Dnipropetrovsk Totally Explained

Everything about Dnipropetrovsk totally explained

Dnipropetrovsk (; ; formerly Yekaterinoslav, ) is Ukraine's third largest city with 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located south of Ukraine's capital Kiev (Kyiv) on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country. Dnipropetrovsk is the administrative center of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (province).
A vital industrial center of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk was one of the key centers of the nuclear, arms, and space industries of the former Soviet Union. In particular, it's home to Yuzhmash, a major space and ballistic missile designer and manufacturer. Because of its military industry, the city was a closed city until the 1990s.
Dnipropetrovsk has a highly-developed public transportation system, including the Dnipropetrovsk Metro, which consists of one metro line with a total of 6 stations.

Geography

Climate

During the summer, Dnipropetrovsk is very warm (average day temperature in July is +24 to +27 °C (76 to 80 °F), and in the winter, it's cold (average day temperature in January is −3 to +4 °C (+24 to +39 °F).
   The best time for visiting the city is in late spring — second part of April and May, and early in autumn: September, October, when the city's trees turn yellow. Long periods of rain are normal in autumn. Other times are mainly dry with a few showers.
   The climate is a mixture of temperate and continental climates and sometimes in the winter it's very cold and snowy (sometimes dropping down to −10 to −15 °C), and in summer, the city isn't very hot (up to +29 to +30 °C).
   "However, the city is characterized with significant pollution of air with industrial emissions."

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Ave. temperature °C (°F)	-5.5 (22)	-4.1 (25)	0.8 (33)	9.4 (49)	16.0 (61)	19.6 (67)	21.3 (70)	20.6 (69)	15.4 (59)	8.4 (47)	2.5 (37)	-2.1 (28)	8.6 (48)
Ave. precipitation mm	45	36	34	38	46	59	56	37	36	32	42	52	43
Source: Gorod.dp.ua

History

The first people appeared in the area somewhere about 150,000 years ago. The settlements of these early people were found in the outskirts of the city and on Monastyrsky Island. This unique island appears throughout the history of Prydniprovye, as a consistent center of events as well as the ancient nucleus of the city. After the last Ice Age—10 thousand years ago—the settling of the Prydniprovye area began more intensely. In ~3500-2700 BC the first farmers lived here (the so-called Tripolskaya culture people).
   The mighty, broad Dnieper River (Greeks called it the Borysthenes, 'Borisphen' in local pronunciation) with its picturesque islands and peaceful backwaters, lush flood-meadows and shadowy oak woods stretches along river valleys and ravines. Abundant game and fish in local forests and waters are a result of good climate and vast fertile land... All this attracted hunters, fishers, cattle-breeders and land-tillers to these parts.
   3000 years ago, the cattle-breeders came from the East—Cimmerians, written about by Homer and glorified by Hollywood ("Conan the Barbarian").
   They gradually overcame the Scythians (~700 BC), who were known for their graceful creations from bronze and named as a frontier area of ancient civilization (Crimea). The invasions from the East proceeded and in 200 BC the Sarmatians came here. They won and assimilated the rests of Scythians.
   Most inhabitants of the city and visitors know and like the distinctive features of the small square near the Museum of History—the place where the 'Stony Women' stay (which actually are not females... and are shown in the photo above). The visitors are amazed with the centuries-old natives—their oval forms. They were creations of a steppe nomadic people called the Cumans or Kipchaks and are a modular collection from neighboring barrows. In the past they served as the index points for the steppe inhabitants.
   The first century of the new era was marked by fast inhabitation of the Dnieper River banks by Slavic tribes. The rocks of Monastyrsky Island remember well the first time Slavs floated down the Dnieper River to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
   On this island in the IX century the Monastery was founded by Byzantine monks (from it the island received its name). It existed until 1240 when it was destroyed by Tatars. The Dnieper River has for many centuries served as a border between East and West and its banks have served as arena of struggle between the Slavs and the Asian nomads.
   This situation continued for many centuries until the XV century when there appeared a new force - the free people - Cossacks - Zaporiz'ki Kazaky (Zaporizhya - the lands south of Prydniprovye, translate as "The Land After the Weirs [Rapids]")...

16th-18th centuries

The first fortified town in what is now Dnipropetrovsk were probably built in the mid-16th century. In 1635, the Polish Government built the Kodak fortress above the Dnieper Rapids at Kodakiis (on the outskirts of modern Dnipropetrovsk), partly as a result of rivalry in the region of Poland, Turkey and Russia, and partly to maintain control over Cossack activity. On the night of 3/4 August 1635, the Cossacks of Ivan Sulyma captured the fort by surprise, burning it down and butchering the garrison of about 200 West European mercenaries under Jean Marion. for the Polish Government in 1638, and had a mercenary garrison.
   The Zaporozhian village of Polovytsia was founded in the late-1760s, between the settlements of Old and New Kodakiis; this is to the West of central Dnipropetrovsk, between Ozyorka and the present central part of the city.
   In 1783, Yekaterinoslav was refounded on its current site, on the south bank of the Dnieper, near the Zaporozhian village of Polovytsia. The population of Yekaterinoslav-Kil'chen' were transferred to the new site. Potemkin's plans for the city were extremely ambitious; it was to be about 30 km by 25 km in size, and included:
|1800|6,389| |1811| 9,000| |1825|8,412| |1857|13,217| |1862|19,515| |1885|46,876| |1897|121,216| |1904|157,000| |1914|211,100| |1996|1,147,000| |1998|1,122,400|
   Despite the bridging of the Dnieper in 1796 and the growth of trade in the early 19th century, Ekaterinoslav remained small until the 1880s, when the railway was built and industrialisation of the city began. The boom was caused by two men:

John Hughes, a Welsh businessman who built an iron works at what is now Donetsk in 1869-72, and developed the Donetsk coal deposits. !align = "center" rowspan=2| Reference |-valign="top" !align = "center"| roubles !align = "center"| 2007 £
million !align = "center"| 2007 USD
million |- |align = "left" | 1880 |align = "right"| 49 |align = "right"| 572 |align = "right"| 1,500,000 |align = "right"| £10.5 m |align = "right"| $21 m || !align = "center" rowspan=2| Reference |-valign="top" !align = "center"| roubles !align = "center"| 2007 £
million !align = "center"| 2007 USD
million |- |align = "left" | 1900 |align = "right"| 1,800 |align = "right"| 40,000,000 |align = "right"|£328.7 m |align = "right"| $658 m || Work on other stations was abandoned to a recent time when the city ran out of money for this project; two of these abandoned building works are in the central portion of Karla Marksa Prospekt. Currently project has been renewed. Importance of next two station make city to finish them to make municipal subway system profitable. But finish date still not fix.

Suburban transportation

Dnipropetrovsk has some highways crossing through the city. The most popular routes are from Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia. Transit through the city is also available.
The largest bus station in eastern Ukraine is located in Dnipropetrovsk. It is near the city's Central Railway Terminal. Bus routes are also available to all over the country, including some international routes to Russia, Poland, Germany, Moldova and Turkey.
In the summertime, there are some routes available by hydrofoils on the Dnieper River. Various tourist ships on their way down the Dnieper, (Kiev–Kherson–Odessa) always make a stop in the city.

Railroads

The city is a large railway junction. Daily trains run to and from many parts of Eastern Europe. There are two rapid trains at day time from Kiev to Dnipropetrovsk and there are a few express trains at night. Other trains come from Moscow, Lviv, Saint Petersburg, and other places.

Air travel

The city is served by an Dnipropetrovsk International Airport and is connected to other European cities with daily flights.

Culture

Attractions

The city has a variety of theatres (plus an Opera) and museums which may be of interest to tourists who speak Russian. There are also several parks, restaurants and beaches which have no linguistic requirements.
   The major streets of the city were renamed in honour of Marxist heroes during the Soviet era. The central thoroughfare is known as Karla Marksa Street, a beautiful, wide and long boulevard that stretches east to west through the centre of the city. It was founded in the eighteenth century and parts of its buildings are the actual decoration of the city. In the heart of the city is Zhovtneva [October] Square, which includes the majestic cathedral founded by order of Catherine the Great in 1787.
   On the square, there are some remarkable buildings: the Museum of History, Diorama "Battle for the Dnieper River (World War II)", and also the beautiful park in which one can rest in the hot summer. Walking down the hill to the Dnieper River, one arrives in the large Taras Shevchenko Park (which is on the right bank of the river) and on Monastyrsky Island. This island is one of the most interesting places in the city. In the IX century, the Byzantine monks based a monastery here. It was destroyed by Mongol-Tatars in the XIII century.
   While there's no longer any compact "old town" in Dnipropetrovsk, there are still many surviving buildings of historical interest. (Most of them, especially churches, were unfortunately destroyed during World War II and Stalin's reign of terror in the 1930s. A few areas retain their historical character: all of Central Avenue, some street-blocks on the main hill (the Nagornaya part) between Pushkina Prospekt and Embankment, and sections near Globa and Shevchenka parks have been untouched for 150 years.
   The Dnieper River keeps the climate mild. It is visible from many points in Dnipropetrovsk. From any hill (there are 3 in the city) you'll find a beautiful view of the river, islands, parks, outskirts, river banks and hills.
   There was no need to build skyscrapers in the city in Soviet times. The major industries preferred to locate their offices close to their factories and away from the centre of town. In the last ten years since independence the price of land has increased considerably. All the new office buildings are being built in the same architectural style as the old buildings.

Famous people from Dnipropetrovsk

Boris Sagal - American television and film director, born there.

Oksana Baiul — figure skating Olympic Gold Medalist in 1994

Mikhail Nekrich — musician

Inessa Kravets - long jumper and triple jumper (holds women's record in triple jump)

Sergei Prokofiev - composer

Helena Blavatsky — founder of Theosophical Society

Ilya Kabakov — contemporary artist

Leonid Kogan - legendary violinist

Leonid Kuchma — President of Ukraine in 1994-2005

Pavlo Lazarenko — Prime Minister of Ukraine in 1990s

Leonid Levin — computer scientist

Viktor Pinchuk — Ukrainian business oligarch

Yulia Tymoshenko — Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005 and from December 2007-present

Moses Schönfinkel — logician and mathematician

Igor Olshansky — NFL defensive tackle

Katherine Esau — botanist

Kyrylo Fesenko - Basketball player

Marina Maximillian Blumin - Singer/Songwriter and Kokhav Nolad contestant

Sport

The city also houses the Ukrainian Premier League football club, FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Sister Cities

Lexington, Massachusetts, United States

Ploieşti, Romania

Xi'an, ChinaFurther Information

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