Mykolaiv is the town of shipbuilders. First ship built in Mykolaiv had been launched in 1790 - 44-gun frigate "Sviatoy Nikolai" (‘St. Nicolas’). This ship still can be seen at Mykolaiv’s coart of arms.
The region is administratively divided into 19 areas. The region has 5 regional submission towns, 4 area submission towns, 20 urban type settlements and more than 919 villages. Mykolaiv region has more than 1,32 mln. residents. Mostly people reside in dwells in urban type settlements (66%). Almost 60% of urban population resides in Mykolaiv - industrial, cultural and administrative center of Mykolaiv region.

In oblast there are 1,187 institutions of culture and art including clubs. In the structure of 490 state clubs are functioning 2,243 club formations and 1656 groups of amateur art activities 77 of them are "national" and "exemplary". There are 552 libraries with general stock of 10,3 million exemplars including state libraries reserving about 10 million exemplars of library stock. More than 425 thousand people make use of libraries. About 300 thousand people annually visit Museums of regional lore and art after Vereshchagin. There are 3 professional theaters and regional Philharmonic Society. Yearly they issue more than 15 new performances and concert programs. There is one of the best in Europe zoo, 3 parks, regional scientific and methodical center of folk art, high state musical school and 45 aesthetic schools

Settlement of Mykolaiv oblast' initiated as far back as in the epoch of late Paleolithic era, in other words more than 15 thousand years ago.
Since the first centuries A.D. Slavonic tribes inhabited these lands, and at the end of the X century the territory of Mykolaiv oblast was a part of Kyiv Rus’. A number of aliens encroached on the region – Pechenigy hordes, Polovtsi, Mongol-Tatars, as well as Lithuanians, Crimean Tatars, Turks devastated these lands. And just here, on the southern boundary, in the Wild field, protected the motherland brave knights of freedom – Zaporiz’ki Cossacks, defending Ukraine with might and main from Turkish and Tatar armies.

Since the end of the XVII century the development of the region is connected with the establishment of Zaporiz’ka Sich’. Zaporiz’ki and alien Cossacks running the risk moved to the sea forming farming zones. In the result of Russia-Turkish wars, rich farming culture from the north developed in the steppe.
During severe long war the Russian state asserted its rights for outlet to the sea, emphatically moving forward to the important strategy center – Ochakov. Russia needed its own fleet. And according to Prince Potyomkin at creek of Ingul in 1788 a new dockyard was built. Around the dockyard a nameless settlement had been formed. In a year it was given a name after victorious assault of Ochakiv by the Russian army under the direction of O.V.Suvorov. The city was occupied on December 1788, on St. Nicolas Day, seaman protector. New city was named in his honor.

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