Orsk

August 15, 1735 (old style) near the mouth of the Ory River was laid the first Orenburg (Orsk) fortress. In his report to the Senate, I.K. Kirilov reported: “August 15 Orenburg fortress is built with a citadel on Mount Preobrazhenskaya and work should be done with haste.” The mountain is named Preobrazhenskaya in honor of the arrival of the expedition to the mouth of the Ory River on August 6, the day of the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

On August 30, a soldier’s team was introduced into the fortress, and in the morning of the 31st artillery was installed.

On August 31, after the prayer service, the real Orenburg was laid at Yaik and the Orsk mouth about nine bastions according to the situation of the place regularly when fired three times from thirty-one guns, it was laid with a green and blue stone and left without work until the next year. It was solemn. The city of Orenburg was laid about 1.5 km from the first fortress, closer to the mouth of the Ory River. The following year, the construction of the city was prevented by the uprising in Bashkiria, and soon on April 14, 1737, I.K. Kirilov died - the initiator of the construction of the city of Orenburg on this site.

The location of the city on the left bank of the Yaik emphasized (this is reflected in the description of the city coat of arms given in the "Privilege to the city of Orenburg") "three subjects of our peoples this city has protection and refuge." The appointed head of the Orenburg commission, V.N. Tatishchev, arrived in Orenburg in the summer of 1738 and found the fortress “in a terrible state.” It was woven with wood and a ditch of one and a half yards, and it was planted at 50 and there was no ditch, so in winter the wolves ate horses in the city. Immediately measures were taken, and the fortress was "regular earthwork and moat ufortified." At the same time, under the leadership of V.N. Tatishchev, a living room and exchange yard were built in Orenburg (Orsk) in the west (now the Old Town market is located here). Tatishchev believes that this place for the real city of Orenburg is still unsuccessful and gives an idea of the transfer of the city to the tract Red Mountain.

On August 20, 1739, a decree was issued, where it was said: "The city of Orenburg to build on an exquisite place again at the Red Mountain ..., and the former Orenburg to call the Orsk fortress." The city was not built, and the name of the city for four years wore only built a small fortress, but the Orsk fortress was called the city of Orenburg for several years, until August 1741.

In 1742, the new official I.I. Neplyuev decided to continue work on the development and strengthening of the Orsk fortress. Around the mountain, an earthen rampart was built with four full and two half-bastions about 3 meters high and about 6 meters wide; the shaft was lined with turf, and in some places paved with stones and surrounded by a moat. To the east, a shaft with gates was built to the lake (the remains of this shaft have partially survived to this day). This new fortification Neplyuev I.I. called the Transfiguration Castle, the size of which was from east to west 510 meters, from syuga to north 350 meters, which quite decently increased the total area of the Orsk fortress. To the east of the fortress, a slobodka appeared 200-300 meters away, where mostly retired soldiers and other civilians settled with their families.

In 1749, in a strong flood Yaik again "Orsk fortress was sunk, that the inhabitants could hardly need to clean up." All the buildings were damaged, especially in the church.” And in the summer of 1749, all the buildings were moved to a new place. Under ordinary construction, only the southern part of the original fortress was used, and in 1751 a new semi-stone church was built on the Preobrazhenskaya mountain, on the site of the former citadel.

The Orsk fortress until 1746 remained a major trading center in the south-east of Russia, and in connection with this increased trade with the Kyrgyz-Kazakh (Kazakh) Zhuz and Central Asia in its Menovo Yard. In the following years, trade fell due to the development of the Orenburg Mint. But at the same time Orsk did not lose the importance of the trading point, since it was through the Orsk fortress that the nearest trade routes from Khiva and Bukhara passed, as well as from Trans-Urals to Orenburg and back.

The fortifications of the fortress were maintained in proper condition until the 1830s, as P.I. Rychkov wrote in 1762 in the Topography of the Orenburg province. It is still from the newly built fortresses, except for the new Orenburg, better and more regularly strengthened and equipped with sufficient artillery. Its garrison consists of two Dragoon companies and half of the infantry, and fifty Cossacks, who are almost all non-believers. And as it is the largest at noon, therefore, in the Kirghiz-Kaisat steppe was issued, and the Kirghiz of both hordes, that is, the Lesser and the Middle, often wander nearby, for them and for all foreign affairs is always the commander of this distance is here. The church in it is stone in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord, built on a stone circular mound, which has a purposeful tower, of red jasper stones consists of and is called the Transfiguration Mountain, which is why the church is very far from visible from all sides and causes considerable decoration to the fortress. Residence therein and outside the fortress of courts up to three hundred.” At that time, the Orsk fortress was the main fortress at the Orsk distance of the Upper Yaitska fortified line. Its subordination included 5 fortresses and 9 redoubts.

By the end of the XVIII century, the Orsk fortress became a small fortification of the third category, without any outdoor extensions "can serve to strengthen the defense of the fortress." It had on the mountain half-stone church, houses - 47, soldiers' barracks - 3, other buildings - 9. The total population of the fortress is 129 men. In Forstadt, where civilian Russians, Kazakhs, Tatars, as well as families of soldiers lived, 73 souls. The treasury buildings - the curfew house, guardhouse, food store, warehouse, artillery shop - dilapidated. The houses were wooden, low, with windows inside the courtyard and only the commandant's house was stone.

By 1813, the Orsk fortress had about 100 courtyards.

History has preserved data that about June 11, 1837 the Orsk fortress was visited by the Russian poet V.A. Zhukovsky, accompanying the heir to the throne Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich (the future Tsar Alexander II) on his trip to Russia. The poet left his impressions of the Orsk fortress in his diary, where her drawing was given.

Later, the fortress was used to receive exiles, many famous people of that time visited there, for example, the Ukrainian poet T.G. Shevchenko stayed in the Orsk fortress (June 1847). May 1848, 12 May – 5 September 1850) Private No. 191 of the Third Company of the Fifth Line Battalion.

In 1858, the Orsko-Kazalinsky (Orenburg-Tashkent) postal tract was opened, which somewhat activated the life of the Orsk fortress, since all postal and cargo communications between Russia and Turkestan were carried out on it until the construction of the Orenburg-Tashkent railway (1900-1905).

Closer to 1871. The population of Orsk was already 7763 people.

Intensive development and formation of the city streets began after the order of the Orenburg and Samara General-Governor N.A. Kryzhanovsky of August 23, 1871, who decided to tear down the fortifications and give the land for buildings. At this time, the construction of the city is carried out on the Sloboda. A number of improvements are being carried out to promote the development of the city: the exchange yard was transferred to the city property (September 7, 1868), an infirmary was established at the “customs district team” (May 15, 1869), a post office was opened (1869), and the county treasury (summer 1865).

And in 1885 in Orsk there were already about 20 small factories and factories. They worked seasonally and depended on raw materials.

On April 17, 1884, the State Council approved the rights of the city of Orsk to land, and on October 18 of the same year the City Duma approved a magazine on the purchase of estate land from the city by the owners in eternal and hereditary possession. Which, of course, could not but affect the further development of the city.

In 1886, under the mayor D. G. Shvetsov, the first plan for the development of the city of Orsk was approved. Since then, Orsk has been developing according to a new regular plan. According to this plan, the city of Orsk had a clearly expressed rectangular-lattice structure with a regular network of streets and a system of squares, it was supplemented by fragments of the radial structure - paths, Now we can observe them in the direction of the modern New City and in the direction of the modern village of Vozalny, which further determined the development of the city in these directions.

The rectangular-lattice structure of the old city is now fully preserved and is a reminder of the past of urban planning.

Since April 1878, by the decision of the City Duma, the streets began to receive their names, first in the urban part adjacent to the Preobrazhenskaya mountain. The main street was named Bolshoi (now Sovetskaya Street).

Around 1895, about 14016 people live in the city, it consists of 897 courtyards, 3 Orthodox churches, a parish school, a county school, a exchange courtyard were built in the city.

In 1912, at the state level, a decision was made to build the Orenburg-Orsk railway line with a length of 327 kilometers. By 1914, the railway was brought to Sara station, not reaching Orsk 50 km. The completion of construction was scheduled for 1916. At this time, the building of the Orsk station was built and the construction of the passenger station began.

In 1912, the population of Orsk was already 21,185 people. IZ factory enterprises operated two milling large mills (Nidekker A.L. and Krylov). The building of the Krylov Mill has survived to our days. The city had 2 mechanical and 8 equestrian subsidiaries, a leather factory (the building of 1910 was built on the banks of the Ory River), a distillery worked (founded in 1880), which by this time became state-owned. The building has been preserved and stands out among other buildings (28, 30 Engels Street).

The further development of the history not only of our city, but of the whole side, bears a sad character.

Soviet power was officially adopted in Orsk on December 23, 1917. From July to September 27, 1918, there was a 3-month defense of the city from the White Cossacks-Dutovtsy. In 1919, Orsk changed hands twice. The largest battles took place in the area of the Kumak Heights, and by August 1919 Soviet power was established in Orsk, which lasted until the advent of democracy.

By 1923, the city's population had dropped to 14,000. Almost twice.

The modern project of the city of Orsk, developed in 1935, for some reason by German architects under the leadership of Hans Schmidt (representative of the architectural and art workshop of Ernst May).

During the difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, a large number of industrial enterprises and tens of thousands of people were evacuated to Orsk from the occupied territories. At this time there is an increase in housing stock. By 1945, 59 percent of the housing in the city consisted of dugouts, barracks and sundry houses. By 1946, the city’s population had grown to 122,000 (in 1939, 66,000). It would seem difficult years of war, but it gave a great chance for the development of small cities in Russia, thanks to the evacuation from the central regions of Russia.

In the postwar period, the construction of the "New" city with capital multi-storey residential buildings and public buildings begins.

Currently, Orsk has 5 railway stations, of which the station stands out. Orsk and st. Nickel.

The population of Orsk is about 280 thousand people, the area is 642 square kilometers, administrative division into 3 districts. Orsk is the second city of the region.