Uzhhorod is a city located in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. It is the administrative center of the Zakarpattia Oblast (region), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Uzhhorodskyi Raion (district) within the oblast. The city itself is also designated as its own separate raion within the oblast.
The city gets its name from the Uzh River, which divides the city into two halves (the old and new sections). Uzh (Уж) means ringed snake (Natrix natrix), and horod (город) is Ruthenian for city, coming from Old Slavonic grad (градъ). However, this name is a recent construct, and has been used only since the beginning of the 20th century. Before then, the city was known as Ungvar, also spelled Ongvar, Hungvar, and Unguyvar.
The city's name is spelled Ужгород in both Ukrainian and Russian, transliterated "Uzhhorod" from Ukrainian, "Uzhgorod" from Russian. Until recently, the city was known in English as Uzhgorod.
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