Dnepropetrovsk is the third largest Ukrainian city. It's situated in the east-central part of the country, on the Dnieper River. Dnepropetrovsk is the industrial, finance and trade centre of Ukraine. It's also one of the most beautiful cities of the country.

The history of Dnepropetrovsk is marvelous and startling. The first people came here approximately 150,000 years ago. Their settlements were found in the purlieu of the city and on Monastyrskiy Island. The more intensive colonization of the area started after the Ice Age, about 10 000 years ago. The Tripillya culture people lived here in 3500-2700 BC. The area always attracted fishers, hunters and cattlemen. The new era was marked by appearance of the Slavic tribes on the Dnieper River banks. The Dnieper River was the border between East and West and its banks were the arena of the struggle between the Slavs and the Asian nomads for many centuries. The situation lasted till the new force, Cossacks, appeared here in the middle centuries.

The official history of Dnepropetrovsk begins in 1776, when the Russian Empress Catherine II decided to build the south capital of Russian Empire. The city was called Yekaterinoslav (The Glory of Catherine). There were about 50 industrial plants and more than 22 000 inhabitants in Dnepropetrovsk in 1862. From 1870 the exploitation of iron ore and coal started in the area. The astonishing fact is that almost all the existing minerals are present in the area, where Dnepropetrovsk is located.

The modern Dnepropetrovsk is the multifunctional industrial centre, important transport nodal point and the administrative centre of the Dnepropetrovsk Oblast. The population of the city is 1.1 million people, it covers an area of 37,9 square kilometres. The five beautiful bridges are considered to be the essential part of Dnepropetrovsk, among which there is a new South bridge that joins not only two banks of the great river but also the two parts of Ukraine. During all its history, Dnepropetrovsk was being formed and developed as the place of concentration of the metallurgical, machine-building, fuel and chemical industry. There are many world-famous plants are functioning here, among which is Yuzhmash.

Dnepropetrovsk is a popular tourist destination. The city has the variety of museums, theatres, parks, restaurants, hotels and beaches, many of which are of the great interest to any tourist.

Dnepropetrovsk is known as a unique city, with original architecture. The specialists consider that so-called "Yekaterinoslavsky" style was formed exactly here. Dnepropetrovsk has one of the most beautiful architectures in Europe.