CITIES: ZAPOROZHYE

Zaporozhye is a city where the legendary past and present day heroism are combined. Zaporozye can offer its guests a lot of splendid sights: the Dnieprohes, its world famous plants, the island of Khortitsa, associated with the heroic and glorious history of our forefathers - the Zaporozhski Cossacks who lived in the vicinity of the city 4 centuries ago.

Zaporozhye is an old city. Its more than 2 centuries old. The legends and stories of its old days pass from grandfathers to grandsons, pictured boldness of Cossacks, and flames of Sich campfires. The pages of the city history were covered with inspired deeds of many generations.

Zaporozhye has a long and interesting history under the name of Aleksandrovsk. In 1770 the Aleksandrovskaya fortress was found near the river Moskovka. From this year the history of Aleksandrovsk begins. It got its present name in 1921 after the revolution of 1917.
Its population is about 9 hundred thousand people.

Zaporozhye is located in the South of Ukraine in the curve of the river Dnieper, at the crossroads of the waterways, railway tracks and highways. From Dneprovskie banks you get a picturesque view of the city.

Zaporozhye is one of the countrys enjoyable cities. Visited by tourists in the millions, the city offers them an astonishing variety of scenes. In this historic city the modern rubs shoulders with the old, the present is ever conscious of the past, the great and the small live side by side in mutual tolerance and respect and in every part of Zaporozyes busy and complex life there is to be found a very genuine affection for her traditions and her fortunes.

Zaporozhye manages in a unique way to reflect its past and at the same time to fulfill the functions of a modern city. There is always something to be discovered, some fresh approach to a familiar scene, and some curious piece of history to be investigated.
Zaporozhye is an industrial, cultural, scientific and administrative center.

It is the city of steel-makers, power-engineers, mechanical engineers and corn-growers.

Today Zaporozhyehas more than 1500 streets and avenues, parks and squares, new residential districts. Many streets and squares are associated with historic events. Among them are the streets named after Angolenko, Gryaznov, Drobyazko, and Ivanov.

It is the city of more than 100 general schools, 14 professional schools, several research institutes, 2 institutes and 2 universities.

The design of Zaporozhye was awarded special prizes at the international architectural exhibitions in Paris (1937) and New York (1939).
Zaporozhskie numerous sights are to be found in the central thoroughfare, broad and picturesque Lenin Avenue that is one of the largest avenues in Europe. It extends for miles and miles. It runs the length of 12 kilometers.

There are cinemas, hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and stores, colleges, the Central Public Library, the Publishing Center, the Juvenile Service Center, the Palace of Marriages, the Central Post Office, apartment houses sprawling along the avenue. We may see 2 very beautiful buildings with columns in Lenin Avenue - Musical Drama Theatre named after Shchors and Philharmonic Society Hall named after Glinka. You may also visit the Exhibition Hall and Art Museum.

The large number of shop-windows attracts many pedestrians. Its natural as the city provides excellent shopping facilities. There are a lot of big shopping centers in Zaporozhye, such as the House of Clothes or Department Store "Ukraine". Their main attraction is concentration of diversity. Our hotels, "Ukraine" and "Intourist" (3-star ones) for instance, welcome the foreign visitors of our city.

Zaporozhye has been considerably extended during the last 10 years. It grew to become one of the most beautiful and important cities of Ukraine. Its the site of impressive government buildings, magnificent monuments, important historical landmarks, fine museums, and broad tree-shaded avenues and malls.

The sight, which is worthy of note, is Festivalnaya Square. It is a huge traffic island; the statues and fountains have enlivened the space. When the square is not used for demonstrations it is full of visitors feeding the pigeons or watching the traffic.

A real architectural masterpiece is Drama Theatre. Its noted for its remarkable and unique style. It dates back to the middle of the 20th century. So it was built after 2nd World War, though it has been rebuilt recently.

2nd World War brought tremendous destruction. Many buildings of great historic value were laid in ruins and today the face of Zaporozhye is changed. Yet much was spared including Dnieprohes.

And who has not heard of the famous memorial complex "Zaporozhska Sich" and the Museum of History of Zaporozhye on Khortitsa Island? These places of rest and recreation are greatly appreciated by audience from Zaporozhye and other cities.

Not far from the city of Zaporozhye the waters of the ancient Dniepro River wash the island of Khortitsa, the sight of great historic value, which is really precious to the history of Zaporozhye. Its an eternal history of Zaporozhskie Cossacks and the alive history of the whole Ukrainian folk. Zaporozhtsy have a particular affection for it.

The legendary island of Khortitsa, the pearl of the Dnieper, is proclaimed the State Reserve of History and Culture. It is the largest island in the Dnieper. Its length makes 12 kilometers. Its total area covers 3000 hectares. 2 arch bridges, designed by the well-known engineer Boris Preobrazhenskiy, link the island with both left and right banks of the river.

Many historic events of Kiev Rus are connected with Khortitsa. But the island gained its particular fame and glory during the periods when it became a land of Cossacks who played an important role in the history of the Ukrainian people. Khortitsa was proclaimed a national preserve and a historic memorial complex was created on it in 1983. This wonderful island has become the best place of recreation where the main health-protection centers of Zaporozhye are located. Khortitsa, the pearl, created by nature is well known not only in our country but also in many other countries of the world.

The famous 700-year-old oak on the island is a living monument of history. Zaporozhskie Cossacks gathered under this oak-tree before marching to battles.

So there are a lot of places, which are worth seeing in Zaporozhye.

But Zaporozhye is also home to a large number of people - the place where they live, work and raise families. As such it is confronted by the same problems facing most large cities. Many problems are solved nowadays though improvements are needed in many directions.