Mogila. The memorial is dedicated to the Civil War (1919) and Second World War.

St. Vladimir Cathedral. The cathedral was founded in 1993 and consecrated in 2006. Today it is the largest cult construction of south-eastern Ukraine. The cathedral has enough space for three thousand believers. Built on a high open area this beautiful majestic building can be seen from afar. Address: Lugansk, Plekhanov Str., 44.

St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral. The cathedral is the oldest building in the city. Initially the church was made of wood. Stone church was built there in 1792-1796. Address: Lugansk, 2nd Kooperativniy Str., 12.

St. Alexander Nevsky church. The church was built in 2000-2003 on the territory of University park. Address: Lugansk, Budenniy Str.

Lugansk places

Lugansk Druzhba hotel

Lugansk Druzhba hotel

Author: Danilo Chiappini

Lugansk tanks Mark-5

Lugansk tanks Mark-5

Author: Alexander Byelkin

Lugansk tank T-34

Lugansk tank T-34

Author: Alexander Byelkin


Lugansk hotels

Hotel “Gostiniy Dvor”. The hotel is located in old two-storey building in the historic center of Lugansk. Main services: cafe (European cuisine), Wi-Fi, transfer, parking. Address: Lugansk, Lenin Str., 54. Contact phones: +380 642 33 15 16, +380 642 34 41 47, +380 642 34 42 17.

Hotel “Inter”. The hotel is located in Zhovtneviy district of Lugansk, on the territory of East business center. Main services: cafe (European cuisine), sauna, pool, gym, conference hall, concert hall, Wi-Fi, beauty salon, parking. Address: Lugansk, Vozrozhdeniya Str., 11-p. Contact phone: +380 642 35 71 71.

Hotel “Tropicana”. New modern hotel of the entertainment complex “Tropicana” located about 15 minutes from the city center. Main services: cafe-bar, night club, billiards, stores, parking. Address: Lugansk, Lenkom kvartal (block), 2-v. Contact phone: +380 642 71 17 04.

Mini-hotel “Elite-comfort”. The hotel is located in the center of the city (between gastronome “Donbass” and circus). Main services: cafe-bar, laundry, Internet, parking. Address: Lugansk, 50th anniversary of USSR Str., 22/28. Contact phones: +380 642 53 20 52, +380 642 58 53 93, +380 642 58 55 93.

Mini-hotel “Europe”. Two-storey hotel located on the outskirts of the city, 10 minutes from the airport. Main services: restaurant, billiards. Address: Lugansk, Yuzhniy kvartal (block), 9. Contact phone: +380 642 71 09 52.

Mini-hotel “Bonne Chance”. The hotel is located in modern two-storey mansion in private sector on the outskirts of Lugansk. Address: Lugansk, Orekhoviy Str., 13. Contact phone: +380 50 575 95 11.

Hotel “Start”. The hotel is located in the center of Lugansk. Main services: bar, Internet. Address: Lugansk, Sovetskaya Str., 48. Contact phones: +380 642 34 41 59, +380 642 34 40 86.

Hotel “Druzhba”. The hotel located in the center of the city is one of the sights of Lugansk. Russian Drama theater and Puppet theater can be found nearby. The hotel has panoramic views of Lugansk, the surrounding area has landscape design of Ukrainian village. Main services: two restaurants (European and Ukrainian cuisine), bars, billiards, sauna with pool, conference hall, barbershop, beauty salon, laundry, parking. Address: Lugansk, Soroky P. Str., 16-a. Contact phones: +380 642 53 53 53, +380 642 53 53 63.

Hotel “Initsial”. Modern hotel located on the outskirts of the city. Main services: restaurant (European cuisine), bar, store, beauty salon, parking. Address: Lugansk, Oboronnaya Str., 118-a. Contact phones: +380 642 34 54 35, +380 642 42 86 88, +380 642 42 83 60.

Lugansk city, Ukraine photos

Lugansk sights

Lugansk local history museum

Lugansk local history museum

Author: Valeriy Dudush

Lugansk the World War II memorial

Lugansk the World War II memorial

Author: Ivanov Roman

Lugansk Holodomor (Famine) memorial

Lugansk Holodomor (Famine) memorial

Author: Alexander Basov


Lugansk places of interest

Lugansk Chernobyl disaster fighters memorial

Lugansk Chernobyl disaster fighters memorial

Author: Alexander Byelkin

Lugansk St. Alexander Nevsky church

Lugansk St. Alexander Nevsky church

Author: Andrey Belyavsky

Lugansk St. Vladimir Cathedral

Lugansk St. Vladimir Cathedral

Author: Golodok Andrey


The questions of our visitors

Fred asks: How does the city transit work in Lugansk. Do you pay once in the bus. Do you use cash or ticket and Can you buy daily or weekly pass. Thanks
Expert's answer:
The easiest and most commonly used way is to use cash to pay once you are in the bus, minibus ("marshrutka").
Matt asks: Hi,what is the average wage in Lugansk today.
Expert's answer:
The average wage in Lugansk in March 2013 was about 3000-3500 Hryvnas or 370-440 USD per month.
Kevin asks: I have met a young lady online in Lugansk and after reading what you have to say I do not feel it is a good idea to continue. I am from Australia and have a young 8 year old daughter. I like this lady and would like to meet her. Your thoughts please expert
Expert's answer:
If you are sure she is real (one of the indirect signs is that you have spoken with her using Skype, other similar services), and if you have some free time and money, you can try to meet her. The only advice I can give is not to send any help to person in Ukraine before you know the person is real. Also I think you can just go to Ukraine as a tourist, there are plenty of interesting places to see, and as additional quest you can meet her.
Rod asks: Is it safe for Americans to visit Lugansk alone?
Expert's answer:
Lugansk city is definitely not the safest place in Ukraine but it will not be too dangerous if you follow simple rules: don't walk alone in the evening/night time, especially not in the central parts of the city; be more careful if going to night clubs/other public places and avoid conflicts with local people; don't carry a lot of cash (use Visa/Mastercard, there are a lot of ATMs/banks in the city).
Magnus asks: Do the locals understand english in Lugansk?
Expert's answer:
Unfortunately not a lot of people you can meet on the streets of the city can talk to you in English, especially the elderly ones. You can try your luck and talk to young people, students - most of them definitely can speak English at least a little.

The comments of our visitors

Traveller
Lugansk Website
Great job on the website, and thanks for the info. I will come to Lugansk and check it out!

Shrihari Y
Lugansk
Very good information about Lugansk. I like to travel and like to know about new places, during my student days in former Soviet Union I wanted to visit Voroshilovgrad now Lugansk, but could not do so. Hope to visit this city some time. Best Wishes to the people of Lugansk. Shrihari Yeldandi