Dnipro is a city of contrasts that hides many secrets and mysteries. This is the space capital of the former Soviet Union, where Zenit missiles were produced. It is home to Europe's longest embankment of 23 km and the largest Jewish Menorah center. The Dnipro metro is the shortest in Europe, with a length of only 7.8 km. And right there is the longest building in the country - the Dnipro "Chinese Wall" with a length of 800 m. It has 32 entrances and as many as 3 trolleybus stops. In order to have time to visit all the interesting places of the Dnipro, we recommend that you do not waste time, but immediately pick up a car in the "Ukr-Prokat" fleet!

Katerinoslav-I and Katerinoslav-II

Historically, Dnipro was called Katerynoslav. But experts claim that there were two Katerynoslavs. The first one on the banks of the Kilchen River lasted only 8 years from 1776. Then this territory was completely flooded by the waters of the Samara River. Some of the local residents moved to Novoselitsa, which was later called Novomoskovsk.

In 1784, a decree was issued on the foundation of the second Katerynoslav in a new place. The city was founded in 1787. At that time, Catherine the Second planned to make it the Third Capital of the Russian Empire. So it was built ambitiously. For example, according to the plan of the architect Claude Gerois, the Transfiguration Cathedral was supposed to surpass the Roman Cathedral of St. Peter.

  From 1796 to 1802, the city was called Novorossiysk, and from 1926 to 2016 - Dnipropetrovsk.

Monastery Island

Monastery Island is the most legendary place in the city. Now it attracts with its unusual nature and rich history. Rocky elevations turn into a sandy tail. Once the island was the main place of rest for everyone who followed the Dnieper. It is believed that Andrei the First-Called, Volodymyr the Great, Prince Mstislav and Princess Olga stopped here at different times on their way from the Varangians to the Greeks. Monastery Island got its name in honor of the Byzantine monastery founded in 870.

Closed industrial center

Dnipro is the most important industrial center of Ukraine. Metallurgy and metalworking, as well as mechanical engineering and related industries, are especially developed here. At one time, the Ministry of Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR was located in Dnipro. For the same reason, the city was one of the key centers of the space and defense industry. Because of this, foreigners were not even allowed here until the 90s.

Three fortresses

There were three fortresses on the territory of the modern Dnipro. Polska Kodatska was founded in 1635 in the present village of Stari Kodaky. In 1660, the fortified Cossack settlement Novi Kaidaki was built. And the Russian Staro-Samara or Novobogoroditsa fortress was built in 1688 and is located on the territory of the modern village of Shevchenko on the coast of Samara.

Five bridges

There are as many as five bridges in the Dnipro. The most beautiful is the Merefo-Kherson railway, curved and arched, passing over Monastirsky Island. The longest is Kaidatsky, which stretches for 1732 m. The oldest is Amursky, built in 1884. In those days, its cost price was higher than that of all of Katerynoslav. And the youngest bridge of the Dnipro was opened 20 years ago - Pivdenny.

Dnipro skyscrapers

High-rise buildings appeared in the Dnipro almost no earlier than in the rest of Ukraine. For example, in 1983, the first 28-story residential building was built here. In 2003, the residential complex "Towers" was opened with the highest residential building in Ukraine - 123 m. Unfortunately, the 30-story hotel "Parus" was not completed until 1989. In the initial project of the "Brama" complex, there were about 50 floors and more than 200 m.