# Nikopol, Ukraine

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For other uses, see [Nikopol (disambiguation)](/source/Nikopol_(disambiguation)).

**Nikopol** (Ukrainian: Нікополь, ˈn⁽ʲ⁾ikopolʲ) is a [city](/source/City) and [municipality](/source/List_of_hromadas_of_Ukraine) ([hromada](/source/Hromada))[1] in [Nikopol Raion](/source/Nikopol_Raion) in the south of [Ukraine](/source/Ukraine), on the right bank of the [Dnieper River](/source/Dnieper), about 63 km south-east of [Kryvyi Rih](/source/Kryvyi_Rih) and 48 km south-west of [Zaporizhzhia](/source/Zaporizhzhia). Population:

Nikopol is the fourth-most populous city in [Dnipropetrovsk Oblast](/source/Dnipropetrovsk_Oblast). Located on a cape by the [Kakhovka reservoir](/source/Kakhovka_reservoir), it is a powerful industrial city with several pipe-producing factories, such as the [Interpipe](/source/Interpipe) corporation, and steel rolling mills, such as the [factory](/source/Nikopol_Ferroalloy_Plant) of [ferroalloys](/source/Ferroalloy), constituting Nikopol metropolitan area.

Formerly, the settlement served as one of the [capital cities](/source/Sich) of the [Zaporizhian Sich](/source/Zaporizhian_Sich) and was known as one of the main crossings over the Dnieper.

## General information

Renamed by the Russian Empire into Slaviansk and [later](/source/Greek_Plan) Nikopol (after Ancient Greek: Νικόπολις, lit. 'City of Victory'), the city has a rich preceding history. Between 1638 and 1652, it was the settlement of **Mykytyn Rih** (Ukrainian: Микитин Ріг, literally *Mykyta's bend* or *Mykyta's horn*), a [capital](/source/Sich) of the [Zaporozhian Sich](/source/Zaporozhian_Sich). It was one of the main crossings over the Dnieper, located on the shore of the [Great Meadow](/source/Great_Meadow,_Ukraine).

The 1911 edition of [Encyclopedia Britannica](/source/Encyclopedia_Britannica) gave the following description of Nikopol: "It was formerly called Nikitin Rog, and occupies an elongated peninsula between two arms of the Dnieper at a point where its banks are low and marshy, and has been for centuries one of the places where the middle Dnieper can most conveniently be crossed."[2]

In 1900, its 21,282 inhabitants were [Ukrainians](/source/Ukrainians), [Jews](/source/Jews) and [Mennonites](/source/Mennonites), who carry on agriculture and shipbuilding.[citation needed] The former [Sich](/source/Sich), or fortified camp of the [Zaporozhian Cossacks](/source/Zaporozhian_Cossacks), brilliantly described in [N. V. Gogol](/source/Nikolai_Gogol)'s novel [Taras Bulba](/source/Taras_Bulba) (1834) was situated a little higher up the river. Several graves in the vicinity recall the battles fought to possess this important strategic point.[2]

One of the graves, close to the town, contained, along with other [Scythian](/source/Scythia) antiquities, a precious vase representing the capture of wild horses. In the early 20th century Nikopol, which is situated on the highway from Dnipro to [Kherson](/source/Kherson), was the point where the "salt-highway" of the [Chumaks](/source/Chumaks) (Ukrainian salt-carriers) to the [Crimea](/source/Crimea) crossed the Dnipro. Nikopol was, further, one of the chief places on the lower Dnieper for the export of corn, linseed, hemp, and wool.[2]

## History

### Archaeological excavations

See also: [Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla](/source/Golden_Pectoral_from_Tovsta_Mohyla)

According to archaeological excavations, the city's area was populated as early as the [Neolithic epoch](/source/Neolithic_epoch) in the 4th millennium BCE[3] as evidenced by remnants of a settlement discovered on banks of [Mala Kamianka River](/source/Mala_Kamianka_River).[3][4] In burial mounds from the copper–bronze epoch of the 3rd–1st millenniums [BCE](/source/BCE) were found stone and bronze tools, clay sharp-bottomed ornamental dishes.[3] Also found were burials from the [Scythian](/source/Scythians)–[Sarmatian](/source/Sarmatians) period, between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE.[3]

### Mykytyn Rih / Mykytyn Sich

See also: [Zaporizhian Sich](/source/Zaporizhian_Sich)

At the beginning of the 16th century, in the location of modern Nikopol, appeared a river crossing over the [Dnieper](/source/Dnieper) controlled by [Cossacks](/source/Cossacks), called **Mykytyn Rih**.[3] According to a folk legend, a Cossack named Mykyta Tsyhan established it.[3] Under the same name, the crossing is mentioned in the diary of the [Holy Roman Empire](/source/Holy_Roman_Empire) envoy [Erich Lassota von Steblau](/source/Erich_Lassota_von_Steblau), who visited the [Zaporizhian Sich](/source/Zaporizhian_Sich) in 1594.[3]

In 1638–1639, Cossacks led by F. Linchai built a fort which was named **Mykytyn Sich** (Ukrainian: Микитинська Січ).[5][6] In 1652, due to conflict with the [Hetman of Zaporizhian Host](/source/Hetman_of_Zaporizhian_Host), [Kosh Otaman](/source/Kosh_Otaman) Fedir Liutay moved the administrative seat to [Chortomlyk](/source/Chortomlyk_Sich).[7][6]

By 1648, in the proximity of today's Nikopol, Mykytyn Sich was built. It is renowned for the location of [Bohdan Khmelnytsky](/source/Bohdan_Khmelnytsky) being elected as the Hetman of Ukraine and as where the [Khmelnytsky Uprising](/source/Khmelnytsky_Uprising) against the [Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth](/source/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth) started. Until 1775, the time of the [Sich sacking](/source/Zaporizhian_Sich#History), it was called "Mykytyn Rih", "Mykytyn Pereviz", or simply "Mykytyne".

The name *rih* (Ukrainian for horn) was given because the locality rose at a place reminiscing a peninsula, as it was almost surrounded by the [Dnieper river](/source/Dnieper_river) (see [Kryvyi Rih](/source/Kryvyi_Rih)). Mykytyne was a town of the Kodak Palanka, an [administrative division](/source/Palanka_(administrative_unit)) of the [Zaporizhian Sich](/source/Zaporizhian_Sich). Later, it was renamed into Slovianske and then Nikopol.

### Sloviansk / Nikopol

In the 18th century, [Grigoriy Potyomkin](/source/Grigoriy_Potyomkin) ordered the building of an Imperial Russian fortress at Slaviansk. Eventually, the project was scrapped. Soon after the [liquidation of the Zaporozhian Sich](/source/Liquidation_of_the_Zaporozhian_Sich) in 1782, the settlement was renamed Nikopol. During the [Ukrainian War of Independence](/source/Ukrainian_War_of_Independence), from 1917 to 1920, it passed between various factions. Afterwards, it was administratively part of the [Katerynoslav Governorate](/source/Katerynoslav_Governorate) of Ukraine.[8][9][10]

During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Nikopol was occupied by the [German Army](/source/Wehrmacht) until 18 February 1944. [Albert Speer](/source/Albert_Speer) referred to it as the "center of [manganese](/source/Manganese) mining", and, therefore, of vital importance to the German war effort.[11]

The Soviet policy of industrialization created the [Kakhovka Reservoir](/source/Kakhovka_Reservoir) which existed from 1956 to 2023, submerging what could be now the most sacred place of an early distinctly Ukrainian statehood: the lands of the former [Zaporizhian Host](/source/Zaporizhian_Host), with their burial sites.

Until July 2020, Nikopol was incorporated as a [city of oblast significance](/source/City_of_regional_significance_(Ukraine)) and served as the administrative center of Nikopol Raion, though it did not belong to the raion. In July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to seven, the city of Nikopol was merged into Nikopol Raion.[12][13]

Just a few kilometres west of the city, the [Kosh otaman](/source/Kosh_otaman) [Ivan Sirko](/source/Ivan_Sirko) is buried.

Nikopol is one of the largest towns in the region, with a population of 105,160 in 2022. The largest manufacturers include the former Nikopol Tube Plant, established in 1931,[14] which is now divided into smaller plants (e.g. Centravis, Interpipe Niko Tube). The Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world in the production of Ferromanganese (FeMn) and Ferrosilicomanganese (FeSiMn).

## Demographics

Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1926 14,209 — 1939 58,148 +309.2% 1959 82,992 +42.7% 1970 124,949 +50.6% 1979 145,654 +16.6% 1989 157,608 +8.2% 2001 136,280 −13.5% 2011 121,784 −10.6% 2022 105,160 −13.7%

[15] As of the [2001 Ukrainian census](/source/2001_Ukrainian_census), Nikopol had a population of 138,218 inhabitants, of whom the majority are ethnic [Ukrainians](/source/Ukrainians). [Russians](/source/Russians_in_Ukraine) account for a quarter of the city's population, smaller Minorities are [Belarusians](/source/Belarusians_in_Ukraine), [Germans](/source/Black_Sea_Germans) and [Jews](/source/Jews_in_Ukraine). In terms of spoken languages, almost 60% of the population considers [Ukrainian](/source/Ukrainian_language) to be their first language, while roughly 40% considered [Russian](/source/Russian_language) as their native language. The exact ethnic and linguistic composition was:[16][17]

## Transport links

There is bus station, railway station and river port, which connect the town with other cities.

[Nikopol River Port](/source/Nikopol_River_Port) facilitates transportation for the metallurgical industry and travel.[18]

## Culture

### Sports

- [FC Nikopol](/source/FC_Nikopol)
- [FC Metalurh Nikopol](/source/FC_Metalurh_Nikopol)

## International relations

See also: [List of twin towns and sister cities in Ukraine](/source/List_of_twin_towns_and_sister_cities_in_Ukraine)

### Twin towns — Sister cities

Nikopol is [twinned](/source/Twin_towns_and_sister_cities) with:

- [Lloydminster](/source/Lloydminster), Canada
- [Perth](/source/Perth,_Scotland), Scotland
- [Halmstad](/source/Halmstad_Municipality), Sweden

## References

1. ["Никопольская громада"](https://gromada.info/ru/obschina/nikopolska/) (in Russian). Портал об'єднаних громад України.

1. [Nikopol (Нікополь)](http://imsu-dnipropetrovsk.com/mista-i-sela/nikopolskyj-rajon/nikopol.html). [The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR](/source/The_History_of_Cities_and_Villages_of_the_Ukrainian_SSR).

1. Demianov, V. *[Mala Kamianka (МАЛА́ КА́М’ЯНКА)](https://esu.com.ua/search_articles.php?id=61028)*. Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine

1. Bazhan, O. *[Nikopol (НІКОПОЛЬ)](http://resource.history.org.ua/cgi-bin/eiu/history.exe?&I21DBN=EIU&P21DBN=EIU&S21STN=1&S21REF=10&S21FMT=eiu_all&C21COM=S&S21CNR=20&S21P01=0&S21P02=0&S21P03=TRN=&S21COLORTERMS=0&S21STR=Nikopol_mst)*. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine

1. Shcherbak, V. *[Mykytyn Sich (МИКИТИНСЬКА СІЧ)](http://resource.history.org.ua/cgi-bin/eiu/history.exe?Z21ID=&I21DBN=EIU&P21DBN=EIU&S21STN=1&S21REF=10&S21FMT=eiu_all&C21COM=S&S21CNR=20&S21P01=0&S21P02=0&S21P03=TRN=&S21COLORTERMS=0&S21STR=Mykytynska_sich)*. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. 2009

1. Shcherbak, V. *[Chortomlyk Sich (ЧОРТОМЛИЦЬКА СІЧ)](http://resource.history.org.ua/cgi-bin/eiu/history.exe?Z21ID=&I21DBN=EIU&P21DBN=EIU&S21STN=1&S21REF=10&S21FMT=eiu_all&C21COM=S&S21CNR=20&S21P01=0&S21P02=0&S21P03=TRN=&S21COLORTERMS=0&S21STR=Chortomlytska_Sich)*. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine

1. С. Хургін (1922). *Адміністраційна Мапа Української Соц. Рад. Республіки* (in Ukrainian). Kharkiv: Народний комісаріат внутрішніх справ.

1. С. Я. Хургин (1921). *Карта Украинской Социалистической Советской Республики* (in Russian). Народный комиссариат внутренних дел.

1. *Административная карта Украины* (in Russian). Народный комиссариат внутренних дел. 1923.

1. Speer, Albert (1995). *Inside the Third Reich*. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 430. ISBN 9781842127353.

1. ["Про утворення та ліквідацію районів. Постанова Верховної Ради України № 807-ІХ."](https://www.golos.com.ua/article/333466) (in Ukrainian). *Голос України*. 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-10-03.

1. ["Нові райони: карти + склад"](https://www.minregion.gov.ua/press/news/novi-rajony-karty-sklad/) (in Ukrainian). Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України.

1. ["IНТЕРПАЙП НIКО ТЬЮБ"](https://nikotube.interpipe.biz/). *nikotube.interpipe.biz*. Retrieved 2021-02-16.

1. ["Cities & Towns of Ukraine"](http://pop-stat.mashke.org/ukraine-cities.htm)

1. ["Всеукраїнський перепис населення 2001"](https://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/) [All-Ukrainian population census 2001] (in Ukrainian). *2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua*. Retrieved 2024-06-01.

1. ["Національний склад міст"](https://datatowel.in.ua/pop-composition/ethnic-cities) (in Ukrainian). *Datatowel.in.ua*. Retrieved 2024-06-01.

1. ["Nikopol"](https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CN%5CI%5CNikopol.htm). *encyclopediaofukraine.com*. Retrieved April 27, 2022.

## External links

- [Official city website](http://www.nikopol.osp-ua.info/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090225204030/http://nikopol.osp-ua.info/) 2009-02-25 at the Wayback Machine

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nikopol, Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikopol%2C_Ukraine) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikopol%2C_Ukraine?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.