Zaporizhia Oblast

Physical and geographical characteristics

The Zaporozhye region is characterized by a flat landscape, located mainly on the Dnieper lowland , which in the south passes into the Black Sea, the southeastern part is occupied by the Azov Upland . Along the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov stretch long narrow sandy spits washed by the sea.

109 rivers flow on the territory of the Zaporozhye region, the largest of which is the Dnieper , which is an important transport artery of Ukraine, providing the industry of the region, a number of reservoirs have been built on it.

Conventionally, the Zaporozhye region is divided into three natural and agricultural zones - the steppe zone (50.8% of the territory), arid steppe (34.8%), and dry steppe (14.4%) zones. Soils are predominantly black earth . There are also significant reserves of granites, as well as iron and manganese ores.

The climate is temperate continental, characterized by pronounced aridity. Average annual temperatures: summer + 22 °С, winter - 4.5 °С. There are an average of 225 sunny days a year, and the rainfall is 448 mm. [5]

History

The settlement of this territory began 32-31 thousand years ago. n. [6] , as evidenced by the parking lot " Mir ", discovered in 1995 on the right bank of the Dnieper in the vicinity of the village of Kanevskoye, Zaporozhye region [7] . Seven settlements of the late Paleolithic period , as well as about 100 sites of the Bronze Age , have been explored near Zaporozhye . In the burial ground of Mamai-Gora there are burials from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages.

From the burials of the Catacomb culture in the Dmitrovsky barrow No. 6 and in the Maryevsky burial "Tyagunova Mogila", finds of wagons with preserved wheels aged ca. 5 thousand years [8] [9] .

From the 7th century BC e. The Scythians owned the northern Black Sea region , and their capital is believed to have been the large Kamenskoye settlement .

In the 4th century, these lands were captured by the Huns , in the 6th century - by the Avars , in the 8th century - by the Khazars . In the tract Makartet near the village of Pokrovskoye , a sacrificial site of the Alano - Hunnic time (IV-V centuries) was discovered [10] . The complex of the Hunnic time from the Makartet tract showed a striking similarity of the rite with the Voznesensky archaeological complex in Zaporozhye, despite a significant chronological difference [11] . In the Kantsirka tract on the right bank of the Dnieper near the village of Fedorovka, at the end of the 7th century, a pottery center began to function [12] . Voznesensky archaeological complex dated to the end of the 7th - beginning of the 8th century.

After Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the Khazar Khaganate in 969, they were replaced by the Pecheneg tribes .

From the 11th century, the Azov lands were ruled by the Polovtsians . At the beginning of the 12th century, the Russian princes defeated the Polovtsian troops on the banks of the Molochnaya River . The second quarter - the middle of the 13th century dates Chingulsky mound - Polovtsian (Kypchak) burial [13] . In June 1223, the Battle of Kalka took place , the Russian-Polovtsian army was defeated, part of the population of the Azov steppes fell under the influence of the Golden Horde and the Crimean Khanate , the lands were called the Wild Field . At the end of the 15th century, the Cossacks arose , and in 1552 on the island of Malaya Khortitsa Dmitry Vishnevetskythe town was founded , which became the prototype of the subsequent Zaporizhzhya Sich , the centers of the Cossack army and Ukrainian statehood.

During the Russian-Turkish wars of the 18th century and the liquidation of the Crimean Khanate, the territories of the Zaporozhye region became part of the Novorossiysk , and then Yekaterinoslav and Tauride provinces.

The industrial development of the region began in the first half of the 19th century, when manufactories for the processing of agricultural raw materials arose.

The Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic was proclaimed on January 30 (February 12), 1918 at the IV Regional Congress of Soviets of Workers' Deputies of the Donetsk and Krivoy Rog basins.

The territory of the modern city was inhabited in the Scythian and Sarmatian times. This is evidenced by numerous archaeological finds. The most famous among them is the Ascension Treasure (VIII). During the XV-XVIII Art. the sovereign masters of these lands were the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks - a formidable force that opposed the Tatar and Turkish conquerors and a powerful support of the Ukrainian people in the fight against feudal oppression. One of the first refuges of serfs-fugitives and formation cells of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks was the island of Khortytsya - a kind of natural fortress. The nature of the island is unique. Almost 1,000 plant species grow here, 560 of which are representatives of the wild flora. An integral part of the island are rocks and beams. Many legends are associated with these sights of nature. According to one of them, near the gloomy and impregnable Black Rock in 972, Prince Svyatoslav died in an unequal battle with the Pechenigs. In the Black Rock there is a hard-to-reach Snake Cave, where, according to legend, the Cossacks kept the military treasury. A little further behind the rock lies the Sagaidachny tract, where mighty oaks once grew. From them, the Cossacks hollowed out their famous boats - seagulls. On one of the rocks there is a strange creation of nature - the "Zaporizhzhya bowl" - a depression with a diameter of one and a half meters and a depth of about a meter. Behind the legend, in this "bowl", as if in a cauldron, the Cossacks cooked dumplings. where mighty oaks once grew. From them, the Cossacks hollowed out their famous boats - seagulls. On one of the rocks there is a strange creation of nature - the "Zaporizhzhya bowl" - a depression with a diameter of one and a half meters and a depth of about a meter. Behind the legend, in this "bowl", as if in a cauldron, the Cossacks cooked dumplings. where mighty oaks once grew. From them, the Cossacks hollowed out their famous boats - seagulls. On one of the rocks there is a strange creation of nature - the "Zaporizhzhya bowl" - a depression with a diameter of one and a half meters and a depth of about a meter. Behind the legend, in this "bowl", as if in a cauldron, the Cossacks cooked dumplings.

A historical and memorial complex is currently built on Khortitsa - a kind of unique monument to the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks. The complex opens a park where monuments are erected to famous military figures of the Zaporizhzhya Sich - ataman I. Sirk, hetmans P. Sahaydachny and B. Khmelnitsky, leaders of peasant uprisings - S. Nalivaik, T. Tryasil, G. Zheleznyak, as well as the heroes of M. Gogol's story - Taras Bulba and his sons.

A significant event in the history of the city was the opening in 1932 of the Dneproges - a unique hydraulic structure, the construction of which was headed by the power engineer, academician O. Winter. A boulevard in the city was named after him and a monument to the scientist was erected.

Beams. Not far from the village there is a monument of hoary antiquity - the famous mound Gaimanov Mogila. During the excavations, the burial of the Scythian king (IV century BC) was discovered here. Among the finds of the barrow is a set of dishes - a masterpiece of ancient art.

Berdyansk. The city called Berdy was founded at the beginning of the 19th century. as a sea trading port. In the 70s. XIX Art. on the initiative of the city chairman of Berdyansk, Rear Admiral P. Schmidt, a park was laid in the city. Next to the park stands a two-story house where the childhood years of the legendary leader of the uprising in 1905 spent on the cruiser Ochakov, Lieutenant P. Schmidt (son of Rear Admiral P. Schmidt). Nearby is the former gymnasium where he studied. Today Berdyansk is better known as a resort.

Melitopol. The territory of the city was inhabited in the Scythian times, as evidenced by numerous burial mounds. In 1769, during the Russian-Turkish war (1768-1774), the Russian command built a fortification here, where Zaporozhye Cossacks guarded. At the beginning of 1779, O. Suvorov visited this territory. Since then, the guard settlement has become known as Novoaleksandrovskaya. Subsequently, the city of Melitopol arose on the site of the settlement.

At present, the city park of culture and recreation, which was founded in 1927, is a landmark of landscape gardening art. The Staroberdyansky forest adjoins the outskirts of the city - one of the oldest attractions of steppe afforestation. Tourists and vacationers are also attracted by the resort area of ​​Molochny Liman.

And the most interesting objects of tourism :

- National Reserve “Khortytsya”;

- anthropomorphic stelae of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC;

- stone women XI-VІІІ centuries. BC.; Cossack fortress on the impregnable island of Khortytsya XV-XVIII centuries;

- St. Nicholas Cathedral in 1836;

- zemstvo council of 1912;

- Zaporozhye 700-year-old oak;

- ancient burial mounds;

- Zakharyevskaya fortress in 1770;

- Cathedral of St. O. Nevsky XVII cent.

Historical and cultural reserves of the region

National Reserve "Khortytsya" - in Zaporozhye, about. Khortytsya

Sovereign historical and archaeological reserve "Kamyanaya Mogila" - Melitopol district

Historical and architectural museum-reserve "Popov's Manor" in the city of Vasilyevka