Zaporizhzhia
Ukraine · Europe
About Zaporizhzhia
Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a population of 710,052 (2022 estimate).
Zaporizhzhia is known for the historic island of Khortytsia, multiple power stations and for being an important industrial centre. Steel, aluminium, aircraft engines, automobiles, transformers for substations, and other heavy industrial goods are produced in the region.
The name Zaporizhzhia refers to the position of the city: "beyond the rapids"—downstream or south of the Dnieper Rapids. These were previously an impediment to navigation and the site of important portages. In 1932, the rapids were flooded to become part of the reservoir of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station.
Before 1921, the city was called Aleksandrovsk (or Oleksandrivsk), named after the original fortress that formed a part of the Dnieper Defence Line of the Russian Empire.
Zaporizhzhia was founded in 1770, when the Aleksandrovskaya (Александровская) Fortress was built as a part of the Dnieper Defence Line, to protect...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.