The mouth of the Don River has been very important since the ancient times. It has been important for cultural reasons and for trade. The GreekcolonyTanais was there, and also the Genoesefort Tana. Later, the Ottoman Empire built a fortress there. This fortress was named Azov.
Rostov-on-Don was founded in 1749. In that year, a customs house was built on the Don. Later, a large fortress followed. It was named after SaintDimitry of Rostov. Dmitry of Rostov was a bishop from the old Northern town Rostov the Great. With the time, the importance of the fortress Asov became less and less. The settlement near the fortress became more important than the fortress. It was the commercial centre of the region. In 1796 this settlement received city rights and was renamed Rostov-on-Don.
The building of the administration of Rostov Oblast and the monument of the Red Army
The Don River that the city is named afrer is a major shipping lane. It connects southwestern Russia with regions to the north. Rostov-on-Don is an important river port both for people and industrial shipping. With such a good geographical location, the city grew quickly. It is the most industrialized city of South Russia. Because of this, the city caused a large problem between the Whites and the Bolsheviks during the Civil War. By 1928, the regional government was moved from the old CossackcapitalNovocherkassk to Rostov. The nearby Armenian town of Nor Nakhijevan became a part of the city.
In the Soviet years, the Bolsheviks destroyed two of Rostov's main landmarks - St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1908) and St George Cathedral in Nakhichevan (1783-1807). Much of the city was destroyed by the Germanforces who took control of it three times - in 1918, 1941 and 1942. Today, the most notable part of the historical city is the very big Cathedral of Virgin's Nativity (1860-87), designed by Konstantin Thon.
The city was also the home of Russia's most well known serial killerAndrei Chikatilo but he was not actually born there.
Rostov-on-Don has had much economic growth in recent years. Part of this is because the Russian economy is getting stronger. Many new companies have built headquarters in the city. People living in the city are making more money than they did in the past. The city is being changed from a place thrown back in time by the collapse of communism into a modern, industrial and technology-rich city.
