Dnieper River
This attraction is related to the countries:UkraineUkraine , BelarusRussiaThe Dnieper River is one of the largest rivers in Europe, second only to the Volga, Danube and Ural rivers, which flows through Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and into the Black Sea. The smallest part and source of the river is within Russia (22%). A small section of the river passes through Belarus (23%), but its main route is through Ukraine (55%). The total length of the Dnieper River today is 2,201 kilometers, which is slightly less than before the construction of the cascade of reservoirs that straightened its course.
- Origin of the name
- History
- Attractions and entertainment
Legends of the Dnieper rapids - Underwater curiosities
- Tourists
Origin of the name
The Dnieper is a legendary river, sung by many Ukrainian poets, firmly embedded in ancient and modern folklore. There are several versions of the origin of the name. The main theory is considered to be about the Iranian roots, where “Dnipro” means “deep river”. However, different peoples offered their own names. So, Herodotus back in the V century BC spoke about Borisphene, which means “river from the north”. Somewhat later in Roman sources, the Dnieper is called Danapris. And the Slavs of Kievan Rus nicknamed the waterway Slavutich.
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History
Already in the IV-III millennia B.C. Slavic tribes of Radimichi, Krivichi, Dregovichi lived here. Later, the famous trade route “From the Varangians to the Greeks”, which connected the Baltic and the Black Sea, passed along the river. Despite the fact that the function of the Dnieper as a trade and transportation route periodically weakened due to nomadic raids, it has always played an important role in the economy and culture of the peoples who inhabited its banks.
.Sights and attractions
The largest city on the Dnieper is Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Here, as in other large coastal settlements, both banks are perfectly equipped, there are boat stations, water excursion programs, extreme attractions, landscaped beaches, places for fishing.
Legends of the Dnieper rapids
Most of these river obstacles are located between Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye, they used to be a frequent cause of water transport wrecks. That is why up until the construction of hydroelectric power plants, navigation on this stretch was limited. However, this did not prevent fans of extreme tourism to raft here on boats. The Dnieper rapids have entered the literature and legends. Thus, one of them, known under the name of Nenasytets, does not exist now – once it was blown up in order to establish the navigation of ships. The threshold got its name because of its harshness and high difficulty in passing it. It was believed that he takes the life of every tenth daredevil who decided to go down the river.
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To Tourists
href=’/upload/iblock/e2f/Basseyn-Dnepra.png’ class=’fancybox’ >Dnieper BasinYou can see the Dnieper River from the territory of three different countries, but, of course, to enjoy all the splendor of its expanse it is better to go to Ukraine. For Russian citizens, obtaining a visa is not required, so it is quite easy to organize a trip. The most popular and beautiful cities on the Dnieper are Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Cherkassy, and Kherson.
The river is beautiful at any time of the year: in summer its mirror-like surface is framed by dense greenery, in autumn it practically merges with the blue sky, in winter thick ice is established on most of it, picturesque snowdrifts appear, in spring you can observe ice drifting. In large cities along the banks of the Dnieper there are many clean beaches with full-fledged infrastructure, so there is no need to travel far for swimming.
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The grandeur of the water expanses of the river makes an amazing and memorable impression. You can admire them from grandiose pedestrian and automobile bridges or from one of the banks.
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