Sightseeing in Zaporozhye - what to see. Complete travel guide

Zaporizhia - one of the most beautiful and ancient cities of Ukraine, whose territory’s settlement began in the era of the Early Paleolithic. Scientists have discovered on these lands traces of more than a hundred settlements and valuable artifacts of the Bronze Age. On these lands, the mighty Scythian kingdom was founded and existed for several hundred years. On the Scythian dominion, now are the remaining burial mounds and statues that bring to mind the famous Polovtsian women, who symbolized the invincibility and immortality of the Scythian warriors. These statues were sacrificed by soldiers, because they believed that they guarded them and brought good luck in battle.

After the defeat of the Scythian kingdom, these lands were captured by the Huns, Avars and Khazars. Very soon the Russian prince Svyatoslav defeated the Khazars, and after him the Pechenegs came to the lands of modern Zaporizhia. About this intense period of history, also recall an important landmark, on Voznesenovskiy descent there is a monument of the glorious prince Svyatoslav. Already from the middle of the 11th century these lands were taken by the Polovtsian tribe. The Russian princes did not manage to break the Polovtsian troops, as the Mongol-Tatar invasion struck Russia.

The history of Zaporizhia is inextricably linked with the famous Zaporozhye Sich, about which there were legends. The Cossacks living here were not only brave warriors; they were an independent army, which was subordinate only to its ataman. In fact, it was an army of robbers who believed that all the prey that was lost in battle was legal. The life and traditions of the Cossacks had a great influence on the formation of the culture of the city, some echoes of long-gone times are still manifesting even now. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The history of Zaporizhia as a city began with the formation of the Novorossiysk province, which was held by the decree of Catherine the Great. In the place of the modern city, the Empress ordered the founding of the Dnieper defensive line to block the Turkish conquerors from accessing the southern borders of the empire. The largest fortress of the line was called Alexandrovskaya. Over the years more and more residential buildings appeared around the fortress, and soon a small defensive point turned into a real city. In 1921, Aleksandrovsk was renamed Zaporizhia, and the city continued to develop actively. Now Zaporizhia is one of the most attractive tourist centers of the country, and tens of thousands of tourists come to admire the unique sights of the city and walk along its picturesque streets every year.

In the city, there are a lot of old beautiful historical and religious monuments. The main religious place in Zaporizhia is the Cathedral of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God. The first church at its site was built in 1778. A hundred of years ago, it was decided to build a new stone cathedral here. In the first half of the 20th century, it was destroyed completely and restored only in 2007. Now, it is an exact copy of the historic cathedral. The construction is 54 m high.

In one of the most fascinating buildings of the central district, there is the Zaporozhye Regional Art Museum founded in 1971. It will impress admirers of painting. The museum collection includes almost 13 000 exhibits. Here, you can see the paintings of famous Russian artists who lived in the 19th-20th centuries. Besides paintings, the museum presents a big collection of pieces of folk art. In the museum, there are special halls for temporary exhibitions, ten of which, at least, are annually held.

In the city, there is another unique nature attraction – the Zaporozhye Oak. The oak is aged over 700 years and impresses with its incredible size. It is 36 m high and its girth is over 6 m. In 1996, the tree was struck by lightning and since that time, it has had only one living branch. The unique tree is an important national attraction. Nowadays, the city government does its best to reserve the oak.

The incredibly beautiful historical building, where the Territorial Council was located, now houses the Zaporozhye Local History Museum. It was founded in 1922. The initiator of its construction was the archeologist Novitsky. Nowadays, the museum presents over 100 000 exhibits, including unique archeological artifacts. The museum stores the big collection of historical weapons, old accessories, and hunting trophies. Most of the exhibits are dedicated to the Zaporozhye Cossacks’ history and traditions. Another interesting place is the Weapons History Museum opened not so long ago, in 2004. Today, it houses almost 2 000 cold and fire arms.