For more than a year, the residents of Soledar, eastern Ukraine, have been able to rejoice in the “security and prosperity” brought to them by Russian soldiers. However, there are not many of them left, of its approximately eleven thousand inhabitants, only a few hundred of them live in the ruins of the city.
Soledar was the largest salt mine in Europe, after the war swept through it, it remains out of business.
During the heavy fighting, the local salt mine was seriously damaged, which with its more than 200 kilometers of underground tunnels is the largest in Europe and before the war provided 95% of all Ukrainian salt consumption. Unfortunately, after the fall of Bakhmut, 16 kilometers away, it seems that this historically significant place will not return to Ukrainian administration for some time.
In order not to forget his importance even in these difficult times, the Ukrainian government, through its official fundraising platform United 24, has created at least a digital version of Soledar in the world of the popular computer game Minecraft.
Comparison of footage from the game with reality
In addition to raising awareness of the city itself among the general public, the main goal of the Minesalt project is to collect funds for the repair of a school in the Dnepropetrovsk region that was destroyed by a Russian missile.
There are more than 200 kilometers of shafts under Soledar. Some are so wide that several tanks could pass through them side by side.
The construction was done by a group of experienced virtual builders who go by the name Endorah. Although they could not use any official documentation and plans, they managed to create a map with the maximum possible accuracy based on many photos and cooperation with former mine employees. In addition to underground shafts, it also contains an above-ground part, including the iconic mining tower. All Minecraft players can try the map for free at this link, others can at least take a look at our gallery to compare the game world with reality.
Players have the task of collecting 140 hidden salt crystals in the checkered Soledar in the fastest possible time, the first three fastest will then receive an Xbox and a package of salt signed directly by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
At the same time, he is not the only well-known personality involved in the project. Other ambassadors whose voice will accompany you while playing are, for example, British billionaire and founder of the Virgin entertainment colossus Richard Branson, Nobel Prize laureate for physiology and medicine Paul Nurse or astronaut Scott Kelly.
Virtual Soeldar is impressive and created for godly purposes, but we’ve seen larger projects in the past. Among the most interesting, we can name, for example, Tolkien’s Middle-earth (see our article), the magical realm from Harry Potter (see our article) or a city the size of Los Angeles (see our article).
