Donetsk is a city of the South- East of Ukraine,located in the upper regions of Kalmius river. It is the fourth largest city in Ukraine with 1,131,700 inhabitants.     In the site of present-day Donetsk there was a Cossack settlement of Alexandrovka, founded in 1779. In 1869 a Welshman, John Hughes, settled here and founded an ironworks that produced iron rails for the growing Russian rail network. later steel rails were made. The plant used coal from the immediate vicinity, and both coal mining and steel making branches developed rapidly. The English colony for engineers and masters was set up separately from wooden barracks and huts of sandstone for workers. Arrising settlement was named Yuzovka- after the manager's name. Later, Yuzovka was merged with mining settlement Alexandrovka. After the October revolution (1917), in 1924 the city's name as changed to Stalino after Joseph Stalin. The city was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, and it was mostly rebuilt on a large scale in 1950-1960ies. In 1961 the city got a new name of Donetsk after the Donets river, a tributary of the Don.    

There are now more than 40 coalpits within the city's limits. Major integrated coking, iron- smelting and steel- making plants make modern Donetsk one of the largest metallurgical centres of Ukraine.

The city can't boast of a tourist boom although Donetsk region is quite intresting and filled with plenty of historical sightseeings, it mainly attracts foreign businessmen. Some new good hotels, restaurants and casinos have been recently built in Donetsk.

The principal street, from the railway station to the steelworks, is 5,5 miles (9 km) long, with the main shops, hotels and administrative buildings.

One of the characteristic features of the architectural outlook of Donetsk is the abundance of monuments constructed in typical socialist style.

Some new monuments appeared within the last ten years: a copy of the Tsar cannon was brought from the Moscow Kremlin, bronze monument to the founder of the city and some others.

Visiting Donetsk you can't miss the chance to watch the first monument to the Liverpool Four all over the former USSR. The figures are designed by a Ukrainian sculptor and made of plastic with bronze coating.

The Botanic Garden located in the city is an amazing man- planted place and one of the largest botanic parks in Europe. The city is very green although the air is not the cleanest due to surrounding factories.