Dnepropetrovsk is situated in central Ukraine (more south-east direction) on both banks of the mighty Dnepr River. Deemed by Catherine the Great to become the 3rd capital of the Russian Empire, Dnepropetrovsk today is the 3rd largest city of Ukraine with the population of over 1 million people.
Dnepropetrovsk is one of the most beautiful cities of Ukraine and the main highly developed vital industrial, trade, educational and cultural centre of Eastern Ukraine.
Dnepropetrovsk is most important for the powerful metallurgical and machine building industries. In recent past it was one of the key centers of arms (ballistic missiles manufacturing) and space industries of the former USSR.
Built on 3 hills overlooking the beautiful peaceful waters of the Dnepr River (which is very broad here) with its picturesque islands and lavishly green river banks, lush meadows and valleys, Dnepropetrovsk today is preserving its historical past, still is a vibrant modern city with a skyscraper skyline, broad boulevards, Europe’s longest embankment, abundant greenery, beautiful historical parks, bridges and rich fountains of water.
The first settlements appeared in the area as early as about 150,000 years ago. Later in history these lands were becoming home to different tribes, e.g. Cimmerians (3000 years ago), Scythians (ca.700 BC), Sarmatians (200 BC), Slavic tribes (1st century of our era) and an arena of struggle between the Slavs and the Asian nomads (Tatars).
There exist at least 7 versions of dating the organized settlement, starting from 870 AC, when according to legend, the Byzantine monks founded a monastery on an island, which now bears the name of the Monastery Island. The first fortified town settlements, though, appeared in the middle of the 16th century. The history of “the free people”, Cossacks, leads to another date in 17th century, when the Kodak Fortress was built in Kodaki (in the outskirts of modern Dnepropetrovsk), which was rivalry of Poland, Turkey and Russia in the region.
1776 is an official date of the new city foundation, which is the result of Catherine the Great’s ambitious plan of southern expansion of the Russian Empire. The city was founded by Prince Potemkin at the Russian Empress’s order and bore the name Yekaterinoslav meaning The Glory of Yekaterina until 1926. For one year in 1918 the city’s name was Sicheslav meaning The Glory of http://www.go2kiev.com/edit/dnepropetrovsk.html?space=htdocsSich” i.e. Cossacks’ Fortress.
Since 1926 the city bears the name Dnepropetrovsk, often lovingly abbreviated by its citizens to Dnepr. The city’s name comprises of 2 words - Dnepr (name of the river) and Petrovsky (personal name). Another version which seems to be true (geographically) might be a combination of the word Dnepro (from old Iranian “Dan” - River) and the Greek word “Petros” - Stone i.e. Stones in the River or “Rapids” which used to be plentiful in the region.
Useful City Info:
Main museums: Historical, Arts, Literature museums, Diorama “Battle for the Dnepr”.
Theatres: Opera and Ballet Theatre, Gorky Russian Drama Theatre, Shevchenko Ukrainian Drama Theatre, Puppet Theatre etc.
Annual events: International Jazz Festival “Jazz on the Dneper” (October), IDSF Open Sport Dance Tournament “Stanislav Shklyar’s Cup”, International Contemporary Dance Festival “Free Dance” (April) and others Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shevchenko 4, (562) 362 258, web http://www.dcci.dp.ua/, http://www.ucci.org.ua/en/rccis/12rcci.html
The city also has a Ukrainian Premiere League Football Club “Dnipro”
There’s a Metro (underground line with 6 stations, the second line is still in construction).
The International airport Dnepropetrovsk (DNK) offers direct flights to and via Vienna, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Moscow and other cities. Dnepropetrovsk is 500 km away from Kiev. It takes 1 hour by air or 6 hours by car or by Intercity express train to get there.
.jpg)