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. Lugansk city lies along Lugan River at the latter’s confluence with Olkhovaya River. The distance to Kiev is 811 km.

Lugansk city population is about 469,000 (2010).

The phone code of the city 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 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 Russian army.

In 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 mid 70s of 19th century Lugansk was involved into transportation construction. The railway was opened. In 1882 the emperor signed a decree on 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 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 till nowadays.

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 into 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 degs C above zero, winters are cold, average temperature in January is 8 degs 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 city, Ukraine view

Lugansk city, Ukraine view

Author: Alexander Byelkin

Lugansk city scenery

Lugansk city 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. The 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 World War II memorial

Lugansk 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

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.
Jenny asks: Address of the main post office in Lugansk?
Expert's answer:
The address is Lugansk, Pyaterkina Str., 8. Contact phones: +38 (0642) 52-74-37, 52-24-31, 52-44-84.
Jim asks: What is the average wage in Lugansk, Ukraine?
Expert's answer:
The average wage of people living in Lugansk region of Ukraine from January to November 2009 was 1849 hryvnas per month (about 230 USD).
Franklin asks: How do I get in contact with main postal office in Lugansk?
Expert's answer:
The postal address of Lugansk city main postal office is Ukraine, Lugansk city, Pyatyorkina Str., 8. Contact phones are +380-642-52-74-37, +380-642-52-24-31, +380-642-52-44-84. Unfortunately I have found no emails of this postal office.