The park of forged figures in Donetsk is one of the main attractions of the city, closely related to its history. It is visited by everyone who comes to the city and, judging by the reviews, get great pleasure from the tour.
The first experiments of Donetsk masters
At the Yuzovka metallurgical plant (present-day Donetsk) in 1896, Alexei Mertsalov, together with his comrades, forged a palm from the rail, which later received the name of its creator. Mertsalov’s Palm was sent to the All-Russian Art Exhibition, which was held in Nizhny Novgorod, where she received the main award.
Then the creation of the Donetsk masters was sent to France. In 1900, Mertsalov’s work was highly appreciated at the World Exhibition in Paris - the Grand Prix. Today it is an exhibit of the St. Petersburg Museum at the Mining University, and in its homeland in Donetsk there are numerous copies of it.
Park of forged figures in Donetsk: history
Since those distant times noble blacksmiths have not been transferred to Donetsk. Confirmation of these words was the creation of the Forged Figures Park, which appeared in the city a century after the legendary triumph of “Mertsalov’s Palms”. The leader and author of this project was Viktor Burduk, Honored Worker of Culture of Ukraine .
In the summer of 2001, the park was opened. At that time, ten forged figures were installed in it. At the same time, the annual festival dedicated to blacksmithing in Donetsk was held. Since then, according to tradition, the works prepared for the festival remain in Donetsk as a gift from the authors to the city.
Today in the park there are more than 162 interesting compositions from art metal. The park of forged figures in Donetsk (you can see the photo in this article) gained popularity among local residents and visitors of the city. Already in 2002, his exposition was replenished with 19 new works and two original arbors, called “Ukrainian” and “Four Dragons”.
"Arbor of lovers"
In the Park of forged figures in Donetsk (address - Artem St., 98), in 2004 the amazing “Arbor of Lovers” appeared. This is a unique work on which many blacksmith workshops of the city worked. It is decorated with numerous bouquets of forged flowers, which were made by craftsmen from different cities of Ukraine. All of them presented their products to Donetsk.
At the same time, the Blacksmith Art Festival, which has already become a tradition, received the status of All-Ukrainian. The Union of Blacksmith Art Masters of the country was also founded.
"Zodiac signs"
This alley is the result of the work of masters of Alexandria and Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kiev. It was opened in the Forged Figures Park in Donetsk in 2005. In the same year, the first national blacksmith all-around championship was held in the city. Great masters competed in professionalism.
"Alley of fairy tales"
The year 2006 was especially productive when the Alley of Fairy Tales opened in the Forged Figures Park in Donetsk. It consists of twelve figures that depict fairy-tale characters beloved by children: Pinocchio and Lesovichka, the Head of Svyatogor and Kolobok, Mukha Tsokotuha and Thumbelina, Samodelkin and Pike, Pan Kotsky and the Rejuvenating Apple Tree. For children, and for many adult visitors, this avenue has become a favorite.
International festival
The popular blacksmithing festival became international in 2007. This time, one hundred and fifty masters from ten countries of the world submitted their works to the audience. This year for the Forged Figures Park in Donetsk, a description of which has increasingly begun to appear in foreign publications, has become a landmark.
Five-meter structures appeared on the Alley of Arches, separated by sixteen forged benches of the author's work. Especially noteworthy is the 11th arch, which was called the “Arch of Friendship”: the participants of the festival forged jewelry for it in a creative community.
Recognition in Europe
This event took place in 2008, when the park was recognized as unique in Europe , and the city of Donetsk became a full member of the Society of European Blacksmith Cities. This success was marked by the opening of the Alley of the Rings park.
A gift to the city
During the celebration of the 140th anniversary of Donetsk (2009), the “Alley to the beloved city” was opened in the Forged Figures Park. In addition, the collection was replenished with interesting exhibits: for example, a copy of the UEFA Cup. Noteworthy is the “Connecting Hearts” alley that appeared at the same time. Her highlight was the castle, the size of which is closed - seventy centimeters.
Blacksmithing connoisseurs were pleased with three five-meter roses made of silver metal.
XII International Festival
It took place in the city from September 18 to 19, 2010. The official part of the program included collaboration on the sculptural composition “Friendship Bridge”, the competitions “The Blacksmith's Kitchen” and “The Blacksmith's Suit”, horse-shoeing, and master classes. But the main event of the festival was the forged guitar game and a demonstration of incredible forged outfits.
"Christmas tree"
This is the result of the collective work of blacksmiths from different countries. This exhibit was donated to Donetsk in 2012. It was installed on the "Alley beloved city." And at the festival, held this year, “Bird Banker” was presented, which was presented to the city by “VBR Bank”. The inscription on the pedestal invites guests to throw a coin and make a secret wish, after having rubbed the bird's beak.
"Blacksmith"
This composition was donated to the City Day in 2013. It was installed on the “Avenue of Masters”. During the next International Festival in the Park of Forged Figures in Donetsk, this magnificent collective work, The Blacksmith, was opened. In addition to her, a lot of miniatures were brought to the festival, the work of both Ukrainian and foreign masters. New exhibits were installed on the Alley of Architectural Replicas: Pagoda, Leaning Tower of Pisa and Mill.
The author and project manager announced at the festival that all the works exhibited in the village of Shilovka, Donetsk Region, are a branch of the Park and are called the "School Alley". There are exhibited works of collective creativity: "Shod Book", "Unit", "Globe" and others.
2014 festival
The fate of this festival has long been in doubt. Military operations began in Donetsk and the region, the city was constantly fired from artillery shells. The issue of holding for a long time was very difficult to solve, but in spite of everything, it took place, although its program was reduced to a minimum: it lasted only one day.
The theme of the festival of this difficult year was “The Dove of Peace”. Masters from Germany and Austria, Israel and Norway, the Netherlands and many cities of Russia: Kaliningrad and Belgorod, Perm and Moscow, Ulyanovsk and St. Petersburg sent their works to the semi-blockade city. This year, the festival was the first event in the city since the outbreak of hostilities that directly affected the capital of Donbass.
Given the complexity of the situation, the Blacksmiths Guild established a special award developed by Eugene Lavrinenko and Viktor Burduk. Thirteen participants of the festival were awarded the “Shod Peace Dove” medal.
"Park of forged figures in Donetsk-2016"
This festival began its work in the center of Donetsk with the presentation of a new work. It was an installation called “Swing Swords for Screaming,” which is a three-meter complex composition forged from fragments of shells and shells.
The composition is based on a sword. The figure is made up of various elements symbolizing life and death, peace and war. Fragments of shells brought by local residents became the material for this forged sculpture. This work was created by ten blacksmiths who worked on it for two weeks. Elements of the composition were steel and pigeons, which were made by foreign masters from Finland and Germany.