WELCOME TO SARATOV!

Saratov was founded in 1590 as a sentry fortress on the borders of Russia. The city is a port on Russia's greatest river, the Volga, surrounded by excellent, rich soil, and is at the crossroads of the trade routes connecting the Russia with the Urals and the south. Due to its advantageous geographical position, Saratov became a provincial industrial center as early as early as the end of the 19th century. At that time, Saratov was nicknamed "the capital of the Volga". Saratov has long been famous for its high-quality hard wheat, Russia's largest flourmills, and the great volume of agricultural exports. Proverbially, "Saratov wheat goes down the Volga to Egypt". In the nineteenth century, Saratov was not Russia's granary, but also her "salt gates", a center of the butter and fishing industries. History brought Europeans to Saratov: English, Belgians and Germans. The latter settled in so great numbers that Saratov became the center of the Volga German settlements. The city look first place in provincial Russia (outside the two capitals) in forcing investments and in the number of foreign banks represented. Foreign investments in the 1890s helped to build the giants of heavy industry: iron foundries, metal works, an internal-combustion engine factory, a nail and bolt factory, a steel foundry, and ^shipbuilding plants. Saratov, with the help of a Belgian tram company, was the first city in Russia with a tram service. The unique confluence of European cultures influenced the city's architecture. In the city center, a large number of private residences and administrative buildings built in the XIX and beginning of the XX centuries, in provincial modernist, proud gothic, and Moscow baroque styles have been preserved. Especially striking among them are the architectural ensembles of the university campus (created in the best European traditions) the building of the Covered Market (similar to the building of the Paris market), and the conservatory. Until 1917, Saratov was considered to be the largest religious center of the Volga region. The independent hierarchy (old believers) and the German church were active here. Saratov yielded pride of place in number of churches of various sects only to Saint Petersburg. There were more that seventy churches, chapels, and Monasteries, of which at present five are active, the oldest of them an architectural monument from the end of XYIII century, the Trinity (Troitskii) cathedral. Prerevolutionary Saratov was famed for the longest straight street in Europe, Moskovskaya (Moscow) street. Among the landmarks of modern Saratov is one of the longest bridges in Europe, 2.8 kilometers long. Saratov's history is closely connected with the names of Russia's most famous persons: Peter 1 (the Great), Catherine 11 (the Great), the traveler and writer Radishchev, Razin and Pugachev-leaders of peasant revolts, the democrat Chernyshevsky, Saratov's governor and later Minister of the Interior-Stolypin, the geneticist Vavilov, Gagarin- the first cosmonaut, and the philosopher Fedorov. Saratov is one of Russia's chief cultural and scholastic centers. There are ten institutions of higher education in the city: institutes of medicine, economics, agriculture, veterinary science, pedagogy, law, the polytechnic institute, the institute of the mechanization of agriculture, as well as one of Russia's oldest universities, founded in 1909, and Russia's third conservatory (following the establishment of conservatories in Moscow and Saint Petersburg). The Saratov conservatory is one of few with its own organ, installed by the German firm "Zauer". Here on the bank of Volga Yuri Gagarin, a student of the Saratov aeroclub and industrial secondary technical school, took his first flight. Amazingly, he "descended" precisely to the Saratov land after his legendary flight in space in 1961. The second man to fly in space, German Titov, was also welcomed by the Saratov land. The end of the nineteenth century gave a strong impetus to the cultural life of Saratov. At that time, Russia's first public-access museum (now the Radishchev State Art Museum), the public theater, and "The Brothers Akim and Petr Nikitin's First Russian Circus" all opened their doors. Presently there are five theaters in Saratov (the Dramatic Theater, the Theater of Opera and Ballet, the Young Spectator's Theater, the Operetta Theater, and the Puppet Theater), and four museums, of which the Local History Museum and Radishchev Art museum are of special interest. The Radishchev museum possesses an extraordinarily rich collection of old Russian, western European, Russian avant-garde and soviet era art. Connoisseurs refer to the museum as "the Volga Hermitage". Saratov City has a population of one million. Modern Saratov is the center of a province with an area of 100,000 square kilometers. The province is comprised of 38 administrative district, 17 cities, and 38 towns. The province has a population of about three million, of whom 75% are urban. As an industrial center, Saratov province takes third place in the Volga region; as an agricultural area, first place in the Volga region and third place in Russia. Saratov is an important railway junction, connecting the center of Russia with the Urals, Siberia, and Soviet Central Asia. Saratov's airport connects the city with Moscow, Volgograd, Saint Petersburg, Samara; the health resorts of the Caucasus and Crimea, as well as with numerous of the province's administrative districts. Saratov is important Volga riverport. Water routes connect the city with the industrial center of Russia, with Moscow (the Moscow canal), the western Urals (the Kama river), the Donbass (the Volga-Don canal), and the Baltic and White seas (Volgo-Balt waterway). In summer, fifty ships per hour arrive at Sarat6ov's ports. Saratov is at the crossroads of a number of highways, connecting the city with Voronezh, Penza, Volgograd, Samara, Tambov and other Russian cities. Saratov is a region with a unique appearance and a rich history. I'll be glad if you are assure of this.

Saratov info:

Saratov is one of the most beautiful cities of the Volga River. The city is located in western Russia on the bank of the Volga River, in the center of the vast plain of European Russia. This region is one of the most highly developed and densely populated areas of Russia. Saratov - home city of Saratov State Technical University - is rather old. It's history goes back to late 16th century, when Duke Grigoriy Zasekin founded a town on the southern border of Russia on July 2, 1590. As its neighbors - Tsaritsyn and Samara, Saratov was a fortress, protecting Russia from nomads. As time passed the city kept growing and gained more economic and trades importance and by 1797 it became the center of Saratovskaya Guberniya (Saratov Region) - a huge area stretching from Penza in the north to Tsaritsyn in the South. Saratov stands on the bank of Volga river, having delicious sturgeons with caviar, supplied to other regions. This peculiarity was pictured on the city's coat of arms, which shows 3 sturgeons shaped as a star on the blue background. Today Saratov is a big city with a population over a million. Being a large urban area with a fairly well-developed entertainment infrastructure (the city has 5 theaters, the oldest circus in the country, wonderful art gallery, known also as "Volga Hermitage", a variety of nightclubs, casinos and movie theaters, and a good selection of restaurants), it's, at the same time, very quiet and pleasant. Visitors enjoy strolling along the streets of Saratov, architecture and parks of the city. There are a lot of well-known historical places in and around the city, such as the landing site of the first human astronaut - Yuri Gagarin and birthplace of many famous Russian people. The history of Saratov is linked with the history and the culture of Russia names of the Tsar Peter the Great, E. Pugachev. The names of outstanding people are connected with Saratov, the famous scientists I.Bardin, N.Semenov, the actors O.Tabackov, O. Yankovskiy, B.Andriev, and the well-known writers M.A.Voronov, I.A.Salov, N.Chernyshevsky, L.Kassil, K.Fedin were born or lived in the city. Climate Saratov has moderately continental climate with warm and dry summers and an abundance of sunny days. In summer temperature in Saratov raises above +25C, which is perfect for relaxation at the huge artificial beach on Volga river. Winters are slightly freezing and bring a lot of snow, the temperature usually stays around -10..-15C. One of the favorite occupations of Saratovites in the cold season is skiing and snowboarding in the hills. Famous Places of Saratov In Saratov the favorite places of recreation and sightseeing is Kirov Avenue, which is a traffic-free zone, with a great number of the shops, night clubs,cafes and restaurants, where one can have a wonderful meal. There are many monuments in Saratov. Open-air Military Museum (Park of Victory) on the Sokolovay Hill and a huge monument with cranes at its top devoted the memory of Saratov citizens who perished in the Great Patriotic War is one of the most famous in Russia. Other monuments are connected with the names of well-known people. There is a world famous picture gallery (Fine Arts Museum) in Saratov which was opened to the public on July 26, 1885. It is one of the largest picture galleries in Russia. Named after Radishchev, museum contains more than 15000 outstanding works of Russian and European artists. One can also visit the Museum of Local Lore. It acquaints you with history, ethnography, flora and fauna of the area. Saratov is a great center for theatres, opera and ballet. The first theatre appeared in the town in 1803. The famous actors: V.Komissazheiskaya, N.Strepetova, V.Kachalov-played on the stage of Saratov theatres. The Chernyshevskiy Opera and Ballet Theatre, which stages Russian and world classics, the Drama theatre, which presents classical and modern plays, the Theatre of Young Spectator. There is also a musical comedy and a puppet theatre for children. Music in all its forms has a substantial following. The widespread interest in classical music is reflected in large audiences of concerts in the Saratov State Sobinov Conservatoire and Philarmonia. In Saratov there is a lot of Palaces of Culture and different Clubs, where one can spend good time. The Russian National Circus was founded more than a century ago by the Nikitins. It was the first Russian permanent circus. Now it is very popular among the children and adults. The citizens of Saratov are proud of their city-its architecture, history, traditions and culture.