About Krivoy Rog

Upcoming Krivoy Rog Tour:
To Be Announced
Krivoy Rog is a city in south-central Ukraine on the Ingulets River, 130 km/81 mi southwest of Dnepropetrovsk. The city population is about 717,000. The district surrounding Krivoy Rog is rich in iron ore, and the city's industries centre on metallurgical products. Mining machinery, cement, and foodstuffs are also produced. Exploitation of the iron-ore deposits began on a large scale in the 1880s. Today Krivoy Rog is a major transportation, mining, and steel-producing center. Founded by Zaporozhe Cossacks in the 17th century, Krivoy Rog remained a small settlement as late as the 1780s. Krivoy Rog and the surrounding region grew rapidly beginning in the 1880s, when railroads made it feasible to exploit the area's high-quality iron-ore deposits. The city soon developed into one of the region's largest producers of iron ore. Urban growth followed the development of new mines, and the city eventually sprawled north 30 km (20 mi) in a narrow strip along the ore deposits. In 1941, during World War II, Krivoy Rog and its mines were taken by German troops. The city suffered severe damage by the time forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) regained control in 1944.