Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk is one of the oldest cities of the Russian North, the administrative center of the Arkhangelsk region, located at the mouth of the Northern Dvina River, not far from its confluence into the White Sea.

Arkhangelsk is an important sea and river port, a railway hub.

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history

 

Mentions of the first settlements on the right bank of the Northern Dvina are found in the XII century. Approximate at the same time was founded in this place Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk monastery.

The year of the founding of the city is 1584, and the founder is Ivan the Terrible. Arkhangelsk was originally built as a fortress to defend against a possible attack by Sweden, the threat of which existed at the time. Since the end of the XVI century, Arkhangelsk has become an important center of Russian foreign trade and began to actively develop and rebuild. The center of the city was the port - the only one at that time in Russia.

Peter the Great had a great interest in the city, in 1693 he arrived in Arkhangelsk to get acquainted with the ship business and the specifics of the activities of sea traders, and later ordered the construction of the first state shipyard in Russia, which was called the Arkhangelsk Admiralty.

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Later, the Northern Shipping Company was founded in Arkhangelsk, the first in Russia. The city also served as a base for the development of the Arctic. It was here that the icebreaker flotilla of Russia began.

Today, industry is actively developing in Arkhangelsk. Forest, paper, cardboard, pulp, fish - these are the main items of trade of Arkhangelsk. The Northern Railway ends in Arkhangelsk.

 

ATTENTIONS

 

All tourists are advised to visit Maly Korely - a museum of wooden architecture and folk art of the northern regions of Russia. The museum is located near Arkhangelsk, under the open sky. Among the exhibits of the museum are peasant, merchant huts, barns, wells, hedges, windmills, a total of about 100 buildings, the oldest of which date back to the 16th century. Not far from the museum is the tourist complex "Small Karelia".

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If you are in Arkhangelsk, visit the Arkhangelsk Regional Museum. This is one of the oldest museums in Russia, its exhibits reflect the history of the Russian North from ancient times to the present day. One of the branches of this museum is the famous Solovetsky Museum-Reserve, which is included in the List of UNESCO World Heritage Monuments. The museum-reserve includes more than 250 immovable monuments of history and culture, unique natural landscapes.

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Another of the oldest and largest museums in Russia is the Archangel Museum of Fine Arts. There are about 30 thousand works of Russian art, which were created from the XIV century to the present day. Including visitors can see collections of ancient northern icon painting and wooden sculpture, objects of northern folk art: folk costume, embroidery, carving and wood painting, art metal and ceramics. In addition, the museum presents the country's best collection of Kholmogorsk bone carving - an ancient northern art craft.

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You can not do in Arkhangelsk without the State Northern Maritime Museum. It is important to note that this museum houses the largest collection of models of ships of the XVI - XX centuries, navigation instruments, tools and equipment. According to the exposition of the museum, it is easy to trace the evolution of scientific and technical thought in northern navigation, shipbuilding and crafts, as well as to assess the contribution of northern marine culture to the development of world navigation.

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In Arkhangelsk there is and successfully operates Arkhangelsk Regional Drama Theatre named after M.V. Lomonosov - one of the oldest in the North drama theaters. The theater was created on October 27, 1932, and the first performance was “At the bottom” based on the play by M. Gorky. In October 2009, the reconstruction of the main stage of the theater was completed, which lasted for 10 years.

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It is impossible not to see in Arkhangelsk at the city Marine River Station, opened in 1972. It is from here that ships leave to the islands within the city, as well as to Solovki, Murmansk and other settlements. Interestingly, the Arkhangelsk sea-river station is depicted on the banknote of 500 rubles.

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If you are in Arkhangelsk, be sure to walk along Chumbarov-Luchinsky Avenue or, as it is affectionately called by locals, Chumbarovka. This is a pedestrian street-museum in the center of Arkhangelsk. The museum, because on this street there is a unique collection of wooden buildings of old Arkhangelsk, wooden buildings were brought here from all over the city.