Zaporozhye is a city in which the Cossack spirit is still felt, despite modern buildings and industrial enterprises. The city, founded in the days of Kyivan Rus, has something to surprise guests and local residents.

Most Ukrainians know that Zaporizhzhia is a large administrative, industrial and cultural center of southern Ukraine, as well as one of the oldest Ukrainian cities. The name of the city is connected with the Dnieper rapids, which are 90 km upstream from the Cossack island of Khortytsia.

But can Zaporizhzhia attract tourists? We invite you to dive into historical and interesting facts about the city with us.

Historical curiosities: the cradle of Indo-Europeans

According to linguists and historians, the Black Sea steppes of the Zaporizhia region were the homeland of the Indo-Europeans, the people from whom half of humanity is descended. It is assumed that the Indo-Europeans lived between the Dnieper and the Volga and were the first to build barrows. Little information has been preserved about this people, because they settled all over Eurasia.

At the end of the 16th century, Zaporizhia Sich, the capital of the Cossack region, was founded on the territory of the Zaporizhia region. It was founded in 1556 by Dmytro Vyshnevetsky, who built a small fortress on the island of Mala Khortytsia at his own expense. This island is the largest on the Dnieper and is included in the list of seven wonders of Ukraine. Its area is about 23.5 square meters. km, which is almost 10% of the territory of modern Zaporozhye.

In 2009, the historical and cultural complex "Zaporizka Sich" was opened on the island as a summary of the struggle and achievements of the Cossacks of the 16th-18th centuries. Before the full-scale war, the "Zaporizka Sich" complex worked as a museum, but the exhibition is currently closed. However, we recommend visiting Sich after its opening, because it remains a symbol of the national consciousness of Ukrainians.

Although Zaporizhzhia cannot boast of architectural monuments, industrial locations also surprise and attract tourists. Dnipro HPP is the oldest hydroelectric power station in Ukraine, and at the time of its construction it was the largest in Europe.

Construction of the Dniprovska HPP began in 1927, and it was opened later in 1932. The dam that can be seen now is not authentic, because in August 1941 it was blown up by Soviet troops. This step was supposed to stop the advance of German troops, however, according to historians, there were no German crossings downstream. So even "big water" could not harm them. The hydroelectric power station fully resumed operation only in 1950.

By the way, DniproHES cannot be called a purely Soviet creation. During the construction of this object, American and German technologies and equipment were used. Of course, general management and design were carried out by specialists from Moscow. But the construction was supervised by the managers of the companies "H.L.Cooper & Co" and "Siemens". Let's add that some of the critical equipment was also imported.

Unique trolleybus routes operate only in Zaporizhzhia. On April 28, 1958, the route connecting "Sotsmisto" with the Right Bank through the dam of the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Station was opened. Currently, the unique experience of crossing the dam by public transport can be obtained only in this city.

We should add that trolleybus connections were opened back in 1949, which made Zaporizhzhia the seventh city in Ukraine with trolleybus traffic. By the way, the first depot was located on the territory of the Zaporizhstal plant.

In Zaporizhzhia, there is a Phaeton museum, which exhibits a collection of machinery. Visitors can see more than 250 units of rare retro cars, motorcycles, military equipment and weapons. It is interesting that most of the exhibits work to this day.

There is a legend that Boris Preobrazhenskyi, who created bridge projects in Zaporizhzhia after World War II, ended his life because of Stalin. But is it true?

In 1952, bridges were opened that still connect the island of Khortytsia with the city and play an important role in the infrastructure of the city. They were built in the post-war years, because bridges destroyed during hostilities could not be restored. The engineer Borys Preobrazhensky died shortly after the creation of the project, so a legend arose in Zaporizhzhia about his suicide because Stalin did not include him in the list of awardees.