Description of the attraction
Palma Mertsalov is the oldest, but at the same time, the youngest symbol of the city. It is depicted on the coat of arms of the Donetsk region and is an element of the image policy of the entire Donbass. Filigree sculpture of a palm tree, which is 3.5 meters high, was forged from a rail at the very end of the 19th century by the blacksmith Alexei Mertsalov. Palma Mertsalov is located near the building of the regional museum of local lore and is a copy of the famous image of a palm tree, which was awarded the Grand Prix at the Paris Industrial and International Exhibition in 1900. The original palm tree is kept in St. Petersburg in the museum of the Mining Institute. This steel palm tree was forged in 1985 at a metallurgical plant called the Novorossiysk Society of Coal Rail and Iron Production.
Mertsalov's palm was created by a rather original method - without any joints and welding. The weight of this product is about 325 kg, and the diameter of its sheets is 2.5 meters. There are 10 leaves around the trunk of the palm tree. The leaves of this palm are a little springy, although they are made of steel and form one single whole with the trunk. The top ends with a whisk. For this palm, a tub was created, consisting of four rail posts, and 23 rings were laid around them, which at that time symbolized the age of the plant. To create this sculpture, Mertsalov, who worked simply from a postcard and had never seen real palm trees, took only three weeks in total.
On August 17, 1999, Mertsalov's palm was proclaimed a symbol of Donbass at the initiative of one of the charitable foundations and approved by the city council as a real key element of the coat of arms of the Donetsk region.
