Water is roaring again in the Korabelnyi District: the "Metalurh" fountain has been returned to residents

In Mykolaiv, after technical preparations, another 2 city fountains have started operating. One of them is in the square near the “Tesmi” factory at the corner of Pogranichna and Mala Morska streets, the second is in the “Metalurg” square in the Korabelnyi district.

This was reported by the Mykolaiv City Council. According to the mayor’s office, employees of KP “Mykolaiv Parks” cleaned the basins before launching the fountains, checked the pump equipment and electrical systems, carried out repairs and replacements of individual elements, adjusted the water supply, tested the circulation systems and performed commissioning works.

For residents of the Korabelnyi district the launching of the fountain in the “Metalurg” square has a special meaning. This is about a small fountain in the green area that many remember as the dendropark between the former “Furshet” supermarket and the “Metalurg” hotel.

This is not just a municipal object that is supplying water again today. This place has its own history connected to the late entrepreneur, philanthropist and community activist Oleksandr Pavlovych Voikhyevych, who for years, on his own and with the help of like-minded people, tried to make this part of the district more beautiful and comfortable for people.

How the small fountain in the dendropark appeared

The idea of creating a green corner in the Korabelnyi district belonged to Oleksandr Pavlovych Voikhyevych. He began to implement this plan by hand back in 2010.

Later Oleksandr Pavlovych Voikhyevych realized that support was needed to fully equip the area. Together with the public organization “Samozakhyst” he took part in RUSAL‘s grant competition and became one of its winners.

With the 120 thousand hryvnias won they purchased paving tiles, installed a small fountain and benches. More than 200 plants were planted in the park and an irrigation system was installed. For a district that always lacked cozy public spaces, this was a noticeable event.

16 July 2016 Korabelov.Info wrote about the opening of this dendropark in the Korabelnyi district. At that time local residents called the new green corner “a piece of Europe”, because in place of an ordinary area there appeared a space with plants, benches, paths, an irrigation system and a fountain.

The small fountain itself became one of the main features of this place. It was not a large city water feature, but for residents it had a different value: parents walked there with children, pensioners rested, teenagers gathered. It was a fountain not for reports, but for the people who pass by it every day.

A park created not by officials

The story of this fountain is also important because the dendropark did not appear as a typical budget reconstruction. Its foundation was the initiative of a single person — Oleksandr Pavlovych Voikhyevych, who wanted there to be more decent places for relaxation in the Korabelnyi district.

After the opening the park became publicly accessible. It was planned not only for daily relaxation among greenery, but also for free open-air film screenings. For the Korabelnyi district it was an attempt to create not just a square, but a small public space with life, events and a meeting place for residents.

The fountain stopped, the park was vandalized, but people still took care of it

Despite the good idea, the dendropark quickly faced problems. Already in the summer of 2016 Korabelov.Info wrote that some residents were disappointed: the promised film screenings did not take place, and the fountain was not working then either.

A more serious problem was vandalism. In 2018 local activists installed signs in the dendropark listing what had been stolen or broken. In the park they broke trees, pulled out lighting cables, stole the cable for the screen, parts of the fountain and newly planted plants.

Thus the small fountain in the “Metalurg” square survived not only technical stoppages. It became part of a broader story about how difficult it is in Mykolaiv to preserve what has been created by caring people when indifference, vandalism and the constant question remain: “Who is supposed to take care of this?”.

After Voikhyevych’s death the park received another memorial

Oleksandr Pavlovych Voikhyevych passed away in 2020. The farewell to the activist-founder of the dendropark in the Korabelnyi district took place in June 2020.

After his death a memorial plaque was installed on the territory of the dendropark. It was a sign of gratitude to a person who not only spoke about improvement, but actually created a place for the district that thousands of residents used.

But even the memorial plaque did not escape vandalism. In April 2025 the plaque in honor of Oleksandr Pavlovych Voikhyevych was desecrated by unknown persons. At that time concerned residents themselves restored it, not waiting for municipal workers.

That is why the current launch of the small fountain in the “Metalurg” square is more than another news item about the work of KP “Mykolaiv Parks”. It is a return to life of a place that has a human story, memory of its founder and a painful reminder: it is hard to create a space, but even harder to preserve it.

Why this fountain should not be confused with the large one near the Palace of Culture “Metalurgiv”

It is worth explaining an important detail separately. The small fountain in the dendropark near the former “Furshet” and the “Metalurg” hotel is not the same as the large fountain near the former Palace of Culture “Metalurgiv”.

Thus there are two different stories in the Korabelnyi district: the small fountain in the dendropark of Oleksandr Pavlovych Voikhyevych and the large fountain near the former Palace of Culture “Metalurgiv”. The current city council message about the launching of the fountain in the “Metalurg” square concerns precisely the small fountain in the green area, not the old large fountain by the palace of culture.

The small fountain as a symbol of responsibility

During the war, when Mykolaiv still lives with the consequences of Russian aggression, water supply problems, worn-out infrastructure and constant complaints about public improvement, launching a fountain may seem like a trifle. But for residents of a specific district such things matter.

The small fountain in the “Metalurg” square is part of local memory. It reminds people of Oleksandr Pavlovych Voikhyevych, of those who created the dendropark not for a polished report, but for neighbors, children, pensioners and everyone who wanted to have a normal place to relax nearby.

The main thing now is that this fountain is not just started for the season, but is really maintained. Because for the Korabelnyi district it is not just water in a basin. It is a story about memory, respect and responsibility for what caring people created.

Earlier we wrote:

• In Mykolaiv vandals urinated on the memorial plaque to the philanthropist who created the dendropark
• Mykolaiv residents said goodbye to the activist-founder of the dendropark in Korabelnyi
• “Do good?…” Dozens of plaques installed about the problems that affected the dendropark in the Korabelnyi district
• “Bummer” both with films and with the fountain… Mykolaiv residents were somewhat disappointed by the dendropark in Korabelnyi
• This island of beauty people called “a piece of Europe”. A dendropark was opened in Korabelnyi (VIDEO)