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Kryvyi Rih
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Government | |||
| Country Oblast Raion |
Ukraine Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Kryvorizkyi Raion |
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| Founded | 17th Century | ||
| City rights | 1919 | ||
| Mayor | |||
| Geographical characteristics | |||
| Area - City |
407.3 km² |
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| Population - City () - Density |
710,400 2,559.1/km² |
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| Coordinates | Coordinates: | ||
| Other Information | |||
| Postal Code | 50001 | ||
| Dialing Code | +380 56(4) | ||
| Website: www.kryvyirih.dp.ua | |||
Kryvyi Rih (Ukrainian: Кривий Ріг, Russian: Кривой Рог, translit. Krivoy Rog) is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, to the southwest of the oblast's administrative center, Dnipropetrovsk, at the confluence of the Inhulets and Saksahan rivers. The estimated population was 690,622 as of 2007.
Kryvyi Rih is arguably the main steel industry city of Eastern Europe, being a large globally-important metallurgical center in the Kryvbas iron mining region.
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The city was founded in the 17th century by Zaporozhian Cossacks. Kryvyi Rih in Ukrainian literally means Crooked Horn. According to local legend, the city was founded by a crooked (Ukrainian slang for one-eyed) Cossack named Rih. However, records pre-dating the existence of the city refer to the area by the same name, due to the shape of the landmass formed by the merging of the river Saksagan into the Ingulets.
During the Russian Civil War, the city and its hinterland were at the nucleus of Nestor Makhno's anarchist insurgency.
The area's industrial growth began in the 1880s, when European investment founded a mining syndicate. The metallurgical works in the city, Kryvorizhstal, in particular, expanded through Soviet times, and now remain some of the largest in the world.
During WII, Kryvyi Rih, like Warsaw, was almost totally destroyed by Germans. After the war people lived in ruins. The dramatic shortage of apartments was met by innovative technological solutions, which allowed to built quickly temporary barracks and houses. But the two kind of cheaply produced new materials were used later for years.
Viktor Yushchenko, the president of Ukraine since 2005, has accused his predecessor, Leonid Kuchma of selling off Kryvorizhstal to a political supporter for far below market value. This privatization was successfully challenged in court in 2005, and the same year the plant was re-privatized after an open bidding to the Dutch-Indian Mittal Steel for more than 5 times the initial value.
The city extends for 130 km, paralleling the ore deposits. The city is set in the rolling steppe land surrounded by fields of sunflowers and grain. A short distance east of the city centre, there is an area along a small lake where glacial boulders were deposited. as a result, this area was never cultivated and contains one of the few remaining patches of wild steppe vegetation in the area. The city's environmental and construction safety is a growing problem due to abandoned mines and polluted ore-processing waste.
The city itself is laid out with broad avenues lined by wide sidewalks. Tram lines run down the centre of the major streets. Beside the sidewalks there are usually several rows of trees such as lindens and horse chestnuts. Many people live in rows of 5 to 9 story apartment buildings that are wrapped around large inner courtyards. Many of these courtyards are also filled with trees giving the overall impression that the entire city is built in a park. Even the main downtown area of the city at the intersection of Karl Marx Street and Lenin Avenue maintains this park-like look and feel.
Kryvyi Rih is not a typical tourist destination and there are few hotels. There is also an overnight sleeper train from Kiev or you can fly to Dnipropetrovsk and take a 3 hour marshrutka ride to Kryvyi Rih. The Kryvyi Rih (also known as Lozuvatka) Airport only handles charter flights and private planes. Kryviy Rih is also home to the Kryvyi Rih Metro Tram, an 11 station system, which serves some parts of the city.
Kryvyi Rih is home to the Ukrainian Premier League football team FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih.
Kryvyi Rih is an interesting place to hunt for on satellite images. From a great height, roads and cities are not normally visible on these photos, but Kryvyi Rih appears as a grey smudge amidst the green and brown fields of the Ukrainian steppes. As you zoom in closer, you can see how the city is wrapped around the largest hole in the ground in continental Europe. This is the main open-pit mine where iron ore is extracted. The grey smudge is a combination of the big pit, and the waste piles and factories which surround it and numerous mineshafts in the city. If you travel from Kryvyi Rih to Kiev on the sleeper train during the long summer evenings, then you will get a good view of dozens of mineshafts and factories, often completely coated with rust-red dust.
- Kryvyi Rih administration website (Ukrainian) (English) (Russian)
- Google Maps Satellite Image of Kryvyi Rih
