Zaporizhzhya

Zaporizhzhya (also Zaporozhe), city in south-eastern Ukraine, capital of Zaporizhzhya administrative region, on the Dnepr River. An important rail junction and trans-shipment port for goods produced in the Donetsk Coal Basin (Donbas), Zaporizhzhya is a major industrial city. Products include aluminium, processed magnesium, iron and steel, motor vehicles, chemicals, and agricultural machinery. The city is the site of the large Dneproges hydroelectric station, originally completed in 1932 and rebuilt in 1947 after its destruction in World War II. It is also the seat of a state medical institute and a mechanical engineering institute. The city, founded in 1770 as a fort, was known as Aleksandrovsk until 1921. Nearby, in the Dnepr River, is Khortitsa Island, the site of an autonomous Zaporizhzhya Cossack stronghold from the 16th to the 18th century. Population 795,422 (2005 estimate).