Locations
An interactive atlas of the cities, industrial complexes, and civic infrastructure that anchored Ukraine within the European economic landscape. Explore each location to trace its coordinates, cinematic records, and the visionary figures who built it.
Population Centers
The towns and cities the archive covers, and the churches, houses and monuments standing in them.
Berdiansk
A vibrant port city on the Sea of Azov, Berdiansk grew into a major international gateway and engineering center in the late 19th century, powered by British industrial manufacturing and Western European grain-export syndicates.
Dnipro
Known in the late 19th century as the "Manchester of the South," Dnipro (then Katerynoslav) served as the financial, logistical, and administrative headquarters for Western European capital, uniting Kryvbas iron ore with Donbas coal via French, Belgian, and German-financed infrastructure.
Druzhkivka
In the late 19th century, Druzhkivka was transformed from a quiet railway stop into a flourishing metallurgical center driven by French capital, European engineers, and modern civic infrastructure.
Kamianske
Transformed in the late 19th century by Belgian capital, Kamianske grew from a Cossack village into a major industrial city centered around the Dnieper Metallurgical Plant—one of Eastern Europe’s largest steel facilities—and its historic Belgian architectural colonies.
Kryvyi Rih
Forged in the late 19th century through French and Belgian capital, Kryvyi Rih transformed from a tranquil steppe settlement into an international mining superpower, driven by vast iron ore quarries and European engineering.
Lysychansk
Known as the "Cradle of Donbas," Lysychansk is one of the region's oldest industrial cities, famous for hosting the first Donbas coal mine and a rich 19th-century Belgian architectural heritage.
Mariupol
Situated on the Sea of Azov, the port city of Mariupol grew into a global metallurgical powerhouse in the late 19th century through state-of-the-art American machinery and Belgian-backed industrial enterprises.
Mykolay-Pole
Founded in 1869 as Nikolaifeld, the administrative center of the Yazykovo Mennonite colony near Zaporizhzhia, Mykolay-Pole developed into a thriving agricultural and manufacturing hub renowned for its imposing red-brick secondary school, mechanical mills, and distinctive European Protestant architecture.
New York
Founded in 1889 by German Mennonites, the town of New-York (later renamed Novhorodske by Soviet authorities) grew into a bustling industrial agricultural settlement famous for advanced machinery plants, brick factories, and iconic structures like Peter Dick's steam mill.
Yuzivka
Founded in 1869 by Welsh businessman John Hughes, the workers' settlement was initially named Yuzove or Yuzivka after him. It was later renamed Stalino in 1924, before finally being named Donetsk in 1961.
Industry Areas
Works and mines — the sites the region was made by.
Donetsk Metallurgical Plant
In 1869, the British engineer and entrepreneur John Hughes began the construction of a metallurgical plant and a railway. During Yuz's time, the city was divided into two parts: Factory, "English Colony" - a place where workers who came to Yuzivka from Great Britain lived, and "New World" - an area where local workers lived. The creation of the plant was the cause of mass migration of workers from Wales to the future Donetsk.
Donetsk Soda Plant
«Donetsk Soda Plant» was founded in 1892 by the Belgian industrialist Ernest Solve. More than 30 objects of Belgian architectural heritage were found around Donsoda. Near the factory at the beginning of the 19th century. a small town was built with all the infrastructure, part of the buildings remained at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
Illich Steel and Iron Works
Founded in 1897 by Belgian industrial interests, the "Russian Providence" metallurgical plant in Mariupol was a modern European enterprise that was later nationalized by the Soviets and merged into the iconic Ilyich Steel and Iron Works.
Peter Dick's Steam Mill
One of the largest steam mills in the German Mennonite colony that existed in the Donetsk region at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Built in 1903, it served as the mill of the village of New York and its surrounding area for decades.
Infrastructure
Hospitals, railways and waterworks — what was built to keep the works running and the towns supplied.
