Abandoned brick factory, Merefa

For decades Merefa supplied the whole district with building materials — glass, brick, concrete. The brick factory was part of that industrial backbone. Today all that remains is a shell of empty workshops: the very walls that once fired millions of bricks are now slowly crumbling themselves.

Location card

What it is and why people come here

This is an abandoned brick factory in Merefa — one of the plants on which the city’s industrial reputation rested. For fans of urbex and industrial aesthetics it’s a ready-made film set: kilns, workshops, narrow-gauge rails for tipper wagons, mountains of broken brick.

The appeal is the place’s honesty. No gloss here — just bare concrete, brick, and the traces of several generations of hard work.

History

Merefa grew into an industrial town after the railway arrived in the late 19th century. The city ran a glassworks, brick production and other industries — everything needed to fuel the region’s building boom.

Brick plants in Merefa were built and rebuilt throughout the 20th century; the post-war decades brought particularly intensive industrial growth. Local bricks went into construction projects across the entire Kharkiv region.

The economic crisis of the 1990s hit many of Merefa’s enterprises hard. Some productions shut down and never restarted — leaving industrial ruins standing in the middle of the living city.

Legends and local lore

1. Bricks with initials

Old brick plants often stamped their product — letters or a maker’s mark. Local collectors still search the ruins for bricks bearing the distinctive stamp, much like hunting for a coin from a vanished country.

2. The kiln that never cooled

They say the big ring kiln kept the air warm even in winter, and people gathered round it for heat. When the factory stopped, the story goes, the very first sensation was simply this — suddenly it was cold. More metaphor than fact, but it captures precisely what the plant meant to the town.

What to see on site

Production workshops. The spaces where bricks were moulded and dried — with distinctive rows of pillars and the ghost outlines of machinery.

Firing kilns. The heart of any brickworks. Even in ruin, their scale is striking.

Industrial landscape. Mountains of broken brick, narrow-gauge rails for tipper wagons, vegetation pushing up through concrete.

Getting there

By car. Merefa lies south of Kharkiv, reached via the Kharkiv highway. The factory is in the industrial part of town.

By public transport. Suburban trains and buses run from Kharkiv to Merefa. From the stop, head on foot to the industrial zone.

Important. Merefa has come under repeated rocket strikes and sits in the near-frontline zone of Kharkiv region. Check the security situation before any trip.

Traveller’s checklist

• Bring: sturdy footwear — broken brick and rebar everywhere.
• Bring: a torch and a fully charged phone.
• Check: the security situation in the area before heading out.
• Don’t: walk under unsafe floor slabs or kilns.
• Don’t: touch unfamiliar metal objects.

Frequently asked questions

Why was the factory abandoned?

The economic crisis of the 1990s: many of Merefa’s industrial enterprises shut down and never restarted.

Is it safe to visit?

Merefa is a near-frontline town in Kharkiv region that has come under attack. Plan any trip only after checking the current security situation, and explore the factory with care.

What else is industrial Merefa known for?

Merefa has always been an industrial town: it was also home to a well-known glassworks and other enterprises that shaped the city’s industrial identity.

The abandoned brick factory is a reminder that cities are built from actual bricks, and someone fired those bricks with their own hands. When a place like this shuts down, a town loses not just jobs — it loses a piece of its identity.

The walls here are still solid. Whether the kilns will ever burn again is a question not for history, but for the future.