Sights of Prokopyevsk

Achievements

Prokopyevsk is considered the largest coal mining city in Russia. The city produces 9 million tons of coal per year .
During wartime, the city was the industrial center of the country. The townspeople distinguished themselves during the Great Patriotic War, so Prokopyevsk received an award - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor .
Prokopyevsk is considered the first city in Western Siberia where a sound cinema .
Prokopyevsk set 18 world and Russian records for coal production.
The city is on the list of the first places in western Siberia where trams began to operate successfully . In Prokopyevsk there is an unusual museum whose exhibitions are dedicated to the history of this type of transport.

Tyrgan

This is the name of the central and largest district of the city, which is also the most modern and the most dynamically developing. Here you can climb the mountain - the highest point of the city - and look at the view. There are many interesting sculptures and shopping centers in this area.

The highlight is the Youth Park with attractions, sports and playgrounds, beautiful trails and an alley of heroes.

Territory

The area of the city reaches 227.5 square meters. km . For comparison, you can take the largest city - Moscow, whose area is 5 times .
The territory crosses complex terrain. The highest point in the Western part of the city is 470 m above sea level. The center is located at 270-300 m , and in the eastern part the heights reach 350 m . Thus, significant elevation changes are observed throughout the city.
There were once 16 coking coal mines . In 2022, the last mine, named after Dzerzhinsky, .
The territory belongs to the south of the Siberian part of the country. That is why there are cold winters and hot summers. Temperature changes have been particularly pronounced in recent years.
The city has an amazing natural monument, which is popularly called “Field of Miracles” . Here you can find minerals dating back to the Paleozoic era. Previously, on the territory of the city, according to paleontologists, there was a warm sea in which cephalopods, bryozoans, brachiopods, crinoids and sea urchins lived. Today, on the territory of this unique natural monument, you can find various fossils of the distant past.
On the territory there is Mount Barsuk (Badger Mountain). Its highest point reaches 576 m , and at the very top there is a hoisted flag of the city.
The Tyrgan district is considered the largest and most developed center . It is filled with attractions, shopping centers, alleys, playgrounds and parks.

Zenkovsky Park

A wonderful place to relax when you want more nature is Zenkovsky Park on Kustarnaya Street, 35. Even people from other cities in the country come here.

Everything here is enveloped in the aroma of pine trees and the singing of birds. In winter you can have fun at the ski resort, and in summer you can find any entertainment you like, from tennis to water activities. Everything here is very well thought out in terms of location, there are many cafes. In addition to everything, the park has a huge pond where you can swim or admire the view.

Drama Theater

Continuing the tour of the city, the Prokopyevsky Drama Theater, which bears the name of the Lenin Komsomol, will be interesting. This is the only theater in the city. Also located at 35 Shakhtyorov Avenue and crowned by a large pedestrian square. It looks very grandiose with columns in the Stalinist Empire style. The theater is valued for its performances, and the cast is famous throughout the country. Locals and tourists call the theater a unique creation of those parts. In addition to its actors, theater troupes often come to the theater on tour.

With the support of this institution, various flash mobs are often held in the city, and on Thursdays in June only comedies are staged.

The theater has its own website where you can view the poster and purchase tickets online.

Notes

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OKATO 32 437
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Law of the Kemerovo region “On the administrative-territorial structure of the Kemerovo region”
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Charter of the municipal formation "Prokopyevsky urban district"
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The permanent population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2022 (Russian). Retrieved April 27, 2022. Archived May 2, 2022.
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General plan of the city of Prokopyevsk
Glotov G. A. The future of Kuzbass cities
All-Union Population Census 1939 – Demoscope
History of Prokopyevsk

Story

Initially, on the territory where Prokopyevsk now stands, there was the village of Monastyrskaya , which later became a village with the same name for the city.
The village of Prokopyevskoye , the place where the city originated, received its name from Procopius of Ustyug, a miracle worker and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1911, the village was the center of a volost that bore the same name.
The city was built on the basis of 23 villages in the region .
The territory crosses complex terrain . The highest point, in the western part of the city, is 470 m above sea level . The center is located at 270-300 m , and the eastern part - up to 350 m . Thus, elevation changes are observed throughout the city.
According to some sources, the history of the city began with a mine located on its territory.

Architectural monuments of the city of Prokopyevsk

Modern Prokopyevsk was founded on the site of several 17th-century villages, but it is difficult to find ancient buildings in the city. Most of the interesting buildings date back to the Soviet era.

Van Loghem Houses

Johannes Bernardus van Loghem was a Dutch engineer and architect who lived in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century. In the 20s, a talented figure supervised the construction of workers’ settlements in the Kemerovo region, including Prokopyevsk.

Van Loghem had to work in difficult conditions: the engineer did not have accurate maps of the area, he was forced to independently study the area and immediately create drawings. The Dutchman worked tirelessly, since housing for the workers of the Kuzbass colony had to be built as soon as possible. The architect designed 15 types of apartment buildings.

Few buildings created according to van Loghem's designs have survived to this day. In Prokopyevsk, several long one-story barracks, called “sausages,” have been preserved. You can see the legacy of the Dutch specialist on Nikitskaya and Klinicheskaya streets, as well as on Shakhterov Avenue.

Shakhtar Stadium

Address: st. Kosmonavta Volynova, 9A.

Prokopyevsky stadium is one of the oldest in Kuzbass. A huge sports facility was erected in 1935 on the territory of the former village of Krutiye Topki. In 1940, the first football match officially took place here.

Shakhtar's stands are located in the open air; initially they accommodated 12,500 people. After two large-scale reconstructions, the capacity of the structure was reduced by almost three times; today only 3,400 seats remain in the stadium.

Since Soviet times, the stadium has been decorated with a monument to Lenin, covered in gold paint. Shakhtar hosts all major sporting events and competitions of the city and region, and also trains the football club of the same name.

Houses with towers

Address: Artyoma street, 4.

On both sides of the Drama Theater, unusual residential buildings stand symmetrically. It’s impossible not to notice them: the bright yellow-red buildings have turrets topped with spiers and red stars.

The houses themselves are five stories high, while the towers are six stories tall. These are not the only similar examples of Soviet architecture: on Komsomolskaya Street there is a similar building of the Zarya Hotel, built in 1956.

However, several years ago the hotel lost its beautiful spire and, having lost its individuality, merged with the neighboring buildings. The houses near the theater have been preserved in their original form. Like the theater, the towers are illuminated at night.

Prokopyevsk temples and churches

Prokopyevsk is a multi-religious city in the Kemerovo region. In addition to Orthodox churches, there are active Muslim mosques and a Roman Catholic church in the area.

Mahalla Ramadan Mosque

Address: Beregovaya st., 32.

Several years ago, the Muslim organization Mahalla-Ramadan was founded in Prokopyevsk, where hundreds of Muslims live. Believers do not have a spacious mosque, as in some surrounding towns, so local adherents of Islam gather in a small brick house on Beregovaya Street.

Muslims not only participate in congregational prayer, but also conduct classes for children and are actively involved in social assistance: visiting veterans, the elderly and prisoners.

Saj Mosque

Address: Stepnaya st., 21, village of Verkh-Egos.

Another mosque adorns the village of Verkh-Egos, located 16 kilometers from the regional center. A magnificent one-story building with a green roof and a tall minaret was erected in 2010 with funds from sponsors and Muslims in the area.

The mosque has offices for work, separate rooms for men and women for ablutions, a library and a spacious prayer hall for 150 people. The grand opening of the building took place in 2012.

Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Address: st. Morozova, 10.

The Church of the Intercession is the first Orthodox building built in Prokopyevsk during Soviet times. The small parish has an unusual and very difficult history. After the Revolution, persecution of religion began in the city, as throughout the country, and services ceased in almost all parishes.

Under fear of reprisals, any rituals were prohibited. Nevertheless, the Prokopchan believers were able to secretly organize prayer meetings in the house of Ivan Korolev. During the Great Patriotic War, the authorities made concessions for the Church. In 1943, Ivan Safonovich purchased a small barracks in the village of Ziminka and converted it into a prayer house.

In the spring of 1945, a few days before the Victory, officials officially registered the religious community. Three months later, the building was rebuilt, giving it a cruciform shape. Two altars were consecrated in the new church: in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov.

In subsequent decades, the temple was rebuilt more than once and changed its external and internal appearance. At the end of the 90s, a new chapel was opened in the basement. The church is currently active.

The temple is right. Procopy of Ustyug

Address: Prokopyevskaya st., 85.

The ancient village was named in honor of the righteous Procopius of Ustyug back in the 18th century, and therefore it is quite expected to see a temple of this saint in the city. The first wooden church was built in 1753 by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The building was destroyed in 1938 during a period of fierce struggle against religion.

Several years ago, a new temple was erected in Prokopyevsk in honor of the city's patron saint. The wooden structure is so small that it looks more like a chapel. In 2013, the church was solemnly consecrated.

Roman Catholic Church

Address: Okhotskaya street, 81A.

On the northern outskirts of Prokopyevsk there is the only temple of the Roman Catholic Church in the city. The parish was founded in 1958 by the visiting Greek Catholic priest Vasily Rutka. In 1995, a small temple of the Mother of God of Perpetual Help was built, in which divine services according to the Byzantine rite began to be held regularly.