Dnipropetrovsk, since May 2016 named Dnipro, is a primarily industrial and entrepreneurial city in Ukraine. It is the 4th largest city in the country, with around 1 million inhabitants. Founded with the name Ekaterinoslav, it was officially inaugurated in 1787 by the Russian Empress Catherine the Great as the administrative center of the newly acquired territories of New Russia; envisioned to be the 3rd capital city of the Russian Empire after Saint Petersburg and Moscow. The city was renamed Dnipropetrovsk in 1926 referring to the Communist leader Grigory Petrovsky who was involved in the organization of Holodomor.
During the Soviet period, Dnipro was an important industrial center, so as one of the hubs for nuclear and space technology of the Soviet Union. Due to the military industry, Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk at those times) was a closed city until the 1990s. Satellites and rockets were produced there during the Cold War between the USA and URSS. Nowadays, an interesting place to visit in Dnipro is the Space Museum where important inventions of Soviet space technology are exhibited for visitors interested in space tech and facts about the Cold War. The mockups showcased at the museum are on the proportion/scale of 1:55.
A piece of interesting information to mention is that after the independence from the Soviet Union, Ukraine destroyed the rockets with military potential that used to be kept in Dnipro. Currently, the work on space technology developed in Dnipro has a focus on peaceful purposes and on exploring near-Earth Space. In the external area of the museum, there are also some huge military rockets exhibited for the visitors.
If you are amazed by engine components, space travel, tech crafts, and Soviet history, this Space Museum is surely a must to visit the place and a reason to visit Dnipro, since is the only space museum in Ukraine. Another museum of this kind you will find only in Moscow, the Museum of Cosmonautics, as far as I know. You can arrive in Dnipro by train from Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, and other Ukrainian cities.
Originally posted 2017-10-06 21:21:45.
