(Not) a lost map. Places of Ukrainian strength

Christina Butko / New map / January 12, 2023

"The school where I studied", "the office of the university where I met my first love", "The cultural center near which the Christmas tree was erected and we went there as a whole family every year on holidays", "the church where we were baptized the first son". Places mutilated by Russian shelling are often not only architectural monuments. Their symbolism is much deeper, especially for the townspeople, for whom individual houses, monuments, squares and squares are associated with significant events in their lives or pleasant memories. And now the sight of destroyed buildings causes wounds no less than the fragments of a rocket that cuts through the skin. One way or another, part of the architectural objects will be rebuilt, and we will probably lose some. That's why we decided to create an interactive Google map that would record iconic architectural places that were the embodiment of the peaceful life of Ukrainians.

Interactive map

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA launches the "(Not) lost map" project. Places of Ukrainian strength", which involves the creation of interactive Google map. It will allow you to virtually travel through different regions of Ukraine and get acquainted with important places that are important both in the historical and cultural context and in the personal worldview of Ukrainians, but which were affected by the destructive invasion of the Russians.

Among them, you can find historical buildings of different eras, museums, religious objects, and newly built landmarks that quickly became popular with the townspeople or became points of attraction for tourists.

We wrote in more detail about each of the objects in our previous materials, where, talking about individual affected regions of Ukraine, we more emotionally revealed the issue of the consequences of Russian shelling for places of interest, monuments and cities as a whole, raised the problems of their further development and reconstruction . We have gathered all these places together in an interactive Google map.

Screenshot from the map "(Not) lost map. Places of Ukrainian strength"

By clicking on the object, the user gets access to unique stories of surviving, partially destroyed or destroyed monuments, illustrated with photos and sketches. The map will allow you to quickly move between cities, and geolocation will provide a quick understanding of where exactly the object is located. Also, thanks to the map, you can quickly find a landmark or object of interest to the user, read historical information about this place, and find out what condition it is in as a result of Russian shelling.

Screenshot from the map "(Not) lost map. Places of Ukrainian strength"

For example, choosing the ensemble "Building of the central square" in Marhanka, you will learn that it "was formed in the 50s of the XX century. next to Hirnytska Slava Square (formerly Lenin Square) and includes the Palace of Culture, a stadium with a colonnade, and residential buildings. The building was damaged during enemy shelling of the city in August 2022. In 2019, the local authorities planned a major reconstruction of Hirnytska Slava Square, however, the project was not completed." The map allows you to learn about the damaged architectural objects in different regions of Ukraine — on Chernihiv region, Kharkiv region, Sumy, Mykolaiv region etc.

The project was created with the financial support of the Stabilization Fund for Culture and Education 2022 together with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and the Goethe-Institut.