Sometimes, all it takes is a glance at your feet to get a sense of history. The terracotta tile factory of the joint-stock company “Dziewulski and Lange” was founded in Slovyansk in 1895—it was a branch of a well-known enterprise in the Polish city of Opoczno, founded in 1883 by Jan Dzewulski and the brothers Józef and Władysław Lange.

His tiles are still being found all over Ukraine, and they show virtually no signs of wear. The tile in the photo was found in the Holy Ascension Cathedral in Izyum (built in 1826).

Slovyansk, which was part of the Sloboda-Ukrainian Governorate (renamed the Kharkiv Governorate in 1835), was until recently considered one of the centers of Ukraine’s ceramics industry. The administrative building of the “Dziewulski and Lange” company has also survived there, though, alas, it is in a dismal state. All in all, looking down at your feet can be just as useful as looking up.