Petrozavodsk, Karelia

In the north-west of the vast Russia is located the Republic of Karelia, rich in natural resources and famous for its magnificent sights . It is on its territory that the historically famous Lake Ladoga stretches. On the shores of its bay Petrozavodsk Bay is the capital of Karelia - Petrozavodsk.

Briefly about the history of Petrozavodsk, Karelia

In the name of the largest city of the republic, the name of the first emperor of Russia, Peter I., was placed not by chance. It was on his order in 1703 that the construction of an arms plant began on the shore of the Ladoga Lake. Soon, around the industrial facility began to appear dwellings for the peasants. In addition, special for the sovereign built a palace, a church, broke the garden. The settlement was called Petrovskaya Sloboda. In 1777, the settlement by order of Catherine II became a district town and was renamed Petrozavodsk as part of the Olonets province, since 1802 - the administrative center of the Olonets province.

What is it, the main city of the Republic of Karelia - Petrozavodsk?

The modern capital of Karelia covers an area of ​​74 square kilometers. km, reminiscent of the shape of a horseshoe. Unfortunately, the city can not be called densely populated: according to 2014, there are just over 272 thousand people living there - this is the 70th place by the population of the Russian Federation. Petrozavodsk is multinational, on its territory besides Russians, the indigenous peoples of the Republic of Veps and Karelians live, as well as Tatars, Finns, Gypsies, Ukrainians, Jews and others. The main branch of the city is industry, primarily heavy industry (stone processing, metalworking, machine building, energy production), light and food.

In addition, Petrozavodsk is a large transport, scientific and cultural center of Russia.

Sights of Petrozavodsk

Intending to spend a leisurely walk through the capital of Karelia, first of all, set your feet to the business card of the city - Onega embankment, decorated in the classical style for the XIX century. On its first line there are amazing sculptures presented to the city by sister cities: "Fishermen", "Desire Tree", "Purse of Fortune", "Tubingen Panorama". Not far from the embankment adjacent to the square and the river station, the bronze monument to the founder of Petrozavodsk - Peter the Great - stands proudly.

If you prefer to inspect architectural monuments, visit the majestic Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky, built in the 20-30s of the XIX century in the classical style. At the Zaretsky cemetery stands the Cross Exaltation Cathedral, which was built in the second half of the XIX century on the site of a dilapidated wooden chapel. View typical for the XVIII century buildings can be on Lenin Square.

There are a lot of museums in the city. The National Museum of Karelia, largest in Petrozavodsk, offers to visit the exposition acquainting visitors with the nature, history and archeology of the region. To learn more about traditional kinds of art of the indigenous peoples of the region, Russia and abroad, please visit the Museum of Fine Arts. It will be interesting to a visitor of any age in the Maritime Museum, where under the open sky at a small shipyard ships are shown, built according to the drawings of medieval Rusich. For those tourists who participate in excursions in Karelia on their own, Petrozavodsk offers a great opportunity to see the exhibits of the Kizhi museum-preserve with their own eyes. On the island of the same name in Onega Lake towering imaginative wooden temples, a bell tower and a chapel, typical for the architecture of Russia XVII-XVIII centuries.

In the city you can get to one of the annual festivals. In summer, in the historic quarter, the festival of the "Illusion of the Old City" is organized: residents of the XIX century's streets walk around the ancient streets showing scenes typical of Petrozavodsk at that time. In winter, the festival "Hyperborea" holds a competition of figures from ice and snow.