About the city of Ulyanovsk. Origin of the name of the city of Simbirsk Simbirsk what is the name of this city now

Back in the 19th century, local historians, thinking about the origin of the name Simbirsk, tried to explain it on the basis of the languages ​​of various tribes and peoples. Among the assumptions about the origins of the name of the city, the following versions are most widespread: Mordovian “syuyun bir” - “green mountain”; Chuvash “white mountain”; Chuvash “sin” - “man” and “burnas” - “to inhabit, live”, that is, “the abode of people”; common Turkic “son ber” - “lonely grave”; Old Scandinavian “sinn biarg” - “mountain path” and “sinn birg” - “roadside birch”; and also based on the name of the Bulgar prince Sinbir, allegedly mentioned in one Tatar chronicle.

However, all these options, soon after their appearance, were rejected by researchers as not having sufficient grounds, and debates about the origin of the name of the city of Simbirsk resumed with renewed vigor.

The situation in the search for clues to the name of the city is also confused by the fact that in different sources the Golden Horde predecessor of the Russian fortress is called differently: Simberska Gora (Simberska gora - in Adam Olearius under 1636 and Simberskaia gora ruinee par Tamerlan on the attached map), Sinbir ( a derivative of this name is the Sinbirsk settlement in the scribe book of Ivan Boltin under 1603). And the city itself, founded in 1648 as a fortress on the abatis, in the first ten to fifteen years of its existence was called: “city of Sinbirskaya”, “city of Sinbirskaya” or simply “Sinbirskaya”. From the mid-1670s to 1780, in official documents (and among the people until the mid-19th century), the city was called “Sinbirsk”, and then, until 1924, “Simbirsk”.

In recent years, scientists have used all available historical sources to explain the origin of the name Simbirsk: Russian medieval chronicles, reports of Arab, Persian, Jewish authors about the Volga region, portal maps (maps indicating port cities), compiled on the basis of information from Venetian merchants; Eurasian toponymy and linguistics; historical geography, as well as materials from archaeological research. Archaeological materials from all major historical eras have been found on Simbirskaya Mountain - from the Old Stone Age to the late Middle Ages. Among the monuments of the Middle Ages there are settlements, remains of fortifications, necropolises, individual burials and finds of various archaeological cultures: Imenkovo, early Bulgars, Volga Bulgaria, Golden Horde and Kazan Khanate.

As a result of research in recent years, the main versions of the origin of the name of the city of Simbirsk now look like this:

Mongolian sacred mountain

Engraving from the book History of the Northern Peoples of the 16th Century 1

In the 1970s, Ulyanovsk philologist Venedikt Barashkov announced that the name Simbir is of Mongolian origin: “sum ber” - “sacred mountain,” explaining this by the fact that similar toponyms exist on the territory of modern Mongolia. In addition, using the Mongolian language, he explained a number of river names: Kanadey (personal name), Avral (dry bed), Muranka (river), and Undory (height, elevation). However, all these place names are easily explained on the basis of the languages ​​of the peoples of the Volga region.

It is known that most of the Mongols, after the conquests of the 13th century, returned to Central Asia without having a significant impact on the ethnic composition and languages ​​of the indigenous peoples of Eastern Europe. The main population of the Golden Horde were the Turkic-speaking Cumans, who lived, as before, in their Black Sea, Don and Lower Volga steppes. As for the medieval population of the Middle Volga region, let’s give the floor to the authoritative Soviet anthropologist T.A. Trofimova: “Mongolian types of Central Asian origin, known among the Tatar-Mongols according to descriptions of contemporaries, are not established among the Volga Bulgars of the 14th-15th centuries.”

mountain river

Rezeda Sadykova in 2003, in her PhD thesis on the Turkic toponymy of the Ulyanovsk region, rejected the Mongolian origin of the city’s name and proposed her own version, based on the languages ​​of the indigenous peoples of the region. In her opinion, the toponym goes back to the Ural-Altai linguistic community, where “sen” - “river, water” + ber, bir, biren - “mountain”.

Bulgarian Prince Simbir

Engraving from the book History of the Northern Peoples of the 16th century

Professor of the Simbirsk Seminary Kapiton Nevostruev, in his book “On the settlements of the ancient Volga-Bulgar and Kazan kingdoms in the current provinces of Kazan, Simbirsk, Samara and Vyatka” published in 1871, wrote the following: “Simbirsk, founded, according to the Tatar chronicle, as we heard, One noble Bulgarian prince, from whom he received his name, in ancient times was an important city of the Volga Bulgarians, the main one in a special region of this kingdom, after which it was called Simbirsk.”

Among the numerous Chuvash pagan names, a list of which was published in 1905 by V.K. Magnitsky, there is a name - Sinbir-Sinbir, usually explained as: sin - “soul, child” + bir - “to give”.

A variant of this name, Birsin-Bersen, was common among the Volga Tatars. Grand Duke Vasily III had a certain Bersen Beklemishev as one of the Duma nobles. From this name came the surname of the Russian noble family - the Bersenevs.

The origin of the name of the Bulgarian or Golden Horde city from the name of the ruler is quite possible. There are such examples in the medieval history of the Volga region. Thus, in Russian chronicles the Bulgarian city of Bryakhimov is mentioned. This name is associated with the name of the ruler of Volga Bulgaria in the 12th century, Emir Ibrahim (Abu Ishak Ibrahim ibn Muhammad). And the name of the city of Kazan, according to many scientists, comes from the name of Emir Hassan, who in the 70s of the 14th century moved the capital from the city of Bolgar, located near the mouth of the Kama, to an ancient fortress at the turn of the Volga from east to south.

However, written sources that would mention a Bulgar or Tatar ruler under the name Simbir or Sinbir have not yet been found. It is also unknown on the basis of which Tatar chronicle Nevostruev made his conclusions.

Simbirsk turn of the X-XIV centuries

According to another version, the name of the city of Simbir/Sember comes from the ancient Turkic “sim” - border and “bir” - the first, that is, the first boundary, relative to the urban centers of the western Volga lands of Volga Bulgaria, located in the area of ​​​​the village of Undory, the village of Staroe Aleikino and the village Krasnoye Syundyukovo. Among these settlements was one of the largest cities in Bulgaria - the city of Oshel. These cities appeared in the 10th century. Here, in the Volga-Sviyazhsk interfluve, there is a very favorable combination of natural and geographical conditions: the most fertile chernozems in the Middle Volga region; grass-rich Sviyazhsk and Volga floodplain meadows; There are iron ore deposits. This area is also convenient for organizing defense - the territory is fenced from the west by the Sviyaga riverbed, and from the east by the high steep bank of the Volga. Ascents from the Volga to a high plateau, possible only through the mouths of ravines near the present-day Undora, Polivna and Bedenga, were controlled by fortresses erected in these places. In addition, a busy trade highway, the Great Volga Route, passed nearby, and the use of the Simbirsk portage allowed small ships to approach the Sviyaga directly to the cities located on the site of the Staroaleikinsky settlement and the Krasnosyundyukovsky complex. There was also a crossroads of overland highways: the road from the central regions of Volga Bulgaria to Kyiv and the cities of North-Eastern Rus' intersected with the meridional route that ran along the Volga right bank.

The first line of fortifications, about 10 km long, was located at the convergence of the Volga and Sviyaga flowing in opposite directions and included four fortresses, ramparts with ditches, as well as natural obstacles - ravines, the valley of the Simbirka River and the bed of the Sviyaga River, which flows here for 7 km from east to west and then turning north again.

The second line of defense passed in close proximity to these cities and 25–30 km north of the first (Simbirsk) line. This line of fortifications, which also crossed the Volga-Sviyazhsk interfluve, included the outer rampart of the Gorodishchenskoye fortification, the Rastokinsky shaft and the Rastokinskoye fortification.

These lines were most likely erected in the second half of the 10th century, for defense against the Pechenegs, who reached their greatest power by the middle of the 10th century and occupied the steppes from the Danube to the Volga. The foreign policy of all states bordering the steppe was built at that time taking into account the Pecheneg threat. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in his treatise “On the Administration of the Empire” (948–952), devoted special attention to the description of the country of the Pechenegs, their relationships with neighboring peoples and methods of countering the Pecheneg expansion. During this period, the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich began strengthening the southern borders of his state. “The Tale of Bygone Years” under the year 988 reports: “And Volodimer spoke: “Behold, it is not good that the city is small near Kyiv.” And they began to build cities along the Desna, and along Vostri, and along Trubezhevi, and along Sula, and along Stugna. And pocha narubati [type. - R.G.] to the husband the best from the Slovens, and from the Krivichs, and from the Chudi, and from the Vyatichi, and from these the cities were inhabited; You won’t fight against the Pechenegs and you won’t fight with them and overcome them.” At the same time, most of the famous Serpentine Ramparts were erected on the southern borders of Kievan Rus.

Similar measures to protect against Pecheneg raids were taken on the southern borders of Volga Bulgaria. From the beginning of the 10th century, the settled population of the Khazar Kaganate fled to the Middle Volga region, fleeing the Pecheneg pogroms. The flow of refugees especially intensified after the defeat of this state in the 60s of the 10th century. As a result of this migration wave, the number of settlements sharply increased on the territory of Volga Bulgaria. To protect the cities built at that time in the Volga-Sviyazhsk interfluve, the Simbirsk and Rastotsky defense lines were erected, the remains of which were preserved in the area of ​​​​the city of Ulyanovsk and near the village of Undory.

It is noteworthy that the system of defensive structures in Kievan Rus was also built along a large river - the Dnieper, which, like the Volga, flowed meridionally, and contained several lines of fortifications located along the Dnieper tributaries (four lines of defense were on the left bank of the Dnieper and one on the right) , at a distance of 15-20 km from each other.

In addition to protection from military attacks, the Simbirsk line of fortifications made it possible to control traffic along the ancient road that ran along the Volga right bank, and also blocked the routes of seasonal migrations of nomads moving along the Volga: in the spring - to the north, to the rich grass pastures of the forest-steppe strip, and in the fall - returning to southern steppes for the winter.

Varangian relocation

According to one hypothesis, the name of the city of Simbirsk comes from the Old Scandinavian “sinn bor” - “drag path” and designated the place where ships were transported from the Volga to Sviyaga.

In the middle of the 9th century, a trade route “from the Varangians to the Arabs” was formed between Western Europe and the Turkic-Arab world, passing through the Baltic, Northern Rus', the Volga and the Caspian. Slaves, furs, honey, and wax were exported to the Khazar Kaganate, Baghdad Caliphate and other eastern countries. They brought back silver coins, spices, and Chinese silk. The Scandinavians, primarily the Swedes, known in Eastern Europe as the Varangians or Rus, were especially active in military-trade activity on this route.

Evidence from eastern authors about the Rus has been preserved. Ibn-Ruste, an Arab geographer of the early 10th century, wrote: “As for the Rus, they live on an island with a lake around it... They raid the Slavs, approach them on ships, go ashore and overwhelm the people they send then to Khazeran [the eastern part of Itil - the capital of Khazaria. – R.G.] and to the Bulgarians and sell there... Rus' has no real estate, no villages, no arable land; Their only trade is trading in sable, squirrel and other furs, which they sell to those who wish; and the payment they receive in money they tie tightly into their belts.”

The Arab diplomat Ahmed ibn Fadlan, who visited Volga Bulgaria in 921-922, reports: “I saw the Rus when they arrived on their trade affairs and settled on the Atil River... They arrive from their country and moor their ships on Atil, and this is a large river, and they build large houses made of wood on its banks, and in one such house they gather ten and (or) twenty, less and (or) more, and each of them has a bench on which he sits, and with him beauties for merchants."

Scandinavian jewelry and weapons are found in the cultural layers of the Bulgarian settlements of the 10th century. Not far from the Bolgar settlement (Spassky district of the Republic of Tatarstan), burial places of the Rus (Balymer mounds) were discovered.

From the Baltic to the Volga the Russians came through the Neva, Lake Ladoga and further along small rivers and portages into the tributaries of the Volga. To overcome numerous portages, ships were mounted on log rollers or on wheels and thus moved from one water system to another, while small ships were carried by hand.

Swimming up the Volga against a strong current was difficult, especially with a high wind. One of the ways to make travel easier was portages in places where rivers bend. Such a portage, which made it possible not to go around the Samara Luka, is known in Zhiguli near the village of Perevoloki.

In the area of ​​the city of Ulyanovsk, the distance between the Volga and Sviyaga, flowing in opposite directions, is reduced to two kilometers, with the Sviyaga flowing into the Volga 160 kilometers to the north. The movement of ships from the Volga to Sviyaga in this place made it possible to significantly speed up and facilitate movement to the north.

The settlements that arose in the places of portages often reflected this circumstance in their names. These are: Perevoloki in Zhiguli, Perevolotsk at the place of transition from the Samara River to the Ural River, Vyshny Volochek and Volokolamsk in Valdai, etc. Toponyms with the stem “bor” have been preserved in modern Sweden: “Borlande” - “long portage”, etc.

The name of the ancient tract, located on the territory of the city of Ulyanovsk, possibly comes from the Old Scandinavian “sinn bor” - “drag path”, and designated the place where ships were transported from the Volga to Sviyaga. According to this hypothesis, the name of the relocation, given by the Rus in the 9th-10th centuries, was inherited by the Bulgar village, which arose in the second half of the 10th century, then by the Golden Horde city, destroyed by Tamerlane at the end of the 14th century, and, finally, by the Russian fortress built in the middle of the 17th century.

Sembas in the service of the Bulgar princes

In 1182–1183, the largest military clash in the history of pre-Mongol Russian-Bulgar relations took place. During this war, the Vladimir prince Vsevolod Yuryevich, nicknamed the Big Nest for having many children, at the head of a huge army, which included Vladimir, Kiev, Pereyaslavl, Murom, Smolensk, Ryazan, Belozersk, Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversk squads and regiments, set off on numerous ships from the place confluence of the Oka and Volga to take the capital of Volga Bulgaria. The arriving army landed on the shore in the area of ​​the modern village of Krestovoe Gorodishche, and, leaving a large detachment to guard the ships, set off to the goal of the campaign - the Great City of the Silver Bolgars, located in the upper reaches of Maly Cheremshan on the site of the Bilyar settlement. After Vsevolod’s army left for the Great City, Bulgar detachments landed at the Russian ships’ parking lot with the goal of capturing the boats and cutting off the retreat of the Russian army. Chronicles report that among these Bulgar detachments there were Sebi (Sobekulyans), Kusyans, Chelmata, Temtyuzi, as well as a cavalry detachment from the city of Tortskoye.

It is assumed that the Sebi (Sobekulyane) mentioned in the chronicles are Sembi, a distorted name for the inhabitants of the Bulgar fortress, located on the site of the central part of the city of Ulyanovsk. According to researchers, various mercenaries, including Sembs, who inhabited the territory of the Sambian Peninsula in the Eastern Baltic, took part in hostilities with the steppe tribes as part of the squads of the Kyiv and Bulgar princes. This Prussian Baltic-speaking tribe carried Turkic-Bulgarian features in its culture, associated with military contacts with Volga Bulgaria. In the Turkic-speaking environment, the name of this ethnic group was probably added to the prefix “er/ir” (ar, er, ir (Turk.) – man, people, clan), i.e. sembi+er/ir > sember/sembir. Many Turkic ethnonyms have a similar structure - Bulgars, Khazars, Misher, Akatsir, Savir and many others. Subsequently, the name of this tribe could be transferred to the settlement. The names of the largest cities in Bulgaria are based on ethnonyms - Bulgar, Suvar. Most likely, the name of the city of Oshel, the remains of which are located near Sviyaga, on the site of the Old Alekin settlement, comes from the ethnicon “osh/ash/as” and the Turkic word “el” - tribal union, people, region, country.

Simbirsk Mountain is an important landmark on the Great Volga Route

It must be admitted that now there is no clear answer to the question of the origin of the name Simbirsk. The assumptions made remain hypotheses and do not yet have indisputable scientific evidence. Perhaps someday new written sources will be identified, or additional archaeological materials will be found that will clarify the mystery of the name of our city.

There is a pattern - the larger and more visible a geographical object, the more ancient its name and the more difficult it is to trace its origin.

Simbirskaya Mountain is a beautiful landmark on the Volga, visible from afar. The famous Burlatsky proverb says: “We walk for seven days - Simbirsk is visible.” Since the Stone Age, the Ra-Idel-Volga river has been a convenient water and land (on ice) route for various tribes and peoples of Eurasia. Undoubtedly, important landmarks along this route, including the mountain on which the central part of the city of Ulyanovsk is now located, had their names already in ancient times.

Languages ​​tend to change over time and even disappear. It is possible that the name of the city of Simbirsk has an ancient, pre-Turkic origin, which was later preserved in the dominant Turkic-speaking environment in this way: either by adopting a Turkic name that was close in sound, or by being translated (traced) into Turkic languages.

On the territory of the Simbirsk Mountain, archaeologists discovered the remains of settlements of the Imenkovo ​​archaeological culture - the predecessors of the Bulgar settlements. A number of researchers consider the Imenkovo ​​tribes to be carriers of Balto-Slavic languages. In this regard, we can assume the origin of the toponym in the Balto-Slavic linguistic environment and propose versions using Old Slavic and Indo-European languages: the Mountain of the Seven Winds, for example. Or, as one of the components of the name of the city of Sember/Simber, one can take the ancient taboo word of many European languages ​​- “ber” - bear: as in the name of the city of Berlin. You can look for the origins of Simbir in the name of the legendary country Biarmia of the Old Norse sagas, or in the Japhetic theory of Nicholas Marr and in his hypothesis about the four primary elements, according to which all words of all languages ​​of the world consist of four words: sal, ber, yon, ros, which are also names tribes You can also remember the biblical Noah and his sons who survived on the ark during the Great Flood: Shem, Ham and Japheth, whose descendants populated the Earth - the name of one of their sons, Noah, is similar to the name of Simbirsk.

However, such guesses, in my opinion, already go beyond the boundaries of scientific research.

Origin of the name of the city of Simbirsk: riddles and hypotheses.

One of the most interesting and difficult questions to resolve in Simbirsk local history is the origin of the name of the city of Simbirsk

Back in the 19th century, local historians, thinking about the origin of the name Simbirsk, tried to explain it on the basis of the languages ​​of various tribes and peoples. Among the assumptions about the origins of the name of the city, the following versions are most widespread: Mordovian “syuyun bir” - “green mountain”; Chuvash “white mountain”; Chuvash “sin” - “man” and “burnas” - “to inhabit, live”, that is, “the abode of people”; common Turkic “son ber” - “lonely grave”; Old Scandinavian “sinn biarg” - “mountain path” and “sinn birg” - “roadside birch”; and also based on the name of the Bulgar prince Sinbir, allegedly mentioned in one Tatar chronicle.

However, all these options, soon after their appearance, were rejected by researchers as not having sufficient grounds, and debates about the origin of the name of the city of Simbirsk resumed with renewed vigor.

Map of Adam Olearius indicating the city of Simbirsk Mountain
The situation in the search for clues to the name of the city is also confused by the fact that in different sources the Golden Horde predecessor of the Russian fortress is called differently: Simberska Gora (Simberska gora - in Adam Olearius under 1636 and Simberskaia gora ruinee par Tamerlan on the attached map), Sinbir ( a derivative of this name is the Sinbirsk settlement in the scribe book of Ivan Boltin under 1603). And the city itself, founded in 1648 as a fortress on the abatis, in the first ten to fifteen years of its existence was called: “city of Sinbirskaya”, “city of Sinbirskaya” or simply “Sinbirskaya”. From the mid-1670s to 1780, in official documents (and among the people until the mid-19th century), the city was called “Sinbirsk”, and then, until 1924, “Simbirsk”.

In recent years, scientists have used all available historical sources to explain the origin of the name Simbirsk: Russian medieval chronicles, reports of Arab, Persian, Jewish authors about the Volga region, portal maps (maps indicating port cities), compiled on the basis of information from Venetian merchants; Eurasian toponymy and linguistics; historical geography, as well as materials from archaeological research. Archaeological materials from all major historical eras have been found on Simbirskaya Mountain - from the Old Stone Age to the late Middle Ages. Among the monuments of the Middle Ages there are settlements, remains of fortifications, necropolises, individual burials and finds of various archaeological cultures: Imenkovo, early Bulgars, Volga Bulgaria, Golden Horde and Kazan Khanate.

As a result of research in recent years, the main versions of the origin of the name of the city of Simbirsk now look like this:

Mongolian sacred mountain

Engraving from the book History of the Northern Peoples of the 16th Century 1
In the 1970s, Ulyanovsk philologist Venedikt Barashkov announced that the name Simbir is of Mongolian origin: “sum ber” - “sacred mountain,” explaining this by the fact that similar toponyms exist on the territory of modern Mongolia. In addition, using the Mongolian language, he explained a number of river names: Kanadey (personal name), Avral (dry bed), Muranka (river), and Undory (height, elevation). However, all these place names are easily explained on the basis of the languages ​​of the peoples of the Volga region.

It is known that most of the Mongols, after the conquests of the 13th century, returned to Central Asia without having a significant impact on the ethnic composition and languages ​​of the indigenous peoples of Eastern Europe. The main population of the Golden Horde were the Turkic-speaking Cumans, who lived, as before, in their Black Sea, Don and Lower Volga steppes. As for the medieval population of the Middle Volga region, let’s give the floor to the authoritative Soviet anthropologist T.A. Trofimova: “Mongolian types of Central Asian origin, known among the Tatar-Mongols according to descriptions of contemporaries, are not established among the Volga Bulgars of the 14th-15th centuries.”

mountain river

Rezeda Sadykova in 2003, in her PhD thesis on the Turkic toponymy of the Ulyanovsk region, rejected the Mongolian origin of the city’s name and proposed her own version, based on the languages ​​of the indigenous peoples of the region. In her opinion, the toponym goes back to the Ural-Altai linguistic community, where “sen” - “river, water” + ber, bir, biren - “mountain”.

Bulgarian Prince Simbir

Engraving from the book History of the Northern Peoples of the 16th century
Professor of the Simbirsk Seminary Kapiton Nevostruev, in his book “On the settlements of the ancient Volga-Bulgar and Kazan kingdoms in the current provinces of Kazan, Simbirsk, Samara and Vyatka” published in 1871, wrote the following: “Simbirsk, founded, according to the Tatar chronicle, as we heard, One noble Bulgarian prince, from whom he received his name, in ancient times was an important city of the Volga Bulgarians, the main one in a special region of this kingdom, after which it was called Simbirsk.”

Among the numerous Chuvash pagan names, a list of which was published in 1905 by V.K. Magnitsky, there is a name - Sinbir-Sinbir, usually explained as: sin - “soul, child” + bir - “to give”.

A variant of this name, Birsin-Bersen, was common among the Volga Tatars. Grand Duke Vasily III had a certain Bersen Beklemishev as one of the Duma nobles. From this name came the surname of the Russian noble family - the Bersenevs.

The origin of the name of the Bulgarian or Golden Horde city from the name of the ruler is quite possible. There are such examples in the medieval history of the Volga region. Thus, in Russian chronicles the Bulgarian city of Bryakhimov is mentioned. This name is associated with the name of the ruler of Volga Bulgaria in the 12th century, Emir Ibrahim (Abu Ishak Ibrahim ibn Muhammad). And the name of the city of Kazan, according to many scientists, comes from the name of Emir Hassan, who in the 70s of the 14th century moved the capital from the city of Bolgar, located near the mouth of the Kama, to an ancient fortress at the turn of the Volga from east to south.

However, written sources that would mention a Bulgar or Tatar ruler under the name Simbir or Sinbir have not yet been found. It is also unknown on the basis of which Tatar chronicle Nevostruev made his conclusions.

Simbirsk turn of the X-XIV centuries

N. Roerich Dragged
According to another version, the name of the city of Simbir/Sember comes from the ancient Turkic “sim” - border and “bir” - the first, that is, the first boundary, relative to the urban centers of the western Volga lands of Volga Bulgaria, located in the area of ​​​​the village of Undory, the village of Staroe Aleikino and the village Krasnoye Syundyukovo. Among these settlements was one of the largest cities in Bulgaria - the city of Oshel. These cities appeared in the 10th century. Here, in the Volga-Sviyazhsk interfluve, there is a very favorable combination of natural and geographical conditions: the most fertile chernozems in the Middle Volga region; grass-rich Sviyazhsk and Volga floodplain meadows; There are iron ore deposits. This area is also convenient for organizing defense - the territory is fenced from the west by the Sviyaga riverbed, and from the east by the high steep bank of the Volga. Ascents from the Volga to a high plateau, possible only through the mouths of ravines near the present-day Undora, Polivna and Bedenga, were controlled by fortresses erected in these places. In addition, a busy trade highway, the Great Volga Route, passed nearby, and the use of the Simbirsk portage allowed small ships to approach the Sviyaga directly to the cities located on the site of the Staroaleikinsky settlement and the Krasnosyundyukovsky complex. There was also a crossroads of overland highways: the road from the central regions of Volga Bulgaria to Kyiv and the cities of North-Eastern Rus' intersected with the meridional route that ran along the Volga right bank.

The first line of fortifications, about 10 km long, was located at the convergence of the Volga and Sviyaga flowing in opposite directions and included four fortresses, ramparts with ditches, as well as natural obstacles - ravines, the valley of the Simbirka River and the bed of the Sviyaga River, which flows here for 7 km from east to west and then turning north again.

The second line of defense passed in close proximity to these cities and 25–30 km north of the first (Simbirsk) line. This line of fortifications, which also crossed the Volga-Sviyazhsk interfluve, included the outer rampart of the Gorodishchenskoye fortification, the Rastokinsky shaft and the Rastokinskoye fortification.

These lines were most likely erected in the second half of the 10th century, for defense against the Pechenegs, who reached their greatest power by the middle of the 10th century and occupied the steppes from the Danube to the Volga. The foreign policy of all states bordering the steppe was built at that time taking into account the Pecheneg threat. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in his treatise “On the Administration of the Empire” (948–952), devoted special attention to the description of the country of the Pechenegs, their relationships with neighboring peoples and methods of countering the Pecheneg expansion. During this period, the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich began strengthening the southern borders of his state. “The Tale of Bygone Years” under the year 988 reports: “And Volodimer spoke: “Behold, it is not good that the city is small near Kyiv.” And they began to build cities along the Desna, and along Vostri, and along Trubezhevi, and along Sula, and along Stugna. And the husband began to cut the best from the Slovens, and from the Krivichs, and from the Chudi, and from the Vyatichi, and from these the cities were inhabited; You won’t fight against the Pechenegs and you won’t fight with them and overcome them.” At the same time, most of the famous Serpentine Ramparts were erected on the southern borders of Kievan Rus.

Similar measures to protect against Pecheneg raids were taken on the southern borders of Volga Bulgaria. From the beginning of the 10th century, the settled population of the Khazar Kaganate fled to the Middle Volga region, fleeing the Pecheneg pogroms. The flow of refugees especially intensified after the defeat of this state in the 60s of the 10th century. As a result of this migration wave, the number of settlements sharply increased on the territory of Volga Bulgaria. To protect the cities built at that time in the Volga-Sviyazhsk interfluve, the Simbirsk and Rastotsky defense lines were erected, the remains of which were preserved in the area of ​​​​the city of Ulyanovsk and near the village of Undory.

It is noteworthy that the system of defensive structures in Kievan Rus was also built along a large river - the Dnieper, which, like the Volga, flowed meridionally, and contained several lines of fortifications located along the Dnieper tributaries (four lines of defense were on the left bank of the Dnieper and one on the right) , at a distance of 15-20 km from each other.

In addition to protection from military attacks, the Simbirsk line of fortifications made it possible to control traffic along the ancient road that ran along the Volga right bank, and also blocked the routes of seasonal migrations of nomads moving along the Volga: in the spring - to the north, to the rich grass pastures of the forest-steppe strip, and in the fall - returning to southern steppes for the winter.

Varangian relocation

According to one hypothesis, the name of the city of Simbirsk comes from the Old Scandinavian “sinn bor” - “drag path” and designated the place where ships were transported from the Volga to Sviyaga.

In the middle of the 9th century, a trade route “from the Varangians to the Arabs” was formed between Western Europe and the Turkic-Arab world, passing through the Baltic, Northern Rus', the Volga and the Caspian. Slaves, furs, honey, and wax were exported to the Khazar Kaganate, Baghdad Caliphate and other eastern countries. They brought back silver coins, spices, and Chinese silk. The Scandinavians, primarily the Swedes, known in Eastern Europe as the Varangians or Rus, were especially active in military-trade activity on this route.

Evidence from eastern authors about the Rus has been preserved. Ibn-Ruste, an Arab geographer of the early 10th century, wrote: “As for the Rus, they live on an island with a lake around it... They raid the Slavs, approach them on ships, go ashore and overwhelm the people they send then to Khazeran and to the Bulgarians and sell there... Rus' has no real estate, no villages, no arable land; Their only trade is trading in sable, squirrel and other furs, which they sell to those who wish; and the payment they receive in money they tie tightly into their belts.”

The Arab diplomat Ahmed ibn Fadlan, who visited Volga Bulgaria in 921-922, reports: “I saw the Rus when they arrived on their trade affairs and settled on the Atil River... They arrive from their country and moor their ships on Atil, and this is a large river, and they build large houses made of wood on its banks, and in one such house they gather ten and (or) twenty, less and (or) more, and each of them has a bench on which he sits, and with him beauties for merchants."

Scandinavian jewelry and weapons are found in the cultural layers of the Bulgarian settlements of the 10th century. Not far from the Bolgar settlement (Spassky district of the Republic of Tatarstan), burial places of the Rus (Balymer mounds) were discovered.

From the Baltic to the Volga the Russians came through the Neva, Lake Ladoga and further along small rivers and portages into the tributaries of the Volga. To overcome numerous portages, ships were mounted on log rollers or on wheels and thus moved from one water system to another, while small ships were carried by hand.

Swimming up the Volga against a strong current was difficult, especially with a high wind. One of the ways to make travel easier was portages in places where rivers bend. Such a portage, which made it possible not to go around the Samara Luka, is known in Zhiguli near the village of Perevoloki.

In the area of ​​the city of Ulyanovsk, the distance between the Volga and Sviyaga, flowing in opposite directions, is reduced to two kilometers, with the Sviyaga flowing into the Volga 160 kilometers to the north. The movement of ships from the Volga to Sviyaga in this place made it possible to significantly speed up and facilitate movement to the north.

The settlements that arose in the places of portages often reflected this circumstance in their names. These are: Perevoloki in Zhiguli, Perevolotsk at the place of transition from the Samara River to the Ural River, Vyshny Volochek and Volokolamsk in Valdai, etc. Toponyms with the stem “bor” have been preserved in modern Sweden: “Borlande” - “long portage”, etc.
The name of the ancient tract, located on the territory of the city of Ulyanovsk, possibly comes from the Old Scandinavian “sinn bor” - “drag path”, and designated the place where ships were transported from the Volga to Sviyaga. According to this hypothesis, the name of the relocation, given by the Rus in the 9th-10th centuries, was inherited by the Bulgar village, which arose in the second half of the 10th century, then by the Golden Horde city, destroyed by Tamerlane at the end of the 14th century, and, finally, by the Russian fortress built in the middle of the 17th century.

Sembas in the service of the Bulgar princes

In 1182–1183, the largest military clash in the history of pre-Mongol Russian-Bulgar relations took place. During this war, the Vladimir prince Vsevolod Yuryevich, nicknamed the Big Nest for having many children, at the head of a huge army, which included Vladimir, Kiev, Pereyaslavl, Murom, Smolensk, Ryazan, Belozersk, Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversk squads and regiments, set off on numerous ships from the place confluence of the Oka and Volga to take the capital of Volga Bulgaria. The arriving army landed on the shore in the area of ​​the modern village of Krestovoe Gorodishche, and, leaving a large detachment to guard the ships, set off to the goal of the campaign - the Great City of the Silver Bolgars, located in the upper reaches of Maly Cheremshan on the site of the Bilyar settlement. After Vsevolod’s army left for the Great City, Bulgar detachments landed at the Russian ships’ parking lot with the goal of capturing the boats and cutting off the retreat of the Russian army. Chronicles report that among these Bulgar detachments there were Sebi (Sobekulyans), Kusyans, Chelmata, Temtyuzi, as well as a cavalry detachment from the city of Tortskoye.

It is assumed that the Sebi (Sobekulyane) mentioned in the chronicles are Sembi, a distorted name for the inhabitants of the Bulgar fortress, located on the site of the central part of the city of Ulyanovsk. According to researchers, various mercenaries, including Sembs, who inhabited the territory of the Sambian Peninsula in the Eastern Baltic, took part in hostilities with the steppe tribes as part of the squads of the Kyiv and Bulgar princes. This Prussian Baltic-speaking tribe carried Turkic-Bulgarian features in its culture, associated with military contacts with Volga Bulgaria. In the Turkic-speaking environment, the name of this ethnic group was probably added to the prefix “er/ir” (ar, er, ir (Turk.) – man, people, clan), i.e. sembi+er/ir > sember/sembir. Many Turkic ethnonyms have a similar structure - Bulgars, Khazars, Misher, Akatsir, Savir and many others. Subsequently, the name of this tribe could be transferred to the settlement. The names of the largest cities in Bulgaria are based on ethnonyms - Bulgar, Suvar. Most likely, the name of the city of Oshel, the remains of which are located near Sviyaga, on the site of the Old Alekin settlement, comes from the ethnicon “osh/ash/as” and the Turkic word “el” - tribal union, people, region, country.

Simbirsk Mountain is an important landmark on the Great Volga Route

It must be admitted that now there is no clear answer to the question of the origin of the name Simbirsk. The assumptions made remain hypotheses and do not yet have indisputable scientific evidence. Perhaps someday new written sources will be identified, or additional archaeological materials will be found that will clarify the mystery of the name of our city.

There is a pattern - the larger and more visible a geographical object, the more ancient its name and the more difficult it is to trace its origin.

Simbirskaya Mountain is a beautiful landmark on the Volga, visible from afar. The famous Burlatsky proverb says: “We walk for seven days - Simbirsk is visible.” Since the Stone Age, the Ra-Idel-Volga river has been a convenient water and land (on ice) route for various tribes and peoples of Eurasia. Undoubtedly, important landmarks along this route, including the mountain on which the central part of the city of Ulyanovsk is now located, had their names already in ancient times.

Languages ​​tend to change over time and even disappear. It is possible that the name of the city of Simbirsk has an ancient, pre-Turkic origin, which was later preserved in the dominant Turkic-speaking environment in this way: either by adopting a Turkic name that was close in sound, or by being translated (traced) into Turkic languages.

On the territory of the Simbirsk Mountain, archaeologists discovered the remains of settlements of the Imenkovo ​​archaeological culture - the predecessors of the Bulgar settlements. A number of researchers consider the Imenkovo ​​tribes to be carriers of Balto-Slavic languages. In this regard, we can assume the origin of the toponym in the Balto-Slavic linguistic environment and propose versions using Old Slavic and Indo-European languages: the Mountain of the Seven Winds, for example. Or, as one of the components of the name of the city of Sember/Simber, one can take the ancient taboo word of many European languages ​​- “ber” - bear: as in the name of the city of Berlin. You can look for the origins of Simbir in the name of the legendary country Biarmia of the Old Norse sagas, or in the Japhetic theory of Nicholas Marr and in his hypothesis about the four primary elements, according to which all words of all languages ​​of the world consist of four words: sal, ber, yon, ros, which are also names tribes You can also remember the biblical Noah and his sons who survived on the ark during the Great Flood: Shem, Ham and Japheth, whose descendants populated the Earth - the name of one of their sons, Noah, is similar to the name of Simbirsk.

However, such guesses, in my opinion, already go beyond the boundaries of scientific research.

Average temperature in the city by month:

Ulyanovsk through the eyes of a resident. About climate, ecology, areas, real estate prices and work in the city. Pros and cons of living in Ulyanovsk. Reviews from residents and those who moved to the city.

General information and history of Ulyanovsk

What is remarkable about the city that gave the world the inspiration for the largest revolution in world history, which held victory for 70 years? It is located in the heart of Russia, in the center of the Middle Volga region and bears the name of the leader of the proletariat Vladimir Ulyanov.

But Ulyanovsk (until 1924 Simbirsk) even before the appearance of such a famous native had a history rich in extraordinary events. It began in 1648, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered the construction of a fortress from the Volga River to the Barysh River to protect the Russian border from Tatar raids. The mission was entrusted to the governor Bogdan Matveevich Khitrovo, who is considered the founder of Simbirsk, now Ulyanovsk.

In 1652, the city was practically rebuilt, and its main part had a quadrangular shape, framed by a log wall with towers, and under the walls there was a deep ditch. It was the Kremlin and it was located at the “crown” of Simbirsk Mountain. Until now, this place is called “Venets”; here is the 25-story hotel of the same name, built to commemorate the centenary of Lenin’s birth. For the same date, a grandiose memorial was built to perpetuate the memory of the great countryman.

22 years after its formation, Simbirsk was besieged by the troops of Stepan Razin, but his army was defeated. In 1773-74, Emelyan Pugachev was kept here. The legend about a certain rebel’s treasure, which has not been found to this day, is still alive.

In the summer of 1864, a terrible fire raged in the city for nine days, destroying most of the buildings and claiming many lives. After this, the government provided free assistance for restoration, including specifically to affected homeowners. And this, in that supposedly heartless, cruel, capitalist time!

In 1916, a railway bridge across the Volga was commissioned, which is still in operation today. Moreover, since then it has been the only crossing in Ulyanovsk; only a couple of years ago, a twenty-year long construction project was completed and another bridge, called the presidential bridge, appeared. By the way, the former one is called imperial.

Ulyanovsk Railway bridge over the Volga in the background

Life here is unthinkable without a bridge - after all, the city is located on two banks of the Volga. Many city residents live on one side and go to work every day to the other.

Climate and ecology of Ulyanovsk

The presence of the great Russian river determines the ecological situation here. A characteristic feature is the constant winds from the Volga, and, as a result, the air is almost always fresh, filled with the aromas of forests and distances. In rainy weather, you won’t be able to get by with some simple umbrella; you need a very good and durable one, otherwise it will turn out and flutter helplessly, submitting to the elements. As for the rest, the temperate continental climate manages to please you with both a real Russian winter and a sunny summer within a year. But there are some facts that slightly darken the joy of such proximity to the largest water artery.

The radiation situation causes considerable concern among townspeople. The concern is due to the dangerous neighborhood - the Dimitrovgrad Research Institute of Nuclear Reactors is located 120 kilometers from the city. The work is carried out with radioactive material, of course, as a result, radioactive waste is necessarily formed. No matter how much the responsible persons assure that waste disposal is carried out in accordance with the established procedure, people are in no hurry to believe the officials.

On the western border of the Ulyanovsk region is the Sursky district, which has a large area of ​​forests and impenetrable swamps. Local residents say that from time to time an object similar to a capsule is dropped from a helicopter into these swamps. And in it, they don’t even doubt it, there is radioactive waste, which is confirmed by cancer statistics. It is in the Sursky district that it is the worst, and in the region in general, mortality from oncology, heart attacks and strokes is in second place. Accidents rank first in this indicator.

Population of Ulyanovsk

A positive demographic factor is significant annual population growth due to active growth in the birth rate and a gradual decrease in mortality. Currently, the number of residents of the regional center at the beginning of 2014 is about 617 thousand people.

A characteristic feature of Ulyanovsk has always been its multinational composition. All the main representatives of the Volga region nationalities are present here: Russians, Tatars, Chuvashs, Mordovians.

The ratio of men to women is approximately the same, but there are about 4% more women. As in the whole country, the average life expectancy of the fair half of humanity is longer, reaching 70 years, while men here live about 59 years. I wonder if there is a place on Earth where it would be the other way around? Otherwise the stronger sex comes out and doesn’t live to see retirement.

But, despite this, pensioners in the city make up about 21% of the total number of residents, the working population – 60%, and the population under working age – 19%.

The main trend, which has intensified many times over the last decade, is the migration of the working-age population from rural areas to the regional center. There was nowhere for people to work - local industries gradually closed, and various institutions were downsized. As a result, 70% of the region’s population lives in Ulyanovsk, the remaining 30% live in rural areas. Many of those who remained in the villages work on a rotational basis either in Moscow or in the North.

Cities are full of life, and Ulyanovsk is no exception. In addition, the local society is not characterized by passivity, an example of this is the recent campaign to organize opposition to the authorities’ intention to remove the tram line from the city center. Thanks to the onslaught of public opinion, the decision was revised and trams still run merrily along the routes familiar from ancient times. Although there is a certain calmness, a composed attitude towards everything that happens.

The region, one of the first in the country, introduced a ban on the sale of alcohol with a strength of over 15% on weekends and after 20-00 on weekdays. And nothing, we’re used to it, there’s no disturbance.

The political life of the region also passes without any major shocks - it is not customary to hold rallies and become hysterical. But not because everyone is for any one party, no, everyone has different opinions, and this is shown by the results of the next elections. It is not for nothing that at the beginning of perestroika the region was in the so-called “red belt”, which included territories that maintained a socialist attitude until the very end. Conservatism is also present in other areas of life of Ulyanovsk residents. It is enough to go outside and pay attention to how the residents hurrying about their business are dressed - their appearance is more modest than daring.

The fact that the foundations of the moral principles present in the 20th century have been preserved can be judged not only by the older generation, but also by the youth. Students and schoolchildren are busy studying, many are already working, earning money for their paid education and entertainment. In the city you will not find any goths, emo or other informal youth associations; somehow this has not taken root here. All citywide events take place in a friendly manner, there are no major riots or extremist incidents - young people know how to simply enjoy life.

Districts and real estate of Ulyanovsk

The city is divided into 4 districts: Leninsky, Zasviyazhsky, Zheleznodorozhny and Zavolzhsky. Their boundaries are mainly determined by the location of natural and other objects.

For example, Leninsky district is separated from Zasviyazhsky by the Sviyaga River, and Zavolzhsky, accordingly, is located on the other bank of the Volga River, on the left bank. The railway district owes its name to the modern station of the same name; by the way, the old station was also located in this area.

Leninsky district

Leninsky was considered the most prestigious district at all times. Even during the tsarist era, high-born nobles and wealthy merchants lived here. A considerable number of their houses still remain, many of which are in good condition and continue to be used. Ancient buildings give the city center a distinctive, unique appearance, which exudes sedateness and thoroughness. The street on which V.I. Lenin's house is located is preserved as a historical monument and is pedestrian. The pre-revolutionary houses have been restored, and the appearance of the street of those years has been preserved as much as possible. Walking along it, you can’t shake the feeling that time has retreated a hundred years ago.

In addition to the historical features of the Leninsky district, there is the fact of its unofficial division into the Center and the North.

The center is the most expensive and elite urban area. There are practically no industrial enterprises here; the vast majority of offices, banks and institutions are located. Only elite housing is built, according to atypical designs, from expensive materials, and the apartments have large footage. Accordingly, the prices are rather high - 45-50 thousand per square meter.

Only wealthy people can afford such living space, and those who do not consider themselves such, turn their gaze further, for example, towards the North. The site is largely inhabited by indigenous urban residents and has a significant private sector presence. Here you seem to find yourself in the countryside, with the difference that sometimes you come across Khrushchev buildings, built mainly along one avenue.

In recent years, there has been active construction of multi-storey buildings with more affordable prices for apartments. In this case, they start from 38 thousand per 1 square meter of a new apartment.

Entire neighborhoods are sprouting up from quite beautiful and new buildings. One of them is located on the very edge of the city, while the center is only a 15-minute leisurely drive.

It started with one street - Repin, and now it has grown and has all the necessary infrastructure.

Nearby there is a new elite cottage community "City Estate", its territory is fenced with a permanent fence and is guarded. The sale of land plots has not yet been completed - 16 thousand rubles per 1 hundred square meters. This place is the most environmentally friendly in the city - it is located literally on the edge of a coniferous forest. What is important is that construction here will soon end, since the entire place has already been used.

Zasviyazhsky district

The Zasviyazhsky district, which began to be built up 30-40 years ago, looks like the complete opposite. Near Zasviyazhye is represented by Khrushchev's five-story buildings.

The territory of Far Zasviyazhye is entirely occupied by economy-class panel high-rise buildings - and forms the so-called sleeping areas. The most affordable housing prices in Ulyanovsk are here: 32-37 thousand rubles per sq.m.

First of all, those who move to the city from rural areas flock here; sometimes it seems that this is one large branch of all the villages and hamlets of the region. Since the area is quite densely populated, it is always crowded, there are crowds of people at public transport stops, minibuses are full. Considering that almost everyone works in the center, leaving in the morning is quite problematic and many have to use either personal transport or first go to the final stop and get on the desired route there. It’s the same story in the evening – it’s difficult to leave the center for Zasviyazhye.

But, interestingly, even though Zasviyazhye is a working-class area, literally across the road from the outermost street there is a luxurious cottage community, popularly called “Santa Barbara”. It has beautiful houses, most of them made of red brick, some even look like castles. The average cost of a cottage is 4-5 million rubles. New Russians live here, but on a local scale, those who have risen in recent decades, among them there are few native Ulyanovsk residents. The village is beautiful, you can feel that the people living here are wealthy, they have not spared money on their development. The air is cleaner, but due to the fact that the location is on the edge - city highways do not reach here.

In general, Zasviyazhye is located in a lowland, so the air here stagnates, and is always warmer than in the North and Center.

Zheleznodorozhny district

Zheleznodorozhny looks like the same densely populated area as Zasviyazhsky. It is more elongated and therefore distant. Its only section adjacent to the center is microdistrict 4. It is valued for its close location to the central part of the city, which means that real estate prices are quite high: 39-40 thousand per 1 sq.m. - the norm. Although the houses are all old, all five-story buildings.

The only new buildings are the Simbirsk skyscrapers, overlooking the Volga. They are built of brick, with ample parking, so they sell out well.

A special feature of the Zheleznodorozhny district is the rather large gap between the residential blocks of the 4th microdistrict and the rest of it, which bears the unofficial name - Kindyakovka. It was formed historically, by the name of a village once located on this site, which in turn was called by the name of the landowner of the Simbirsk province, Alexander Kindyakov. The journey to Kindyakovka will take at least 25 minutes by car; having made this journey, you can feel the atmosphere, which is reminiscent of Soviet times.

Real estate prices are the same as in Far Zasviyazhye. There are a lot of houses built thirty years ago, new buildings only at the farthest point of the area, and then the private sector begins, where fairly wealthy people live, but not the rich. There are a lot of ordinary, but good-quality houses, everything is good here, but it’s very far from everything, including the center.

Zavolzhsky district

Next is only the Zavolzhsky district. It is located, accordingly, beyond the Volga, in the Left Bank. Immediately after leaving the Imperial Bridge, the Lower Terrace begins, then the Upper Terrace. It is not clear how they were built; there are panels interspersed with dachas and private houses. It’s not at all a prestigious place to live there, especially given the rumors about the Kuibyshev Reservoir - if, for some reason, the water level in it increases, flooding may occur. In this place the shore is flat and the water will flow here first. Hence the low prices for real estate, comparable to Dalniy Zasviyazhye and Kindyakovka.

Next is the New Town and it fully lives up to its name. It was built focusing on a grandiose industrial enterprise - an aircraft manufacturing complex. For aircraft manufacturers, they created a mini-city unlike the right-bank Ulyanovsk - with wide avenues and sprawling buildings.

They didn’t skimp on space, so the feeling of spaciousness and fresh air never leaves you. There are fewer people, the streets are cleaner and not trampled, like in the crowded anthills of the right bank. No one will come here just like that, that is, strangers do not come here. And many local residents go to work on the other side every day due to a lack of jobs.

Housing prices in the New Town are under 40 thousand per 1 sq.m., because the houses are quite new. This area is positioned as something completely separate from the rest of the city area.

But whatever the location of all these city sites, distance does not play a big role in Ulyanovsk. In forty minutes, maximum an hour, you can travel from one end of the city to the other, even by minibus. With such a population, the city can be considered quite compact compared to other megacities.

A special feature of Ulyanovsk is also the enormous difference between the Center and other regions. Historically, rich people have always lived in the Center, and before the revolution, noble nobles. In Soviet times, landscaping was intensively carried out in this part of the city. There was even a joke among the people - when a new regional leader comes to power, he starts by paving the central street - Goncharova. As a result, who knows how many layers of this asphalt lie there.

But why is the Center so attractive to wealthy citizens now? Yes, because there are entire blocks of “quiet center” here. You can’t think of anything better than living in a convenient location with walking distance to all the main city facilities and at the same time on a quiet green street, with a fenced area, in a club house or even in your own cottage. On a weekend you can go out into a cozy courtyard, light a barbecue, relax almost in nature, enjoying the silence and the aroma of barbecue. Or you can walk on foot to the embankment, where city festivals often take place in the summer.

By the way, its grandiose renovation was completed in 2011; until that moment, it had remained unchanged for 40 years. The old asphalt was completely replaced with modern tiles, new fencing was installed, and many nice and durable benches were installed. The roads in the center were repaired, new sidewalks and beautiful curbs were made. All this gives many central streets a beautiful and well-groomed appearance.

The same cannot be said about the rest - the condition of the road surface and sidewalks there leaves much to be desired. Everything here suggests that one of Russia’s two common misfortunes has not bypassed Ulyanovsk. It's no secret to anyone in the city that potholes, holes, and cracks are a serious problem for motorists. True, there are some new sites with a remarkable surface: the presidential bridge and the roads leading to it on both sides, a four-lane highway equipped with a transport tunnel in the Zasviyazhsky district.

City infrastructure

The situation in the housing and communal services industry is also ambiguous. There seem to be a lot of complaints about it all around, where it’s cold in the houses, some people haven’t had their snow cleared all winter. In winter, as soon as there are snowdrifts, there is a transport collapse. But still, these are isolated cases, and it is cold in the apartments of only very old houses. On the other hand, everyone has already forgotten how to live without hot water. They turn it off only twice a year and strictly according to schedule. This is necessary for scheduled work on hot water supply systems.

In recent years, the heating seasons, by decision of the authorities, begin earlier, and the heating is good. The problem is that the networks are somewhat worn out; for this reason, major breakthroughs occur approximately once a year.

Regarding prices for housing and communal services, we can say that their growth is not yet critical. Energy workers even complain that their energy prices have increased significantly more than they were allowed to raise prices for their services.

Another thing is that prices vary by type of housing - utilities are much cheaper for those residents who live in houses with an autonomous gas boiler room. There are a lot of these now, and now they mostly build in this version. Whatever you say, it’s very convenient - hot water all year round, the apartments are hot - you don’t need warm home clothes, T-shirts and shorts are enough. The presence of autonomous heating also has a positive effect on prices - they are much lower due to the absence of losses, because heating mains are unnecessary in this case. On average, the amount of a receipt for utilities is about 5 thousand rubles for a standard three ruble.

In Ulyanovsk, just like in any other city, minibuses with drivers of questionable skill are scurrying around. There are many routes, but during peak hours there are still not enough of them. The city administration allocated large buses, called social ones, to the busiest routes. The fare for them is lower than for other vehicles.

They help out partly, of course, but the most important alternative is trams. This environmentally friendly type of transport plays a full role in the life of the city. The cheapest fare is 10 rubles. Pensioners, schoolchildren, and students, as a rule, use this method of transportation. We can say that this is the favorite mode of transport of the townspeople. On days of citywide events, trams are on duty in the central square and after the fireworks they transport people to different areas. Even on New Year's Eve, tram traffic was organized; many happily went to the city Christmas tree to have fun after the chiming clock.

There was a case when the newlyweds and their guests rode around the city on a wedding tram; graduates also sometimes celebrate in this way. And one tipsy citizen even tried to steal this mechanism once, but did not get far, the vigilant guard did not allow this. I wonder what charge they will bring against him, because he clearly only wanted to go for a ride, not to steal.

Recently, the mayor's office purchased 15 new, state-of-the-art carriages, and now they travel through the streets, delighting passers-by with their beautiful appearance. Tram routes cover all districts of the city, with the exception of Zavolzhsky. In this regard, it is autonomous and, along with minibuses, the trolleybus reigns there.

Gazelles are gradually being replaced by more representative and comfortable Fords and Chinese buses. They say that in five years the replacement will be complete. This is not bad, otherwise there have been a lot of cars lately, apparently the consequences of widespread car lending.

Before this, there were no traffic jams in the city at all, but now there is still such a situation. This is mainly on the routes leading to the Volga bridges - transit riders go, some just across the Volga. By and large, there is no such thing as “stuck in a traffic jam” in the city. You can wait for a traffic light, you can queue up to go around some unlucky car standing across the road, or, in extreme cases, slowly move along the highway for ten minutes on Friday towards the countryside, where summer residents are rushing at once.

The situation with the provision of schools is also acceptable. There are several of them in all areas and there is enough space for everyone. There are many good secondary educational institutions, including gymnasiums and colleges with various specializations.

Kindergartens are not enough. Just as it was partially closed during perestroika, the difficulties with places for preschool children have not been overcome. A real step towards solving the problem is the construction of a kindergarten in the microdistrict on the street. Repina. It is designed for several hundred seats, its construction is already being completed.

Enterprises and work in Ulyanovsk

The city has not one city-forming enterprise, but several at once. The most famous of them is the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, which produces the well-known UAZ cars. These SUVs have always been in demand; they are purchased by the military, medical institutions, agricultural enterprises and private individuals. Therefore, the car plant is always at work, it does not need to be saved all the time, like VAZ; perhaps, this is one of those automakers in Russia whose products evoke respect, not irony. As an employer, UAZ has a huge number of jobs, and there are always a dozen vacancies - engineers, programmers, skilled workers.

However, just like at the other largest enterprise in the city: the aircraft manufacturing complex. It is located in the Zavolzhsky region, and the New City was built for its workers. The largest aircraft in the world, the Ruslan, with a record carrying capacity, was created and produced here.

Aircraft manufacturing is a powerful industry, and government attention to it continues unabated. For example, a plan is currently being developed to organize the transit of goods in connection with the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan. It is proposed to open a transshipment point in Ulyanovsk, with aircraft manufacturers, because only their Vostochny airport has a runway 5 kilometers long and has the ability to receive heavy-duty aircraft. In this regard, the governor promises the creation of several thousand jobs, as well as new prospects for the development of the airport and the Ulyanovsk Volga-Dnepr airline.

By the way, there is another airport in the city, on the right bank. There is also located here, on the same street as UAZ, a mechanical plant for the production of radar systems and, no less, anti-aircraft missile systems! There is also the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant No. 2 for the production of truck cranes, where there are enough vacancies with an average salary of 15-20 thousand not only for blue-collar jobs, but also for accountants, lawyers, human resources workers, and heads of departments.

The situation is the same at other industrial enterprises, and there are many of them in the city: the Mars research and production association, an instrument-making plant, a motor plant, a building materials plant, two panel house-building plants, etc. Why haven’t Ulyanovsk residents taken all these jobs yet? One of the reasons is that there are also many other objects that are more attractive to young professionals because they offer office work.

In the city center, for example, there are three huge office centers “Capital”, “Mirage” and “Pallada”, not to mention many stylish pre-revolutionary and modern buildings equipped for various offices.

And how many banks have divorced, and new branches, representative offices, and operational offices are still opening. The largest representative of the banking business, Alfa-Bank, opened its processing center in the city, serving the entire territory of the Russian Federation. This was done in order to save on employee salaries; in the capital they would have to pay much more. But for Ulyanovsk the level of wages is quite decent, plus about two thousand new jobs have appeared. The work is organized in shifts, including at night - and there are always vacancies there, and candidates without work experience are considered.

Not all regions allow foreign businessmen into their territory. For example, in neighboring Mordovia there are only five banks, and the most popular are local. And in Ulyanovsk the number of credit institutions has already exceeded fifty. And you can always get a job there as an operational worker; in the banking sector, personnel movements are commonplace. People come, gain experience, and move on to a higher salary. Its level in the region is not very impressive, on average 15-20 thousand rubles per month.

But this did not stop the emergence of luxury shopping centers with escalators and cinemas. The network of shopping and entertainment complexes covers almost all areas of the city, and are very popular:

• "Versailles"
• "Pushkarev Ring"
• "Airplane"
• "City"
• "Amaranth"
• "Dars"
• "Enterra"
• "Alliance"

Along with such modern objects of consumer attention, large food and clothing markets continue to operate successfully. They occupy their niche; there is still an opinion about lower prices there. The largest of them is located at the western entrance to the city and operates all year round in any weather. Working conditions are certainly not very comfortable, although almost all pavilions are now under roof. The employees are mostly female hired salespeople. Women's work is traditionally paid lower than men's, which is beneficial for the employer.

The same principle applies to the personnel structure at other medium-sized urban enterprises. For example: the Volzhanka confectionery factory, the Rus sewing association, the Elegant suit and uniform factory, the distillery and others. All these enterprises produce products not only for their region, but also supply far beyond its borders. We can say with firm confidence that there is strong consumer demand for the goods they produce.

Crime

The most notorious crimes in the region in recent decades were conceived and carried out on the periphery. At the end of the 90s, one of the first, highly sensational criminal events was an attack on collectors in the Sursky district. There were no ATMs then and pensioners received their pensions at the post office. That is, they were brought them directly to their home. Accordingly, pensions were transported to villages in the region by a cash-in-transit vehicle, which was specially kept for this purpose at the district post office. On that day, we had to carry a large amount for those times - more than 200 thousand rubles. For some reason there was no police car escort this time. The first point on the route should be the village of Lava, and it was located to the side of the highway. Two young collectors, not suspecting anything, were driving along a deserted road, where an ambush was already waiting for them.

The road was blocked by two armed men, who shot the postal workers with machine guns, took bags of money and fled in a Niva car. Subsequently, a witness was found who saw this car rushing over potholes at breakneck speed from the scene of the incident. It was clear that the robbers knew where and when the cash-in-transit vehicle would go, and knew that there would be no escort. The investigation checked all versions, hundreds of people were interrogated. There were many indications that the postal workers most likely knew the criminals, which is why they stopped. Years passed, and the crime was never solved - neither the attackers nor the money were found. There were rumors that it was the work of a local group, but there was no evidence of this.

Another heinous crime was committed in the city of Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region, also more than 20 years ago. A series of murders of elderly pensioners began there. Moreover, the murders were committed with extreme cruelty and with the use of torture. The best detective personnel were brought to their feet, constant checks were carried out and all possible options were worked out. But there were no results, and the killings continued. The main thing was that the motive was not clear - why would anyone need to torture and kill defenseless old people, from whom there was nothing to take. Further, thanks to the testimony of the first surviving victim, it became known that there were two killers, and one of them was a boy! But this has not yet helped the investigation.

The discovery of the crime led to the discovery in another incident of a sawed-off shotgun made from a rare French gun that had disappeared at the scene of one of the murders. The public has been stunned and horrified by the truth about who carried out these vile attacks on elderly people and why. The gang consisted of five young men, and they were led by the twenty-year-old brother of the youngest member of the group, who was only 13 years old at that time. Two at a time went to the “case”; the boy was also forced to kill. The leader convinced his accomplices that the old people had already outlived their usefulness on this earth and were the scum of society, no one needed them and only polluted the world around them. Therefore, it is necessary to cleanse the Earth of unnecessary elements, which is what the “orderlies” did, as they called themselves. All gang members were captured, put on trial, and then deservedly punished.

In Ulyanovsk itself, we hear more about malfeasance than outright criminality. Recent high-profile cases of theft of budget money involving the most senior officials: the regional minister of health, the head of the social insurance fund, who received prison sentences, are direct evidence of this. Bribe takers are often being caught - maybe the police are starting to work better?

Sights of the city of Ulyanovsk

The main event in the life of Ulyanovsk has always been considered the birth of the leader of the proletariat - V.I. Lenin. In this regard, there are a number of attractions that perpetuate this fact. In addition to the unique memorial, several houses where the future luminary of the October Revolution lived have been preserved; there is even a street - a museum.

Simbirsk is also the birthplace of I.A. Goncharov, his house-museum is located in the very heart of the city, nearby there is a square named after him and there is Oblomov’s famous sofa, on which anyone can sit.

But modern tourists are more attracted to new, creative cultural sites. For example, a monument to the letter “Y” was recently installed on the embankment, which greatly amuses young people and guests of the city. A musical fountain appeared nearby, near the memorial, and immediately became a favorite place for the townspeople, especially in the hot summer, which is now not uncommon in these parts.

The open-air civil aviation museum is no less interesting - it has several thousand exhibits and is located near the central airport.

Popular recreation areas for young people are clubs and discos. One of these is the sports bar “Kedy”, a fashionable place with interesting design and entertainment programs.

Ulyanovsk Interior of the sports bar "Kedy"

It is located in the center, behind Tsum, and across the road is a large but cozy nightclub for those over 30, but for some reason it is also very popular with young people. It's called the Chypre drinking establishment, it's stylized after Soviet times. It's not so easy to get there on weekends; there's more than enough people wanting to go there.

The huge entertainment complex in Near Zasviyazhye, located on the 50th anniversary of the Komsomol Avenue between Polbina passage and Polbina street, bearing the loud name “Fifth Sun,” is incomparable. A real European level of entertainment is realized here, constant theme parties and celebrity concerts attract a lot of holiday-hungry people of different ages. Well, naturally, older people will come to the disco of the 80s, young people are happy to go to foam and pajama parties.

In Ulyanovsk there are many opportunities to relax in the lap of nature. The presence of the great Russian river provides a beach, almost resort vacation. There are several beaches, the most developed of which is the central one. There are grounds for celebrations, football, volleyball, and many cafes with music.

Those who prefer a quiet, relaxing holiday go to the other side of the Volga. You can use the services of numerous recreation centers if you need unique healing air - the Bely Yar sanatorium, located in a pine forest, is ideal in this regard. The beaches are long, spacious, there are many places with shallow depth, so it is convenient to relax here with children.

By the way, the Volga is not the only river flowing within the city limits. Separating the Leninsky and Zasviyazhsky districts lies the path of the Sviyaga River. It is used by athletes for kayak training; it is a beautiful part of the city landscape, and its banks are a priority location for holiday villages.

But the cleanest body of water is a unique lake that arose on the site of a former sand quarry and is located a 20-minute walk through a coniferous grove from the very last house in the Repinsky microdistrict in the northern part of the city. There is no public transport there, so there are not many people there. The place is simply wonderful, a year ago most of the shore was rented by businessmen and now there is a beach, cafes, and houses for vacationers.

The cafe is also open in winter, there is a skating rink, and there is the possibility of sledding. Fans of winter sports can also enjoy the Lenin Hills on the embankment. Skis, sleds, funicular, everything for real. In summer, the embankment becomes one continuous urban recreation area.

Ulyanovsk... How much meaning is contained in this word... “The city on the seven winds.” A city that grows and prospers every year, providing its descendants with a stable future. It is impossible not to love Ulyanovsk, not to admire its wide avenues, gardens and parks, not to admire its heroic past... And although there are many beautiful cities in the world, Ulyanovsk is the most special among them. He warmly greets his guests, does not hide anything, but does not flaunt anything. There are still corners left from ancient Simbirsk, there are cramped streets and low roofs of ancient buildings. But they do not determine the face of today's Ulyanovsk - a large modern city, a major industrial and cultural center of the Middle Volga region.

Ulyanovsk city, Simbirsk

“Our land, our homeland, our home,” this is how people of all ages can call Ulyanovsk - everyone who was born here. Some people remember it as carved and wooden, others know the city only as a multi-storey city, built up with modern buildings.

The cultural life of Ulyanovsk is part of the biography of all of Russia, its achievements in the field of art, literature, and philosophical thought. Among our fellow countrymen are thousands of famous people: poets and writers, politicians and actors, athletes and artists. Historical facts and modern achievements of our city once again confirm how rich and unique our region is. And there are many more important discoveries ahead that will leave an indelible mark in the memory of descendants and inscribe the name of Ulyanovsk in golden letters in the rich history of the Russian state...

Simbirsk city

Its silhouette can be discerned from afar - even from the left bank of the Volga, through the lacy structures of the Volga bridge... Ulyanovsk - this name alone fills the soul with excitement... The railway bridge, more than two kilometers long, rests with one end on the left, low bank, and the other rests on the foot Mount Venets. Ulyanovsk stands on it, or rather, its historical core. The city is almost invisible from the water, only on the top of the hill buildings are visible through the rows of trees, and on the steep slope here and there you can see roofs in the greenery of gardens... It is here, on the top of the mountain, that the most beautiful, most memorable and dear place to the heart of every city dweller is located - Crown... Many famous countrymen walked around this wonderful place, located on this high Volga slope. Here Nikolai Yazykov confessed his ardent love for his small homeland. The famous historiographer Nikolai Karamzin walked along Venets. The great poet Pushkin stayed in the city. And before each of them the city appeared in all the beauty of its flowering gardens, quiet provincial streets, the endless Volga expanse... We, its present-day residents, see the city slightly modified, but still beautiful.

GONCHAROV'S HOUSE IN ULYANOVSK

NAME OF THE CITY ULYANOVSK

Having established the year of foundation of the city of Simbirsk, we are then interested, first of all, in the following questions: why did Okolnichy Khitrovo build a city at the final point at the river. Volga, chose exactly the place where it is still located and why this city is called “Sinbirsk”. The first question can only be answered with assumptions. The above Tsar's decree of February 10, 1648 does not indicate exactly where new cities should be built; he, apparently, leaves the okolnichy Khitrovo to choose the end points of the new notch line both on the Volga and on Barysh. Therefore, Simbirsk owes its existence exclusively to the Okolniki Khitrovo in such a beautiful, picturesque place. In all likelihood, the founder of the city. Simbirsk, chose this place for its construction, mainly due to the fact that it is located on a high hill and strategically has many advantages, since it commands over the terrain for a long distance in all directions; When constructing both the entire new abatis line in general and, in particular, the city of Simbirsk, they had in mind, first of all, military goals - the protection of the newly populated region by Russians from raids and depredations of foreigners.

There are many different assumptions and explanations regarding the name of the city of Sinbirsk. Some (Professor Sboev. Simbirsk collection 1868, p. 30.) derive it from the Chuvash language, in which the word “Sinbirsk” supposedly means “white mountain.” Others also find that the city is named by a Chuvash name, but the name is already explained otherwise, claiming that it comes from the words this - “man” and burnas - “to inhabit, to live,” why the name Sinbirsk means “the abode of people” (Malkhov “Simbirsk Chuvashes”, p. 6.). Still others suggest that the word “Sinbirsk” is of Scandinavian origin, from the words “Sinn” - path, road and “Biarg” - mountain, or “birg” - birch, so that according to this word production “Sinbirsk” means either “roadside birch” or “ mountain path" (Simbirsk collection 1868, p. 30.) There are philologists who derive the name of Sinbirsk from the Mordovian language, in which the words “syuyun” and “bir” mean “green mountains”; these philologists find that the area, on in which Simbirsk is located fully justifies such a name (General Russian Calendar for 1898, p. 21.)

OLD RAILWAY STATION IN ULYANOVSK

Recently, Mr. Shorin (Mikhail Matveevich Shorin is an amateur archaeologist), not without reason, finds that the word “Sinbirsk” is of Turkic origin and explains this by the fact that in the common Turkic (Turkish) language the word “son” means “tomb” monument, and bip means “one” (Budakhov “Comparative Dictionary of Turkish-Tatar Dialects, ed. 1869, vol. I, pp. 249 and 636.) so “Sinbirsk, translated from the common Turkic language into Russian, means “single grave . This word has exactly the same meaning in the Uyghur dialect (a special branch of the Turkic language) (Ibid.) Be that as it may, it is more correct to call the city “Sinbirsk”, not Simbirsk. In all charters, acts and in print until the end of the 18th century, and in general popular use until the half of the 19th century, the name “Sinbirsk” was preserved. Subsequently, the letter m received citizenship rights, as Valuev believes in “Simbirsk collection ed. Valuev 1845, vol. I, preface, p. i), or by the same law of language, according to which the people say “Mikolai”, instead of “Nikolai” and “barn”, instead of “anbar”, or, more likely, due to the spread at the end of the 18th 19th century, in the upper classes, the exclusive study of the French language, and by analogy with French grammar, our newest spelling was established not by folk pronunciation, but often by the semi-learned literacy of the writing class, and therefore the last assumption seems closer to the truth.

Whatever the meaning and origin of the word “Sinbirsk”, at least during the construction of our city, this word was not new. On the left bank of the Volga River, 18 versts below the present city of Simbirsk, between the villages of Krestov-Gorodishche and Kaibely, Stavropolsky district, Samara province, the remains of the ancient “Sinbirsk settlement”, built several centuries earlier than the foundation of the mountains, are still noticeable. Simbirsk by one famous Bulgarian prince Sinbir in his time, from whom it got its name.

In ancient times, this city was important and was considered the main city of the Sinbirsk region of the vast kingdom of the Volga Bolgars, but was destroyed by Tamerlane when he pursued Tokhtamysh (This is how K. I. Novostruev explains the origin of the Sinbirsk settlement (see Simbirsk collection of 1870, p. 3 But if we take into account that the word “Sinbirsk” in the Turkic dialect means a single grave, then with great confidence we can assume a different origin for this settlement. It is very possible that in its place (near the village of Kaibely) from ancient times there was a single grave of some kind. or the once famous Bulgarian prince. According to the custom of the ancient Bulgarians, who professed the Mohammedan faith, a mosque was built at the graves of famous people and near it a small settlement for the housing of the mullah and his clergy, who said daily prayers for the soul of the noble deceased they protected; the construction of the mosque and its maintenance clergy were usually carried out at the expense of the heirs of the deceased.When at the end of the 16th century, under Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, the Trans-Volga defensive line from the river was drawn. Ika to Zainsk and Tiinsk, then wouldn’t this line be led further south, along the banks of the Volga, to Samara? Traces of the shaft are visible in this area even today. It is very possible that this line went past the above-mentioned single grave, which at that time already represented the ruins of the former mosque, and in its place a town was built along the line, which received the name “Simbirsk settlement”).

The learned Holsteiner Olearius, who traveled around Russia and sailed the river. Along the Volga to Persia, in 1636, describing his path, among other things, he says that on the right bank of the Volga he saw “Sinbirsk Mountain, which received its name from the former city, devastated by Tamerlane; Meanwhile, on the map of the Volga region attached to the description of Olearius, Sinbirsk Mountain is shown not on the right, but on the left side of the Volga. Such a contradiction gave rise to doubts regarding the location of the ancient Simbirsk settlement and to the assumption whether it was on the site of the current city of Simbirsk (Peretyatkovich “Volga region in the 17th and early 18th centuries,” p. 74.) However, K.I. Nevostruev, on the basis scribal books and other documents, proved (Simbirsk collection of 1870, p. 1.) that the Sinbirsk settlement was on the left bank of the river. Volga, namely, as stated above, between the villages of Krestovoy Gorodishche and Kaibely. The question of who and on what grounds gave our city the name of the ancient settlement can hardly be resolved in the absence of accurate data, the absence of which gives full scope to assumptions, more or less solid.

The Tsar’s decree of February 10, 1648 generally stated that the okolnichy of Khitrovo should go to build new cities between the river. Barysh and Volga and there is no instruction for him to build the city of Simbirsk. This circumstance gives reason to assume that the name of our city was invented by Khitrovo himself already when he arrived on the banks of the Volga and chose the place to build a new city. However, this assumption is contradicted by the fact that even earlier than Khitrovo managed to arrive to the Volga, when he had not yet gathered all his “comrades” in Alatyr, it was already known that he was entrusted with building a new “Sinbirskaya zaseka” - the Arzamas governor mentions this in unsubscribe received in Rozryad on May 19, 1648.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ULYANOVSK

Ulyanovsk is a large city in Russia, the administrative center of the Ulyanovsk region. Located on the Volga Upland, on the banks of the Volga (Kuibyshev Reservoir) and Sviyaga rivers at their closest convergence. Located 893 km east of Moscow.

The population of Ulyanovsk, according to the 2010 census, was 615 thousand people (20th place in the Russian Federation), the population within the city district was 624 thousand people. Area - 622.46 km² (6th place in the Russian Federation).

Founded by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by the okolnichy Bogdan Matveevich Khitrovo in 1648 as the Sinbirsk fortress, with the aim of protecting the eastern borders of the Moscow state from the raids of nomadic tribes. Over time, Sinbirsk was renamed Simbirsk. The letter "N" was replaced by "M" as more harmonious.

MONUMENT TO KARAMZIN

In 1924, Simbirsk was renamed Ulyanovsk in memory of the city’s native Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin). In 2008, the former mayor of the city, Sergei Ermakov, spoke out in favor of returning the historical name, since the city was renamed Ulyanovsk for political reasons without taking into account the opinions of residents. The majority of city residents, according to the survey results, opposed renaming the city.

Names of Ulyanovsk in languages ​​spoken there, except Russian: Tat. Sember, dude. Chĕmpĕr, erz. Ulyanon osh.

Volga river, Ulyanovsk city

Administrative division

Districts of Ulyanovsk:

Railway

Zavolzhsky

Zasviyazhsky

Leninist

The city is officially divided into 4 city districts:

Zheleznodorozhny (85.5 thousand people)

Zavolzhsky (219.9 thousand people)

Zasviyazhsky (223.4 thousand people) -

Leninsky (110.4 thousand people)

The Zheleznodorozhny district of Ulyanovsk is the southern part of the city, Leninsky is the central and northern part, Zasviyazhsky is the western and southern part (along the left bank of the Sviyaga River), Zavolzhsky is the eastern one.

Citizens usually use informal names to more accurately designate districts of the city: “Center” or “Old City” (the central part of the Leninsky district), “North” (part of the Leninsky district from the center to the northern border of the city, often specified as “Near North” to approximately Uritsky street and “Far North” from Uritsky street and further), “Sands” (a large area in near Zasviyazhye), “Damansky” (part of far Zasviyazhye), “Kindyakovka” (Zheleznodorozhny district) in honor of the existing estate of the Kindyakovs (in Vinnovskaya Roshcha park, where Goncharov’s gazebo is located), “Lower Terrace” (near part of the Zavolzhsky district), “Upper Terrace” (far part of the Zavolzhsky district), “New City” (a large district, actually a city within a city, located in the most remote part Zavolzhsky district). Informal names of other areas: “Tuti” (the area of ​​the old railway station), “Kulikovka” or “Kresty” (the area next to the Resurrection necropolis, i.e. the old cemetery on K. Marx Street).

Population

Ulyanovsk is a multinational city. The majority of the population is Russian. Tatars, Chuvash, Erzya, Moksha and other peoples of the Volga region also live.

Story

According to archaeological science, the settlement of the Middle Volga region by people occurred more than 100 thousand years ago. The presence of human groups in the Ulyanovsk Volga region during the Paleolithic era is evidenced by individual sites and locations of stone and bone tools discovered at the mouth of the river. Cheremshan on the Tunguz Peninsula, on the Volga coast in the area of ​​the Undorovsky resort.

In the 8th - 9th centuries, the Ulyanovsk Volga region became part of the Early Volga Bulgaria as a union of nomadic Turkic-speaking and sedentary Finno-Ugric tribes.

At the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century, after the devastating raid of the Central Asian ruler Tamerlane, the desolation of the territory of the Ulyanovsk Volga region began. Since the late 30s of the 15th century, the region became part of the Kazan Khanate.

Founded in 1648 by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by voivode Bogdan Matveevich Khitrovo as the fortress of Sinbirsk (later Simbirsk), with the aim of protecting the eastern borders of the Moscow state from raids by nomadic tribes.

In the autumn of 1670, Simbirsk was besieged by the army of Stepan Razin. Razin was unable to successfully complete the siege; on October 4 he was wounded in battle, his comrades carried him to the river, loaded him into a boat and sailed down the Volga. In 1672, for the defense against Stepan Razin, Simbirsk was granted the first coat of arms.

In 1774, the prisoner Emelyan Pugachev was brought to Simbirsk, and he was interrogated from October 2 to October 6. On October 26, Pugachev was sent from Simbirsk to Moscow.

In 1780, Simbirsk became the main city of the newly established governorate consisting of 13 districts. Since 1796 Simbirsk has been a provincial town. It turned from a fortified city into a provincial city with developed infrastructure (theatres, hospitals, gymnasiums). The best and richest part of it was located on Venets, where there were cathedrals, provincial administrative institutions, educational institutions, private mansions, craft workshops, public gardens and boulevards. Nearby there was a busy shopping part of the city centered in the Gostiny Dvor. Mostly poor people lived on the city outskirts. The main occupation of the townspeople was crafts, agriculture and fishing.

In 1864, on August 12, a terrible fire began in Simbirsk, which lasted 9 days. A fourth of the city survived. The Karamzin Library, Spassky Monastery, 12 churches, a post office, all the best private buildings burned down.

In 1898, the city was connected by railway with Inza, and at the beginning of the 20th century - with Bugulma.

In Simbirsk in 1789, in the house of the landowner Durasov, the first in the city and one of the first serf theaters in Russia, the Durasov Fortress Theater, was opened. The wonderful stage master P. A. Plavilshchikov took part in preparing the actors for him. The Durasov Theater existed for five years. Later, in the 90s, two theater troupes of serf actors formed in Simbirsk: Tatishchevskaya and Ermolovskaya. Also, one of the first libraries in the Volga region was opened - the Karamzin Public Library, and in 1893 - the Goncharov Library. In 1809, the first men's classical gymnasium was opened in Simbirsk, in 1864 - the Mariinsk women's gymnasium, and by 1913 there were already two men's and three women's gymnasiums in the city. In 1873, a cadet corps was established in Simbirsk. On September 7, 1824, in the presence of Emperor Alexander I, the foundation stone of the Trinity Cathedral was laid. The Emperor himself laid the first stone at its foundation. The temple has not survived to this day.

At various times, Simbirsk was the center of the Simbirsk district, the Simbirsk province, the Simbirsk governorship, and the Simbirsk province.

On July 21, 1918, Simbirsk was captured by a Russian-Czech detachment of White Guards under the command of Kappel. On September 12, 1918, it was again taken by the Simbirsk Iron Division under the command of Guy.

The city gained the greatest fame as the birthplace of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin). In this regard, on May 9, 1924, Simbirsk was renamed Ulyanovsk.

Since 1928, the city was part of the Middle Volga region (krai), since 1936 - in the Kuibyshev region. In the 1930s, almost all temples and churches in Ulyanovsk were destroyed; the Protestant church, Neopalimovskaya and Resurrection churches miraculously survived.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Moscow Patriarchate was evacuated in Ulyanovsk. In addition, a number of industrial enterprises were evacuated from Moscow (including the Stalin Automobile Plant). In 1943, Ulyanovsk became the center of the newly formed Ulyanovsk region. In the post-war Soviet period, Ulyanovsk from a city with a pronounced agricultural and craft employment of the population became an industrial city; mechanical engineering enterprises were built there, including the defense and aviation industries. Since the 60s of the twentieth century, thanks to the high pace of housing and industrial construction, Ulyanovsk has increased both in area and in population. On the site of former villages adjacent to the city, modern residential areas were built, which later formed the Zasviyazhsky, Zavolzhsky and Zheleznodorozhny districts. The old city and the adjacent northern part formed the Leninsky district. On the eve of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of V.I. Lenin, in the 1969-1970s, the historical center of the city was built up with modern buildings: the Lenin Memorial, the Venets Hotel, the building of the Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University, the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions appeared , new Railway Station, new River Station, Central Airport, etc. In 1970, the city was awarded the Order of Lenin for the outstanding labor achievements of its residents and the excellent organization of preparations for the centenary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin. Since then, Ulyanovsk has become an important tourist center of the USSR. The city, unlike some other regional centers, was not closed, but foreign guests were not allowed to deviate from the tourist route.

In 1983, a terrible tragedy occurred in Ulyanovsk - the comfortable motor ship Alexander Suvorov crashed into the railway bridge across the Volga. As a result, more than 170 people died. The disaster occurred due to the fault of the helmsman and the navigator on duty, who directed the liner under the non-navigable span of the bridge.

In the 1990s, the city was going through difficult times - a decline in production in all sectors, mass unemployment and impoverishment of the population.

Excluding the native Ulyanovsk residents, most of the mature population (over 40 years old and under 70) came to the city in the 70s and 80s of the twentieth century, or due to the distribution of universities from various parts of the USSR to closed enterprises (Kometa, Mars ", "Iskra", etc.), or to the all-Union Komsomol construction site, where everyone was guaranteed apartments in a month, six months or a year - Aviastroy (in fact, the construction of the most modern aircraft production base at that time and the accompanying social base - a full-fledged a residential complex with all the necessary facilities (shops, hospitals, kindergartens, etc.) Young people, for the most part, are native Ulyanovsk residents of the first generation.

GERMAN CHURCH IN ULYANOVSK

Geography

Geographic coordinates of Ulyanovsk: 54°19.00" north latitude and 48°23.00" east longitude. At the same latitude there are cities: Ryazan, Kaluga (Russia); Gdansk (Poland); Kiel (Germany); Belfast (UK), Edmonton (Canada).

Ulyanovsk is located on a hilly plain at an altitude of 80-160 meters above sea level. The elevation differences within the city are up to 60 meters. Moreover, in the right bank part (center) of Ulyanovsk, easy descents and ascents are more common than in the left bank (Zavolzhsky district). The length of the city in the meridian direction is 20 km, in the latitudinal direction - 30 km. Area (622.46 km²) Ulyanovsk is a large transport point lying between central Russia and the Urals. Neighboring regional centers are 3-5 hours away by car. The city is located in a forest-steppe zone. In the central part of the city there is an underground river Simbirka, which flows into Sviyaga.

Transport

Ulyanovsk is an important junction of the Kuibyshev railway, it has one main and 3 secondary stations. There are two airports near the city - Ulyanovsk-Tsentralny (ULK) and Ulyanovsk-Vostochny International Airport (ULY). On the right bank of the Volga in the Zheleznodorozhny district there is the Ulyanovsk river port.

The two banks of the Volga are connected by two bridges.

The old railway bridge was officially opened on October 5, 1916, named at the beginning of construction “The Imperial Bridge of His Majesty Nicholas II”; in 1917 it was renamed the Freedom Bridge. In connection with the formation of the Kuibyshev reservoir in 1953-1958. The bridge supports were widened and built up, and vehicular traffic was opened. The entire reconstruction of the bridge was carried out without stopping train traffic.

The new bridge (also called “Presidential”) was put into operation on November 26, 2009, before this point the bridge was opened twice: to operate in test mode and on Friday, November 13 in connection with the explosion at the Arsenal ammunition depot in the Zavolzhsky district of the city (from here Another unofficial name of the bridge is “Arsenalny”). The lower tier of the bridge for two-lane traffic is scheduled to open in 2012. The upper tier of the bridge is intended mainly for transit traffic; the main intracity communication continues along the old road bridge. However, in 2010, work began on the 2nd stage of construction of the bridge crossing, which provides for the creation of transport interchanges on both banks, which will harmoniously fit the bridge crossing into the existing road network.

City transport is represented by tram (see Ulyanovsk tram), trolleybus (see Ulyanovsk trolleybus), bus and minibus. A special feature of the city is that tram lines are located exclusively in the right bank part of the city, and trolleybus lines are located in the left bank (Zavolzhsky district).

In the last years of the existence of the USSR, it was planned to build a metro in Ulyanovsk. Now, according to the new master plan of the city, also from the new left bank part of the city to the old right bank and also using the lower tier of the auto-metro bridge being completed, it is planned to create in the future a light metro (metrotram) with an underground section in the center (see Ulyanovsk light metro). Until its construction, the lower tier of the bridge will also be temporarily given over to vehicular traffic.

Federal highways pass through Ulyanovsk:

A151 Ulyanovsk - Tsivilsk, entrance to the M7 federal highway.

P178 Saransk - Ulyanovsk - Dimitrovgrad - Samara.

P228 Ulyanovsk - Syzran - Saratov - Volgograd.

P241 Ulyanovsk - Buinsk - Kazan.

Culture

There are theaters in the city: Ulyanovsk Regional Drama Theater named after. Ivan Goncharov, Ulyanovsk Regional Puppet Theater named after. Valentina Leontieva, Ulyanovsk Theater for Young Spectators “NEBOLSHOY THEATER”. The Ulyanovsk State Academic Symphony Orchestra and the Ulyanovsk State Orchestra of Folk Instruments have been formed under the regional philharmonic.

There are 7 state museums in Ulyanovsk: the Lenin Memorial Complex, the State Historical and Memorial Reserve, palaces of culture and clubs, cinemas, the Palace of Books (regional scientific library), 44 public libraries, 13 indoor swimming pools, 6 stadiums, gyms and arenas.

More than 20 newspapers and magazines are published in the city, including the Tatar “Emet”, the Chuvash “Kanash”, the Erzya “Yalgat”, and the German “Rundschau”.

In 2001, Ulyanovsk was the cultural capital of the Volga Federal District.

There is also an OGUC "Center of Folk Culture of the Ulyanovsk Region" in the city.

On September 9-10, 2006, the Oblomov Festival was held in Ulyanovsk, dedicated to the work of the outstanding Russian writer Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov, a native of these places.

Every year at the end of March, the Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University hosts a Language Festival with the participation of the Ulyanovsk Esperanto Club.

MUSEUMS OF THE CITY OF ULYANOVSK

Ulyanovsk can rightfully be called a museum city. There are indeed a huge number of museums here and they are all organically woven into the culture and architecture of the city. The history of many Ulyanovsk museums goes back to the distant past, when Simbirsk scientists and collectors collected and donated a huge cultural and scientific heritage to their hometown.

In 2005, two Ulyanovsk regional museums - local history and art - celebrated their anniversary - 110 years since their founding! These museums are the most beloved and popular among citizens and guests of the city. Here, in a collection of rare exhibits, the entire history of the Simbirsk region is presented - from its foundation to the present day.

The State Historical and Memorial Reserve "Motherland of V.I. Lenin" was only 20 years old in 2004, but it is already the pride and main attraction of Ulyanovsk. Not only city residents, but also numerous tourists want to stroll through the “open-air museum” and be transported for a moment to Simbirsk in the 19th century.

In the summer of 2001, a new museum was opened in Ulyanovsk - “Urban planning and architecture of Simbirsk-Ulyanovsk”. The museum is housed in an old mansion located on the street. L. Tolstoy (formerly Pokrovskaya street). The mansion was part of the estate complex and was typical of the architecture of Simbirsk in the mid-19th century.

Ulyanovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore named after I.A. Goncharov was founded in 1895 and is located in the House-Monument of I.A. Goncharov. The building was built according to the design of the famous Simbirsk architect A.A. Shode in 1912-1916 especially for the museum.

The collection of the Ulyanovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore includes about 130 thousand items.

In 2001, on the site of a fragment of the rampart of the Simbirsk-Karsun abatis that was miraculously preserved within the city, the historical and architectural complex "Simbirsk abatis" was built. Currently, the complex, headed by I.V. Yesina, is very popular among residents and guests of our city.

State Historical and Memorial Reserve “Motherland of V.I. Lenin" is a unique complex of historical, cultural and architectural monuments of old Simbirsk.

Currently, the activities of the reserve are aimed at preserving and recreating the appearance of old Simbirsk, a provincial city of the second half of the 19th century.

The Literary Museum "House of Languages" was opened on June 5, 1999 to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of A.S. Pushkin. It is located in an old mansion that belonged to the Simbirsk nobles Yazykov. The museum building, built at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, is a unique architectural monument.

(branch of the regional museum of local lore named after I.A. Goncharov)

On June 17, 1982, the grand opening of the I.A. Museum took place. Goncharova. Its exhibition is located in eight rooms on the first floor of the Goncharov House. Entering the museum, visitors find themselves in the memorial part of the house, or rather in one of its rooms, where the architectural features of a 19th century merchant house have been restored.

(branch of the Ulyanovsk Regional Art Museum)

Museum of Contemporary Fine Arts. A.A. Plastova was opened on March 1, 1992. It is located in an architectural monument of the early twentieth century - the mansion of Baron von Stempel, built according to the design of the famous Simbirsk architect A.A. Chaudet in 1905-1906

The young Ulyanov family (father, mother, two small children) lived in the wing at the Pribylovskaya house (now the square of the 100th anniversary of the birth of V.I. Lenin, 1a) since the fall of 1869. It is difficult to say why the Ulyanovs chose this particular housing upon arrival in Simbirsk. Perhaps his proximity to the provincial government places - the service of Ilya Nikolaevich - played a role.

The apartment-museum of V.I. Lenin is part of the Lenin Memorial complex and is located in the house on the second floor of which the Ulyanov family rented an apartment (1871-1875). V. Ulyanov spent his early childhood here. In 1874, Vladimir’s younger brother, Dmitry, was born in this apartment.

On the ground floor of the museum, documents and works of art are presented.

The V.I. Lenin Memorial Museum was opened in Ulyanovsk on November 2, 1941. Since April 1970, it has been located in the building of the Lenin Memorial - a monument of history, culture, and architecture of the twentieth century.

The museum's exposition is the only one in the country that reveals the life and work of V.I. Lenin against the background of the political history of the Russian state of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, his contemporaries, associates, and opponents.

The museum is located in a house that was owned by the Ulyanov family in 1878-1887. The uniqueness of the museum lies in the fact that its setting makes it possible to comprehend the culture of the provincial intelligentsia of the second half of the 19th century, to imagine the life of a Russian official (using the example of actual state councilor I.N. Ulyanov) in a professional and family environment.

MEMORIAL OF MILITARY GLORY

(branch of the regional museum of local lore named after I.A. Goncharov)

A rare historical monument has been preserved in Ulyanovsk - a house in which from 1904 to 1906 there was a safe house for Simbirsk Social Democrats. A small modest house on Malosadovy Lane (now Zeleny Lane) belonged to the Orlov family.

The Museum of Urban Life is located in the former estate of priest I. A. Anaksagarov on the street. Moskovskaya (now Lenin Street). On the territory of the estate there are: a large house with a mezzanine where the priest’s family lived, two outbuildings, as well as outbuildings recreated from drawings, drawings and photographs (summer kitchen, bathhouse, carriage house, gazebo, well).

The Simbirsk Photography Museum was opened on February 5, 2004 on the street. Engels. The new spacious building is located in the memorial part of Ulyanovsk, on the territory of the former estate of A.I. Sakharov. The place was not chosen by chance, but determined by history itself. Here, since 1904, there was a photo studio in which the first masters of photography, Kholevin and Nikanorov, worked.

Historical and ethnographic complex “Trade and crafts of Simbirsk at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries.” consists of two museums: “Small Shop” and “Carpentry Workshop”.

The house in which the “Small Shop” museum is located was built in 1851. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, for just over 30 years, on the ground floor of this house there was a small shop called “Small Shop” . The shop existed until approximately the early 1890s. In 1982, the house was reconstructed, and in 2002 a museum was opened here.

The Carpenter's Workshop Museum, recreating the interior view of a carpenter's workshop at the end of the 19th century, is located in the outbuilding of the Chernovs' estate. It consists of three halls. The first of them presents a documentary exhibition that tells about the crafts and trades of the peasants of the Simbirsk province, their customs, peculiarities of training, the work of artisans and city workshops.

The Museum of Folk Art was opened in Ulyanovsk in 1991. It is located in the old mansion of A.S. Pribylovskaya in the historical center of the city and is part of the architectural complex of the Lenin Memorial. The museum's collection includes examples of traditional folk art (peasant art and crafts of the Simbirsk province).

On February 21, 2005, the Simbirtsit stone museum-salon was opened in Ulyanovsk. Here you can view an exhibition on the history of the formation of stones, their use in the stone processing industry, as well as purchase souvenirs, interior items, and order individual products. Simbirtsit is a unique ornamental stone found in the Ulyanovsk region.

The Simbirsk blacksmith yard "Korch" was organized in 1986 as a creative workshop of professional blacksmiths and artists. The main team of craftsmen consists of 5 people. These are creative people who work in various directions and techniques, combining the historical experience of blacksmithing and modern means of metal finishing.

The Undorovsky Paleontological Museum is a branch of the regional museum of local lore named after. I.A. Goncharova. The museum was opened in November 1990 in the village. Undory Ulyanovsk region.

The exhibition presents the remains of ancient sea lizards: ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs.

In March 1997, at the Faculty of Ecology of Ulyanovsk State University, together with the Department of Education of the Ulyanovsk Region and the Environmental Center for Students, the first part of the exhibition of the Natural Science Museum of Ulyanovsk State University was opened. It is dedicated to paleontology, paleoecology, geology, flora and fauna of the Ulyanovsk region. In 1998, the museum underwent major renovations, and exhibits and visual aids were produced by students and teachers.

The Civil Aviation Museum was opened in 1983 and is located on the territory of the Ulyanovsk Higher Aviation School. The museum has more than 9 thousand exhibits, including hundreds of originals. The documentary exhibition tells the story of the formation and development of the domestic civil air fleet. Of particular value is the exhibition of aircraft in the area of ​​the Ulyanovsk-Tsentralny airport.

The Simbirsk Meteorological Station Museum was opened in September 1998. It is located in the house of A.P. Yazykova. The museum exposition tells about the history of meteorological observations in Simbirsk, about outstanding climate scientists, about the creator of the meteorological station P.M. Kozakevich.

(Center for Fire Propaganda and Public Relations)

In 1979, a permanent fire-technical exhibition opened in Ulyanovsk, which was located first in Pozharny Lane, and then in the building of the pre-revolutionary fire station on the street. Lenin. The exhibition was renamed the Center for Fire Propaganda and Public Relations of the State Fire Service of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Ulyanovsk Region.

The museum was opened in 1975. The museum exhibits introduce the history of the plant, the team of automobile manufacturers, and talk about the past and present of the plant. The museum constantly hosts exhibitions, competitions, and events dedicated to the automotive industry in Ulyanovsk. Rare black and white photographs from the archives of the UAZ Museum of Labor Glory tell about the 30-year history of the development of factory motorsport.

The Ulyanovsk Museum of the History of the Locomotive Depot is one of the best road museums. Over the past year, it was reconstructed and overhauled, for which 149.4 thousand rubles were spent. The guardians of antiquity in the museum are historical exhibits - models of steam locomotives, photographs, banners, miniature “architectural” structures of buildings, etc.

The Environmental Center for Students of the Education Department of the Ulyanovsk Region was created in 1990. It includes a network of environmental clubs and circles in the city of Ulyanovsk and districts of the region, in which about 4 thousand children study. Expeditions and summer environmental camps are organized annually, during which the flora and fauna are studied and monitoring of specially protected natural areas of the Ulyanovsk region is carried out.

Religion

Orthodox churches:

Holy Mother of God Neopalimovsky Cathedral;

St. German Cathedral (in Soviet times - regional archive);

All Saints Church;

St. Nicholas Church;

Vladimir Church;

Church of the Resurrection;

Annunciation Church;

Church in the name of the holy righteous Godfather Joachim and Anna;

Michael the Archangel Church;

Temple in honor of the Holy Unmercenary Doctors Cosmas and Damian of Assia;

Lower Terrace Temple (under construction);

Muslim mosques:

Cathedral Mosque lane Banny 1a;

Mosque st. Federation 37;

Mosque Mostovaya st. Russian;

Mosque lane Inzenskaya 17;

Zasviyazhskaya Mosque (Vyrypaevka village) st. Gorina 18;

Mubarak Mosque on the Upper Terrace;

Mosque in the New City;

Mosque p. Prigorodny st. Facade 16 a;

Mosque - madrasah st. Orenburgskaya 1 b;

Protestant Church:

St. Mary's Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Catholic Church:

Roman Catholic Parish for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Synagogue

Ulyanovsk regional Jewish national-cultural autonomy, cultural and educational public organization “Shalom”, etc.

Attractions

Memorial to Ulyanovsk soldiers who died during the Second World War 1941-1945. Fragment

Monument to the Simbirtsit stone

Monuments associated with the name of I. A. Goncharov

Lenin House;

Monument to V.I. Lenin;

Museum-Memorial of V. I. Lenin;

Memorial to Ulyanovsk soldiers who died during the Second World War 1941-1945. Located on the street. Minaeva, western bank of the Volga;

Monument to A.A. Plastov was opened on January 31, 2003 in honor of the 110th anniversary of the birth of Arkady Aleksandrovich Plastov. The author is sculptor A.A. Bichukov. The monument is made in the traditions of realism. The artist is depicted with a brush and easel.

Monument-bust of I.A. Goncharov was opened on September 12, 1948, in the year of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Simbirsk, near the building of the regional library - the Palace of Books. The bronze bust is mounted on a pedestal made of light pink granite with the inscription “Goncharov I.A. (1812-1891)". The author is sculptor A. Vetrov.

The monument was opened in 1986 and is a gift from Armenia to the city of Ulyanovsk. Installed on Gaya Avenue in honor of the first commander of the Iron Division, which liberated the city of Simbirsk from the White Guards on September 12, 1918. The six-meter bronze figure rises on a cylindrical pedestal, decorated with bas-reliefs - scenes of the combat life of the division. The author is Armenian artist Suren Ghazaryan.

Monument to I.A. Goncharov was opened in June 1965. The sculpture of the writer sitting in a chair and taking notes was cast from cast iron using the unique Italian wax casting method at the Mytishchi Art Casting Plant. The monument is installed on a pedestal made of red granite. Author - sculptor L.M. Pisarevsky.

The monument to K. Marx was opened on November 7, 1921. This is one of the first sculptural images of K. Marx in Soviet Russia. The authors of the monument are Soviet sculpture S.D. Merkurov and architect, professor V.A. Shchuko. The mythological plot of Atlanta is combined with the visual techniques of classicism and early modernism. K. Marx is interpreted as a titan of thought and spirit.

Monument to V.I. Lenin was opened on April 22, 1940 and is a work of socialist realism. The authors are sculptor M. Manizer and architect Vitman. This is “Lenin in October, in a stormy environment, standing firmly and confidently looking into the distance, into the future.” A version of this sculpture at the Brussels International Exhibition in 1958 received the highest award - the Grand Prix.

The monument to N. Narimanov was opened in Ulyanovsk in 1977. It is a gift from the working people of the Azerbaijan SSR and was installed on the avenue named after this statesman, writer and publicist. The monument is made in the form of a high relief of Narimanov against the background of a stylized banner made of polished red granite.

On Venets during 1918-1922. Several dozen people who died during the civil war were buried. Thus, a kind of privileged cemetery was formed in the city center. In 1927, the graves were leveled, and a monument to the Red Army soldiers who died in the battles for the liberation of Simbirsk in 1918 was erected on the mass grave. Architect - F.E. Volsov (1927). In 1968, the Eternal Flame of Glory was lit at the obelisk monument.

The monument to Ulyanovsk tank crews is located on the square near Victory Park in the northern part of the city. The IS-3 tank was installed in honor of the 30th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War on May 9, 1975.

Monument-bust of I.N. Ulyanov was opened on July 26, 1971 (on the 140th anniversary of his birth). Installed near the main building of the Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical Institute named after. Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov (UlGPI). Authors - sculptor A.I. Klyuev and architect N.N. Medvedev. The bust is located on New Venets Boulevard.

Monument to I.N. Ulyanov was opened in 1957. The author is the sculptor M. Manizer. On a high granite pedestal there is a bronze bust of I.N. Ulyanov. Below is a bronze figure of a peasant boy with a book, symbolizing peasant children introduced to literacy and education through the efforts of Ilya Nikolaevich Ulyanov. The monument is located on the street. September 12, at the entrance to I.N. Ulyanov.

The initiators of the construction of the monument to N.M. Karamzin were: Major General P.N. Ivashev, three Yazykov brothers, Prince Yu. Khovansky and others, who made initial contributions for the construction of the monument. Nicholas I, who visited Simbirsk in 1836, ordered a square to be built at this place, in the center of which a monument should be erected, ordering a conclusion with Professor S.I. Galberg contract for the construction of the monument.

Monument to M.A. Ulyanova and V. Ulyanov is a sculptural composition “Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova with her son Volodya”. The monument is cast from bronze and is located on the square. 100th anniversary of Lenin's birth. The low pedestal was made of granite. Opened on April 16, 1970. Author - artist P. Bondarenko, sculptors O. Komov, Y. Chernov, O. Kiryukhin.

The monument (Obelisk) of Eternal Glory was opened on May 9, 1975 on the high Volga slope. The monument is designed in two planes: on the top there is a 47-meter obelisk, a wide ceremonial staircase and a multi-figure sculptural group depicting warriors frozen in the rush of attack. On the bottom, in a granite square, there is a bronze bowl of the Eternal Flame, and on the granite wall are inscribed the names of 57 Ulyanovsk residents - Heroes of the Soviet Union.

Monument to A.S. Pushkin was presented by the author, President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli, as a gift to the Ulyanovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. Bust of A.S. Pushkin was installed in the courtyard of the literary museum “House of Languages” (a branch of the regional museum of local lore) and opened on June 12, 2005.

On September 4, 2005, a monument to the letter “Y” was unveiled in front of the building of the Ulyanovsk Regional Scientific Library. This event coincided with the 160th anniversary of the opening and consecration of the monument to the historiographer N.M. Karamzin. It was N.M. Karamzin who was the first author and publisher to use the letter “Y”. 2005 marked the 210th anniversary of its first publication.

On November 10, 2005, a monument to Mikhail Andreevich Gimov, who headed the Simbirsk Provincial Executive Committee during the Civil War (1918-1921), was erected in Ulyanovsk. A bust of Gimov was erected in front of the building of the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​of the Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University.

On October 30, 2005, a monument to the victims of political repression in the USSR was erected in Ulyanovsk. The monument is a fragment of a concentration camp wall with barbed wire and a searchlight. It is installed near the building that formerly housed the NKVD. As Ulyanovsk residents know, executions were carried out in the basements of the NKVD building during the years of mass communist terror. The author of the monument is the chief artist of the regional architecture department, Igor Smirkin.

In Ulyanovsk there is a monument to the legendary all-terrain vehicle UAZ-469. It is installed in front of the entrance gate to the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant. On the pedestal is a traditional Ulyanovsk SUV in khaki color. This is not a prop, but a real car with all the appropriate stuffing. At any time, the car can be removed from the pedestal and go on a trip with it.

The monument to the lost churches of Simbirsk was opened on October 5, 2006. The multi-tiered chapel, crowned with a gilded dome and cross, replaced the Worship Cross, installed in 1999 on the street. Goncharova. The 9-meter-high monument was made by blacksmiths from the Simbirsk blacksmith yard “Korch” from steel, copper and gold leaf. On three sides of the pedestal there are three images that were lost in the 1930s. temples: Holy Trinity Cathedral, St. Nicholas Cathedral and Spaso-Voznesensky Cathedral.

On October 5, International Teachers' Day, the regional Walk of Fame for Teachers was inaugurated in Ulyanovsk. This became a unique gift for teachers from grateful residents. Heroes of Socialist Labor N.N. are not forgotten. Kuzmina and G.M. Lazarev, national and honored teachers, teachers of the year. The Walk of Fame is at the regional level, so the best teachers not only of the city, but also of the region are marked on the Board of Honor. The teachers themselves, as well as parents and children, came to the holiday, so it turned out to be a family holiday. The opening of the alley was marked by congratulations from top officials of the city and region, concert performances from various studios in the city and colorful fireworks.

Ulyanovsk is known not only for truly talented people, but also for respect for these talents. The clearest proof of this is the theatrical square of stars, opened in 2006. The history of the discovery of this monument is not simple. The idea of ​​the project existed for a long time, but its implementation did not become possible immediately. There were attempts to implement it both within the framework of the “Cultural Capital of the Volga Federal District” program and as part of the celebration of the theater’s anniversary in 2005. Only on the 3rd attempt did this become possible, thanks to patrons from among local businessmen. The opening ceremony of the theatrical Star Square will be included in the best pages of the city's chronicle.

On October 1, a monument to the Chuvash teacher-educator, founder of Chuvash writing, Ivan Yakovlevich Yakovlev, was unveiled in Ulyanovsk.

The initiator of perpetuating the name of the great countryman was the Ulyanovsk Regional Chuvash National-Cultural Autonomy. And the idea was brought into reality by the Honored Artist of Chuvashia and Bashkiria, the famous sculptor Vladimir Nagornov.

The monument to the educator was erected on the territory of the Simbirsk Chuvash school, founded by Ivan Yakovlev in 1868. It trained teachers of different nationalities to work with the peoples of the Volga region and the Urals. At the beginning of the 20th century, the school became the center of culture and education of the Chuvash people of the Volga region. In this unique educational institution, Chuvash professional music, art, humanities, translation skills, Chuvash theater and opera were born...

Today there is a museum in which the memorial apartment of Ivan Yakovlevich Yakovlev is recreated.

Walking through the streets of our city, few people think about its glorious past. Meanwhile, the names of avenues and boulevards can tell a lot and turn over more than one page of history. 1918 - 1922 - the period when the country was going through a civil war - left a mark on the architectural appearance of Ulyanovsk. In memory of those days, the streets of September 12th, Iron Division and Guy Avenue were named. And on Novy Venets an eternal flame burns at the obelisk monument erected on a mass grave.

Peoples' Friendship Park is an integral part of the Lenin Memorial Complex, created in Ulyanovsk for the 100th anniversary of the birth of V.I. Lenin. Its functional purpose is to show the unity, equality, and brotherhood of the peoples of the USSR through the use of natural decorative and small architectural forms. The park is a friendly gift from the Soviet republics to Lenin's homeland.

Vinnovskaya Grove is one of the largest natural forests. The grove is famous for its centuries-old oak trees, deep shady ravines, and springs. Previously, Vinnovskaya Grove was called Kindyakovskaya, as it was part of the estate of landowner Kindyakova, where I. A. Goncharov wrote his novel “Oblomov”. The famous cliff described in the novel is also located here.

The Molodezhny Park was founded in the Zasviyazhsky district in 1980. Its area is 14 hectares. There are attractions and sports grounds, and a fountain. On the territory of the park there is a circus tent, which hosts daily performances for children and adults.

Victory Park was opened in 1962 in a forest area adjacent to the northern part of Ulyanovsk. The park has various attractions, a shooting range, and a summer stage. Military equipment from the Great Patriotic War is displayed at one of the sites. In 1985, the Alley of Heroes was opened, where portraits of Ulyanovsk residents - Heroes of the Soviet Union are presented.

Park named after Matrosov is small - only 2.5 hectares. It was created in 1936 and to this day there are attractions and a children's club. After restoration, a monument to the hero Alexander Matrosov, whose name the park bears, was reopened in the park. Children's and youth holidays and sports competitions are held here.

Central Park named after Sverdlova is one of the oldest parks in the city. Its former name was Vladimirsky Garden. The park is located at the top of the slope of the Volga slope, the entrance is from Lenin Square. In 1947-48, for the 300th anniversary of the city of Simbirsk-Ulyanovsk, another reconstruction of the park was carried out. During these years, an “arch” was built at the main entrance to the park, and a stone staircase was built with decorative flowerpots on pedestals on its sides.

The ecological park “Black Lake” was created in 1993 on the basis of a lake with an adjacent section of the river valley and the water area of ​​the Sviyaga River with islands. The total area is 123 hectares. In the park, 420 species of plants (40% of the modern flora of Ulyanovsk and its environs), 20 species of fish and 120 species of birds have been recorded.

Famous personalities

Lenin monument

In Ulyanovsk, the creative dissident Pavlov, Pyotr Vasilyevich (b. 1937-d. 2010) was forced to live out his last days - artist, master of historical and everyday painting, portrait and landscape painting, People's Artist of Russia (2003);

In 1992, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, visited Ulyanovsk, in 2002, the second (and current) President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and in 2009, the Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev. In 2010, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany visited Ulyanovsk in 2010-2012. Christian Wulff.

VOLGA RIVER IN ULYANOVSK

Who hasn't been to the Volga? I haven’t seen its expanse and breadth, wealth and grandeur, like the Russian soul itself... It’s hard to imagine the endless expanse of the Volga without sailboats. In recent years, sailing has become increasingly popular in Ulyanovsk, and the number of yachtsmen is growing. Athletes from many cities of the Volga region take part in the traditional regatta, which is held annually by the local yacht club. Many of them admire the excellent water area of ​​Ulyanovsk and are thinking about moving the capital of yachting here.

On the banks of the Volga there are beaches along which a stone embankment stretches. People come here to relax, have fun, sit in silence or admire the sunset. And in the summer months, the motor ship "Moskovsky"-20 makes hour-long walks along the coast for everyone. An exciting trip on a motor ship along the great river will bring great pleasure and will amaze you with amazing landscapes, unforgettable sunrises and sunsets. Water sports festivals are held annually in the area of ​​the river port, yacht club and city beach.

The stone beach of Ulyanovsk stretches for many kilometers beyond the bridge along the right bank of the Volga. A steep descent to the Volga leads from the northern part of the city and begins at the very top of the slope. On the slope there are abandoned gardens and dachas. The rocky embankment consists of concrete slabs located at a slope towards the water.

Along the edge there is an asphalt road for cars and pedestrians, lanterns are installed, and there is electric lighting.

The village of Undory is a unique place.

All the land here is Jurassic period deposits. There is a very high natural level of radiation here, and the air is ionized and resembles mountain air. 140 million years ago, the sea splashed in this place, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and ichthyostegs lived - fish that came to land. In Undory, the skeleton of an unknown lizard was found, which in scientific circles is called an “undorosaur”. Mammoth bones and dinosaur skeletons are found everywhere, sometimes you don’t even need to dig. Ammonites, belemnites and other fossils are no longer uncommon here.

_____________________________________________________________________-

SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:

http://www.simbir-archeo.narod.ru/

Wikipedia website.

P. Martynov. The city of Simbirsk for 250 years of existence

http://ulmeria.ru/ru/city

http://www.welcometoulyanovsk.ru/

The city of Ulyanovsk is the administrative center of the Ulyanovsk region, located on the Volga Upland, 893 km east of Moscow, on the banks of the Volga and Sviyaga rivers. Population – 603.8 thousand people, area – 622.5 sq. km.

From the history of the city of Ulyanovsk

The city was founded in 1648 by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich as the Sinbirsk fortress in order to protect the eastern borders of the Moscow state from the raids of nomads. In 1670, the city withstood the siege of Stepan Razin's troops. Since 1780 it has been known as Simbirsk, and in 1924 in memory of the city’s native V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin) was named Ulyanovsk. At various times, Simbirsk was the center of the Simbirsk district, the Simbirsk province, the Simbirsk governorship, and the Simbirsk province. In 1943, Ulyanovsk became the center of the Ulyanovsk region. On the centenary of V.I. Lenin, the Venets Hotel, the building of the State Pedagogical University, the Palace of Books, and the Lenin Memorial were built in the historical center of the city. In 1970, the city was awarded the Order of Lenin. Ulyanovsk has become one of the country's tourist centers.

Ulyanovsk city – attractions

The city of Ulyanovsk is known to everyone as the birthplace of V.I. Lenin. Therefore, the main attractions of the city are associated with its name. In the historical center of the city, on Venets, on April 22, 1940, a monumental monument to Lenin was erected. Its height is 14.5 m, the sculptures are 6 m. On November 2, 1941, the V.I. Memorial Museum was opened in the city of Ulyanovsk. Lenin. Since April 1970, it has been located in the new building of the Lenin Memorial - a monument of history, culture, and architecture of the twentieth century. The museum presents the only exhibition in the country that reveals the life and work of V.I. Lenin, his contemporaries, associates, opponents and the political life of the Russian state at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

The pride of the city is the State Historical and Memorial Reserve "Motherland of V.I. Lenin". This is a unique complex of monuments and architecture of the old provincial Simbirsk,
an open-air museum occupying 174 hectares in the central part of the city of Ulyanovsk. On the steep Volga bank there is the House-Monument to I.A. Goncharov (architect A. Shode). The Ulyanovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore is located here with a collection of about 130 thousand items. The museum's exhibitions represent the entire history of the Simbirsk region - from its foundation to the present day. On Lenin Street, in the former estate of priest I. A. Anaksagarov, there is a Museum of Urban Life. Here you can see a house with a mezzanine, a summer kitchen, a bathhouse, a carriage house, a gazebo, and a well. Tourists are also interested in the historical and architectural complex "Simbirsk Serif Line". On Tolstoy Street, in an old mansion, there is a museum “Urban Planning and Architecture of Simbirsk-Ulyanovsk”.

Among the attractions one can highlight the Ulyanovsk churches. They were mainly built on the steep banks of the Volga and were visible from the Volga. Previously, on Cathedral Square (now Lenin Square) there were two cathedrals - the summer Trinity Cathedral and the winter St. Nicholas Cathedral. Before the revolution, there were 33 churches, two monasteries, a theological seminary, and two theological schools in Simbirsk. Only a few of them have survived to this day. The small Church of the Resurrection, located in the cemetery, was built in the Russian-Byzantine style. The building of the former Resurrection (Germanovskaya) parish church (1720s) is a monument of religious architecture. The temple building is half destroyed. The dome and domes of the temple and the bell tower were demolished. Also preserved are the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles at the former Chuvash teacher's school and the Cyril and Methodius Church at the former theological school, as well as the bell tower from the destroyed Church of the Three Saints at the former theological seminary. The main temple of the Ulyanovsk region is the Neopalimovsky Cathedral.

Monuments to A.S. have been erected in the city. Pushkin and N.M. Karamzin. In honor of the holy noble princes Peter and Fevronia of Murom, a bronze monument with a dove - a bird of love and fidelity - was erected in the city of Ulyanovsk. There are also original monuments. In front of the building of the regional scientific library on the day of the 160th anniversary of the opening of the monument to N.M. A monument to the letter E was erected to Karamzin (For reference: N.M. Karamzin was the first author to use the letter E). A monument to simbircite (an ornamental stone of orange-red shades, a type of calcite) was erected in Ulyanovsk. There is also a museum-salon of this stone.

In Simbirsk in 1789 one of the first theaters in Russia was opened and later one of the first libraries in the Volga region was opened - the Karamzin Public Library. At the Ulyanovsk Puppet Theater you can not only watch a performance, but also visit a museum of ancient mechanical dolls produced in 1905.