Slovyansk

Sloviansk Слов'янськ
City
Former city bank building
Flag Seal
Sloviansk
Coordinates: 48°51′12″N 37°37′30″E / 48.85333°N 37.62500°E / 48.85333; 37.62500Coordinates: 48°51′12″N 37°37′30″E / 48.85333°N 37.62500°E / 48.85333; 37.62500
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Donetsk Oblast
Founded	1645
Area
• Total	58.9 km2 (22.7 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	117,445
Climate	Dfb
Website	http://www.slavrada.gov.ua/

Sloviansk (Ukrainian: Слов'янськ, transliterated Slov”yans’k; Russian: Славянск, translit. Slavyansk) is a city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It also serves as the administrative center of the Sloviansk Raion (district), though it does not belong to the raion. It was founded in 1676. The city was one of the focal points in the early stages of the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine. It was retaken by Ukrainian forces in July 2014. Population: 117,445 (2013 est.).

The city of Sloviansk was founded by Russian tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich in 1645 as a border fortress against the Crimean attacks and slave raids on the southern suburbs of the Russian State. In 1676, a fortress named Tor was built at the confluence of the Kazenyy Torets and Sukhyy Torets Rivers where they form the Torets River, a tributary of Donets River. Shortly thereafter, the town of Tor grew up next to the fortress.

As several salt lakes were located close by, the town became a producer of salt. During the sixteenth century, salt production was the principal local industry, but during the eighteenth century, it became unprofitable and ceased on December 21, 1782.

In 1784, the city was renamed Sloviansk, and it became a part of the Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire in 1797. A resort was established on the shores of Lake Ropne in 1832.