The city of Dnipropetrovsk (Ukr.) or Dnepropetrovsk (Rus.) is situated on the Dnieper River (Dnepr or Dnipro) in East-Central Ukraine, and has a population of 1 million (third city in the country by population). Large and beautiful, it is the main city of East-Central Ukraine.

Dnipropetrovsk - simply Dnepr, as it is called by local inhabitants is a dynamic and lively city.

The city is surprising green along the wide and slow-moving Dnieper river (Dnepr in Russian, Dnipro in Ukrainian) and has remarkable embankments, long boulevards and spacious parks.

It is also the major centre of high-technology industries, education, machine-building, metallurgy and trade. The city is not only famous for its commercial industry, but also its green hills and deep history.

The old fortress settlement has existed since the middle of the 16th century. The new town was founded in 1776 by the Russian Prince, Potemkin by order of Catherine II, Empress of the Russian Empire and was called Yekaterinoslav (Ekaterinoslav) from 1776 to 1926. During 1918 the town’s name was Sicheslav (The Glory for Sich’/Fortress of Cossacks).

Dnipropetrovsk has been the major center of the steel industry from the beginning of the 20th century until the present. It has also dominated in the machinebuilding and aero-spacebuilding industry since the 1950s.

The International airport Dnipropetrovsk (DNK) offers direct lines to and from Wien (Austria), Istanbul (Turkey), Tel Aviv (Israel) etc..

Dnipropetrovsk - simply Dnepr, as it is called by local inhabitants is a dynamic and lively city.
It is the largest center of Prydniprovye (Historical region of Dnipropetrovsk, part of Zaporozhye and Kirovograd regions, look Ukraine map).

The city is surprising green along the wide and slow-moving Dnieper river (Dnepr in Russian, Dnipro in Ukrainian). The city has remarkable embankments, long boulevards and spacious parks.

It is also the centre of high-technology industries, education, machine-building, metallurgy and trade. The city is not only famous for its commercial industry, but also its green hills and deep history.

Climate and weather

The city is very warm in summer (average daily temperature in July is +25-27 C) and cold in the winter (aver. day temp. is -3-4 C).

Best time for visiting is in the late spring - the late April, May (nice nature and fresh air), first part of June, and early in autumn: September and October (beauty of town's yellow parks). Period of rains is normal in the middle of autumn. Other times are mainly dry with a few showers or storms in the summer time.

Points of interest

The central streets of the city were renamed during the Soviet time in honor of the outstanding revolutionaries. (And it is interesting, the largest of them is in honor of German figures.) So the central street of the city has the name of Karl Marx. It is a very beautiful, wide and long parkway, which stretches east to west through the central part of the city. It was founded in the XVIII century and parts of its buildings are the actual decoration of the city. In the nucleus of the city is Zhovtneva square, on which is the majestic Cathedral that was founded by order of Katherine II (Russian empress) in 1787.

On the square, there are some remarkable buildings: the Museum of History, Diorama "Battle for the Dnieper River (Second World War)", and also the beautiful park in which you can rest in the hot summer. Walking down the hill to the Dnieper River, you will arrive in the large Taras Shevchenko Park (which is on the right bank of the river) and on Monastyrskiy Island. This island is one of the most interesting places in the city. In the IX century, the Byzantian monks based a monastery here. It was destroyed by Mongol-Tatars in the XIII century.

The compact "old town" does not exist in Dnipropetrovsk anymore. Many historic buildings and churches were destroyed in the Second World War and in Stalin's communist times in the 1930s.

However all of Central Avenue, some street-blocks on the main hill (the Nagornaya part) between Pushkina Prospekt and Embankment, and sections near Globy and Shevchenka parks have been untouched for 150 years. An evening walk through those parts of the city is very pleasurable...

The Dnieper River is a wonderful creation of nature that keeps the climate mild and the air fresh. You can see it from many points in Dnepropetrovsk. From any hill (there are 7 in the city) you will find a beautiful view of the river, islands, parks, outskirts, river banks and hills.
There was no need to build huge skyscrapers in the city in Soviet times. Powerful industries preferred to construct offices close to their main factories away from the centre of town. In the last ten years of independence the price of land in Ukraine has grown considerably. All the new office buildings are being built in the same architectural style as the old buildings....

Shopping and souvenirs

The Karl Marx Prospekt is the main trade artery of the city. There are plenty of shops and cafes of different sizes and for different income levels. The abundance of trade points can be observed also in several streets and squares contiguous to the Karl Marx Prospekt in the area around the Central Department Store (TSUM) - the biggest market place in the city.
To buy souvenirs, the best site is Exhibition on the boulevard across from TSUM. Large supermarkets are located far from the central part of the city; mostly in residential areas.

Globy Central Park, Shevchenka Park, Embankments, river beaches and islands are the favorite places of most of the townspeople. During the summer there are a great number of cafes along the wide Dnieper River (1 km. width approx.), on main streets, and in the parks.

Theatres

The City Opera and Ballet Theatre, Russian and Ukrainian Drama theatres, some Youth theatres, and Circus are waiting for you all year round.

Some museums and exhibition halls are always open for you.The largest and most popular is the Historical Museum named for Dmitry Yavornitsky. The Museum of Art has quite a good collection of pictures representing different styles and epoch.