Today’s Zaporizhzhia is one of the largest cities in Ukraine as well as one of the main industrial and cultural centers of the country, spread out on both banks of the Dnieper River, between which there is the Khortytsia Island. At the end of the 18th century, on the place where beautiful Zaporizhzhia is now situated, the Alexander Fortress was built, supposed to perform the protective function against the Tatar raids. In 1785, the fortification received the status of a posad — an urban settlement. And by the beginning of the 19th century, this posad was transformed into the town of Alexandrovsk with its town council.
Today, there are more than 250 industrial enterprises. In the city’s southern part, several water bodies were formed by the artificial regulation of the Dnieper River. The southern border of the region also runs along the Azov coast. From the north, the city is as if restricted by wide steppes and the Volnyanka River. On the regional map of Zaporizhzhia, one can see that in the west and east, a large number of small localities are adjacent to the city. The city streets are daily crowded with public and transit transport, which travel back and forth through Zaporizhzhia. Within the city, there are 3 crossings over the Dnieper River.
