"In the Oasis of the Donets Basin" Varvarivka by hunterV

Varvarivka Travel Guide: 20 reviews and 146 photos

Prophet St.Elijah's Monastery is in the center

Named After Varvara

The village of Varvarivka, Kreminne County of Luhansk region, Ukraine, was named in honor of Varvara (Barbara), the daughter of the local landlord who had founded the village.
The village was founded in 1680.
St.Elijah's Cathedral built at the end of the 17th century is the only surviving witness of those times. Now there is a monastery there.
The monastery was created at the territory of the cathedral in 2005.
My brother’s father-in-law and I went there and met Father Joasaph and talked to him.
I spent a day in that village several times.
We walked round its center and went to village stores.
It's always a pleasure to visit the monastery, the cathedral and to take a shower at the local Virgin Mary's Font located very close to where my brother's mother-in-law lives.

Whereabouts

I called this tractor "Lenin Tractor"...

The village is located in Kreminne County of Luhansk region, about 130 km/80 miles to the northwest of Luhansk. The county itself is known as the Oasis of the Donets Basin and Our Lake District.
Rubizhne, the city I was born in, is the nearest big city to Varvarivka. The villagers use its railway station located about 10 km/6.2 miles away from the village.
Kreminne, the county center, is much farther away: 22 km/14 miles away. So the villagers prefer to travel to Rubizhne, the nearest city, for shopping and selling their agricultural products.
The village is located at Rubizhne – Starobelsk motorway. This road crossing the village is good enough. All other streets are typical country roads, especially Eastern Street where my relatives live now. That street is simply an earth road.

Bolshevik Collective Farm

One of the village streets, Varvarivka

In Soviet times there was a huge collective farm at the village. It was called Bolshevik and was called a millionaire collective farm, that is, the one whose income exceeded a million roubles. It had about 6,000 hectares/23 square miles of land at its disposal and built the entire infrastructure in the village. It was famous for its high quality wheat, dairy products and eggs.
It’s a pity the canning factory built on the outskirts of the village by the collective farm stands still now. It was not even put into operation. Its huge premises as well as the basement of the swimming pool located next to the leisure center remind us of the gigantic plans of the big Soviet collective farm, the plans that were not destined to come true…
Also, see Map of Varvarivka

Pros and Cons

Pros:Wonderful landscapes, lots of greenery, hospitable people
Cons:modest modern conveniences in private houses
In a nutshell:Big hospitable village in the Forest Oasis of the Donets Basin

Last visit to Varvarivka: Aug 2012
Intro Updated Sep 28, 2012
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Reviews (20)

The traditional Feast Day Lunch - Varvarivka

Pilgrims Lunch Local Customs (7)

The Prophet St.Elijah Liturgy is followed by the pilgrims' lunch. All the pilgrims are invited to the foyer of the... more travel advice

Remembering the Legendary Heroes Local Customs (7)

The villagers keep the memory of their legendary fellow countryman who became a war hero. When you visit the leisure... more travel advice

Bas reliefs in the foyer of the leisure center - Varvarivka

Leisure Activities Local Customs (7)

The village leisure center organizes the interested villagers into different hobby and amateur activities group. They... more travel advice

Entering the cathedral on Feast Day - Varvarivka

Honoring Prophet St.Elijah Local Customs (7)

The Day of Prophet St.Elijah is among the best-revered feast days in Orthodox countries. Ukraine is not an exception. On... more travel advice

Favorites (2)
See All People's Handicrafts
Nightlife (1)
Village Nightclub
Shopping (1)
Private Shop
Transportation (2)
See All Entering the Village

Warnings and Dangers (1)
Eastern Street
Things to Do (5)
See All Introduce Yourself
Restaurants (1)
Village Bar
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Comments (12)

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Kuznetsov_Sergey Oct 28, 2012 at 8:53 AM

Great updating here since December of 2011! A Place of Pilgrimage looks very attractive for religious people...
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  hunterV Oct 28, 2012 at 9:01 AM
  
  You are right, Sergey! We were privileged to be there on Feast Day!
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Yaqui Aug 18, 2012 at 11:32 AM

Your pages are always so delightful! Thanks for sharing them.
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Basaic Sep 19, 2011 at 12:49 PM

Another great page!
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breughel Jul 26, 2011 at 2:26 AM

Hello Victor, thanks for visiting my new Salamanca page. The cold and rainy weather over here made me look at some photos from Spain. I see you are the first here on Varvarivka!
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MalenaN Oct 5, 2010 at 9:26 PM

Interesting to read about this village in a part of the world where I have never been!
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globetrott Jul 31, 2010 at 2:36 AM

a lot of great updates again about this nice place, thanks for putting it on VT, Victor !
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deecat Jan 11, 2010 at 5:58 AM

Enjoyed seeing new winter travelogue. Like the idea of visiting a school; I think you really get to know the community via the school [a bit biased aren't I?]
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sourbugger Nov 5, 2009 at 8:21 AM

i shall probably give this town a skip in life - sorry
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yumyum Jul 14, 2009 at 1:02 AM

Thanks for showing us "off the beaten path" destinations in Ukraine!
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hopang Mar 10, 2009 at 6:55 AM

Lovely page with great photos complete with interesting choice of frames. Thanks for visiting our Sweden page. ~ho & pang