Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Білгород-Дністровський |
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City of regional significance | |||
Akkerman fortress
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Location in Ukraine | |||
Coordinates: 46°11′32″N 30°20′00″E / 46.19222°N 30.33333°E | |||
Country | Ukraine | ||
Oblast | Odessa Oblast | ||
Municipality | Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 31 km2 (12 sq mi) | ||
Elevation | 28 m (92 ft) | ||
Population (2015) | |||
• Total | 50,086 | ||
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
Postal code | 67700—67719 | ||
Area code(s) | +380 4849 | ||
Climate | Cfb | ||
Website | www.bilgorod-d.org.ua |
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (Ukrainian: Білгород-Дністровський), formerly known as Akkerman (see naming section below), is a city and port situated on the right bank of the Dniester Liman (on the Dniester estuary leading to the Black Sea) in Odessa Oblast of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Bessarabia. Administratively, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi is incorporated as a town of oblast significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion, one of twenty-six districts of Odessa Oblast, though it is not a part of the district. It is a location of a big freight seaport. Population: 50,086 (2015 est.)
The city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi is also referred to by alternative transliterations from Ukrainian as Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky or Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyy. Dnistrovsky was added to differentiate it from Bilhorod that was part of the Sloboda Ukraine and carried a similar name.
The town became part of the Principality of Moldavia in 1359. The fortress was enlarged and rebuilt in 1407 under Alexander the Kind and in 1440 under Stephen II of Moldavia. From 1503 to 1918 and 1940 to 1941, the city was known as "Akkerman" (Russian: Аккерман), Turkish for "white fortress". From 1918 to 1944 (with a short brief in 1940–1941), the city was known by its Romanian name of Cetatea Albă, literally "white citadel". Since 1944 the city has been known as "Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi" (Білгород-Дністровський), while on the Soviet geography maps often translated into its Russian equivalent of "Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy" (Бе́лгород-Днестро́вский), literally "white city on the Dniester".