Ekaterinburg

Ekaterinburg did not arise spontaneously, like many Ural cities, its foundation was accompanied by careful calculations, and the development was originally subordinate to the dominant - the ironworks. Actually, it became the first exclusively industrial city in the history of Russia. A strict layout with a rectilinear arrangement of streets, quarters and squares began to take shape in Ekaterinburg by the beginning of the XIX century, setting the direction for its further development.

The building of the Sverdlovsk City Council of People's Deputies on the square of 1905 is the residence of the City Duma and the City Admini

Verkh-Isetsky District of Yekaterinburg

As in the earliest period of Ekaterinburg's existence, its appearance is largely determined by Orthodox churches and temples, although they, of course, have decreased in comparison with the pre-revolutionary era. Today, many religious buildings that have survived hard times have been magnificently restored, new ones are being built on the site of the temples demolished by the Soviet authorities.

Beautiful stone and wooden merchant mansions, miniature houses of urban burghers have been preserved. Ekaterinburg is also known for its constructivist architectural monuments of the early XX century, their concentration here is considered one of the most impressive in the world.

History of Ekaterinburg

The lands in the valley of the Iset River, where modern Ekaterinburg is located, became part of the Russian state between 1619 and 1672. In 1720, a prominent statesman Vasily Tatishchev arrived in the Uktusskoye settlement - Emperor Peter I entrusted him with the management of local mining enterprises, whose productivity was significantly inferior to the efficiency of the Ural Demidov factories.

Tatishchev tried to improve production, but soon came to the conclusion that on the basis of existing primitive enterprises it would not be possible to accomplish the plan, and proposed to build a new large plant on the bank of the Iset. Tatishchev was supported by an authoritative mining engineer, Major General Georg Wilhelm de Gennin, and already on November 18, 1723, the first mechanical hammers were tested at the enterprise. It is this day that is considered the date of the foundation of the city, which was named Ekaterinburg in honor of the crowned wife of Peter I. Ekaterinburg received the status of a county city in 1781, already under Empress Catherine II.By this time, among other enterprises, a mint worked here, where 80% of copper money was produced in the state, a manufactory operated that produced copper dishes and utensils.

In 1923, the Soviet authorities endowed Ekaterinburg with the status of the administrative center of the vast Ural region, and the following year it received a new name - Sverdlovsk, which survived until 1991. During the Great Patriotic War, more than fifty enterprises from the western regions of the country were evacuated here, which subsequently merged with local factories or became the basis of new sectors of the economy of the Sverdlovsk region.

In the early 90s, an economic crisis broke out in the city, accompanied by criminal wars. The revival began with the advent of the new millennium, mainly due to the development of trade and business spheres, as Ekaterinburg lost a significant part of its industrial potential. In 2015, the city entered the top five most visited by tourists Russian megacities along with Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok.

Geography and climate

Ekaterinburg stretches from west to east for 15 km, from north to south - for 26 km. Into two parts, western and eastern, the metropolis is divided by the Iset River - a tributary of the Tobol. Its right bank is almost flat, the left is slightly elevated, but without significant elevation changes. Ekaterinburg is surrounded by hills overgrown with coniferous and mixed forest, the highest mountain in the vicinity is Volchikha, its height is 526.3 m.

The climate of Ekaterinburg is characterized as moderately continental, with pronounced seasonal differences. The low eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, where the city is located, are protected from the penetration of air masses from the western part of Russia by higher ridges, and at the same time are open to the invasion of Arctic air. However, air currents from the south - from the Caspian regions and deserts of Central Asia - freely penetrate here. This feature causes the variability of the Ekaterinburg weather - sharp temperature fluctuations and anomalous phenomena, when during the day temperature changes are up to 30 ° C.

Winters in Ekaterinburg are long, already in November frosty weather reigns here, which lasts until March. Night frosts are observed in April. In winter, severe frosts are often replaced by thaws, and snow by rain. The coldest month here is January, when the average daytime temperature is -10 ... -8 ° C, night - from -16 to -12 ° C. The record cold in Ekaterinburg was January 1915, when meteorologists recorded an indicator of -44.6 ° C.

Spring comes to the city at the end of April, at this time the air is already warming up above +10 ° C. By the end of May, the daytime temperature is approaching the mark of +20 ° C. For June-July, the following indicators are characteristic: + 15 ... + 20 ° C at night and + 21 ... + 25 ° C in the daytime. In the first summer month, there are sometimes short-term frosts, even snow can fall. Most of August is still warm, but by the end of the month, the daytime air temperature, as a rule, already drops below +20 ° C. It begins to get distinctly cold in the last decade of September, when the thermometers fix + 7 ... + 11 ° C. In October, night frosts are not uncommon, the daytime temperature gradually decreases to + 3 ° C.