Zaporizhia (Zaparozhye) is a city in south-central Ukraine, which rests on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative center of the Zaporizhia Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zaporizkyi Raion (district) within the oblast. The city itself is directly subordinate to the oblast, and is located approximately 70 km from the city of Dnipropetrovsk.

Zaporizhia was formerly referred to as Aleksandrovsk, after the commander of the first Russian Army, Prince Alexander Golitsyn, but was renamed in 1921 to Zaporizhia (literally, "behind the cataracts", referring to the Dnieper cataracts near Khortytsia). It is currently the sixth largest city in the Ukraine and has a current estimated population of 790,000 (as of 2007).

The city was very much an 'engineering city' during Soviet times. Dnieper River cruise ships make it one of their scheduled stops in order to visit Khortytsia Island.

In Zaporizhia there are man educational institutes and places of higher learning. In fact, just about very fourth inhabitant is a scholar. The community now has access to over 400 libraries, more than 50 cinemas, a Musical and Drama Theater, the Theater of Young Spectators and a Puppet Theater, a concert hall, a circus, 46 Palaces of Culture and various night clubs. The scientific community of the city encompasses more than 600 doctors and professors. Over 220 members of creative unions (writers, journalists and artists) live and work here too.

History

Archaeological finds in the area suggest that the Scythian nomads were living here about 2 to 3 thousand years ago. In the 15^th to 16^th centuries the area was famous as a Cossack fortress - Zaporizka Sich. In 1770, the Russian government established a new fortress on the Dnieper River, named Aleksandrovsk. Until the beginning of the 20th Century Aleksandrovsk was a small town. The city was named Aleksandrovsk until 1921 when the city's name was changed to Zaporizhia.

The city's Khortytsia Island which faces modern Zaporizhia across the Dnieper River, was one of the historic locations for the Zaporizhian Sich - the main fortress capital of the Cossack state (the Zaporozhian Host) and the Cossack Hetmanate republic.

Industry

After the end of the Russian Revolution, the city became an important industrial center. The proximity of deposits of coal, iron ore, and manganese created favorable conditions for large-scale development of the iron and mechanical engineering industry. Today, Zaporizhia is an important industrial centre of the region with heavy industry (particularly metallurgy), aluminium, and chemical industry.

Electricity generation

Zaporizhia also has a big electricity generating complex fueled by industrial demand. The biggest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, as well as the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station are located near the city, in addition to fossil fuel power plants.

Transport

Public transport is provided by buses, trams, river vesselst and trains. The city's sole airport operates both domestic and international flights.