(OBLAST BY OBLAST)
Sverdlovsk Oblast
nevyansk – невьянск
Nevyansk founded in 1701 is located 100 km north of Yekaterinburg. The town is reminiscent of Italy due to its landmark - the 1725 leaning tower built by order of the then metallurgical tycoon Nikita Demidov and currently showing a 2.2 m deviation from verticality.
Next to the leaning tower stands the 1824 Savior-Transfiguration Cathedral.
The Demidovs family received the tsar's (Peter I) blessing to develop the area. The family effectively coped with the task and for many years efficiently controlled the industrial Urals. The monument below shows Nikita Demidov and tsar Peter I who has just signed the decree giving the industrialist preferential status in developing the Urals.
Visitors do tricks similar to those they do in the Italian Pisa.
The Demidovs' coat of arms decorates the forged fence around the site.
There are guided tours to the top of the leaning tower.
A view from the nearby hill.
kunara - кунара
The most beautiful country house in Russia stands 20 km from Nevyansk in the village of Kunara. The owner began his beautification effort in 1954 with the intention to thoroughly decorate the house for the 50th anniversary of the 1917 Great October Socialist Revolution aka Russian Revolution. The anniversary occurred in 1967. In sunny weather the house looks much better.
May there always be sunshine!
nizhny tagil - нижний тагил
Nizhny Tagil founded in 1722 is 140 km north of Yekaterinburg. Currently the city is a centre of metallurgical industry.
The Demidov Hotel offers a comfortable stay.
The circus.
Lenin stands on the globe. The globe rests on books written by Lenin.
The drama theatre.
The monument to gifted mechanics father and son Cherepanovs who in 1834 built the first steam propelled locomotive in Russia.
A replica as well as paintings of their steam propelled machine is displayed in a small museum.
The Fox Hill is topped with a chapel and offers a good view of Nizhny Tagil.
The iron-making plant commissioned in December 1725 has been an industrial museum since 1987.
A happy Tagil family in sculpture and mural.
verkhoturie - верхотурье
300 km north of Yekaterinburg stands Verkhoturie - the oldest town in the Urals founded in 1598. It used to be the main trade center on the way between Siberia and Moscow. Gradually the town lost its importance but retained two old monasteries. Being far from other religious centers the town is one the most worshipped places of pilgrimage among Russian Orthodox Church followers. Pilgrims flock the 1604 Saint Nicholas Monastery to kiss the casket of saint Simeon Verkhotursky. The notorious mystic Gregory Rasputin lived in the monastery for three years. Allegedly, one day Mother Mary came to him saying words of wisdom, “let you be a holy healer”. After that he acquired potent healing powers which later made him a close friend of the Russian royal family. See the Tyumen Oblast page and listen to “The Rasputin” song performed by the Jamaica Bony M band for more details.
The 1905 Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral.
The 1821 Transfiguration Church.
The monastery being a rather small one has a sizable population of monks inspired by the story about Rasputin.
The casket with relics of Saint Simeon Verkhotursky.
A worshipper is about to kiss the relics.
The recently cast bell with the Romanovs family (the last Russian royal family) depicted on its side is about to be lifted to the bell tower. Tsar Nicholas II was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. His wife and five children who shared his fate are considered to be holy martyrs. See Yekaterinburg Page for more details.
The Saint Nicholas monastery as seen from the nearby Verkhoturie kremlin.
The avid traveler John Burke of Cleveland, Ohio is rejoicing his visit to Verkhoturie.
Beggars at the gate.
The Verkhoturie kremlin built in 1698-1712 is currently a museum. Visitors can climb the belfry of the 1703 Trinity Church.
A statue of Ivan Malyshev born in Verkhoturie in 1889. He was a prominent revolutionary at the head of the fight for establishment of the Soviet power in the Urals. He was executed by the counter revolution White Army in June 1918.
serov – серов
Serov is located 350 km north of Yekaterinburg. It is a good place to stay overnight when driving from Yekaterinburg to Khanty-Mansyisk. The town is built around the metallurgical plant commissioned here in 1895.
In this rather small town, there are two WWII memorials located just 200 m away from each other. One commemorates all residents of Serov who fell in the WWII battlefields.
The other one is dedicated specially to employees of the metallurgical plant who went to the front and never came back.
In June 2010 I spotted a homeless guy baking potatoes in the eternal flame. I bought him good food. In return he discontinued his cooking in the inappropriate place.
The town is named after one of the first Soviet ace pilots Anatoly Serov. He was born here in 1910 and died in an air crash near Moscow in 1939 after surviving 200 sorties in Spain.
The good old Lenin stands right across Serov.
Locals confess their sins in this newly built Transfiguration Church.
The streets of Serov are clean and neat.
The railway station. Figures of skiers refer us to The Dyatlov Pass Incident. Here the skiers hopped off the train in 1959.
pervouralsk – первоуральск
Pervouralsk founded in 1732 is famous for its huge pipe making plant. The city makes a good impression.
In 1829 German scientists Humboldt and Rose found the spot where Europe ends and Asia begins. The sign was erected in 1837.
severouralsk – североуральск
Severouralsk founded in 1758 is 440 km north of Yekaterinburg. It is a bauxite producing town.
The larch tree alley was planted in 1958.
irbit – ирбит
Irbit founded in 1631 is 200 km north-east of Yekaterinburg. It is famous for its motorbike making factory. The factory belongs to an American guy. It produces robust URAL motorbikes with a sidecar. Almost 100% are exported to the USA and Europe. There is a big motorbike museum exhibiting hundreds of bikes of all shapes, sizes and purposes.
Military models.
A passenger and a cargo sidecar.
For right-hand and left-hand traffic.
For UK market. The sidecar protects from rainy weather.
The central square.
turinsk – туринск
Turinsk founded in 1600 is 260 km north-east of Yekaterinburg. The town was place of exile for state criminals.
The Decembrists museum.
The Decembrist Park.
The stela was installed in 2000 to mark the 400th anniversary of Turinsk.
deer creeks – оленьи ручьи
The Deer Creeks nature reserve is located 120 km west of Yekaterinburg. A very scenic area where you can walk through a cave and contemplate rock formations lining the banks of the Sergy River.
Somewhere in Sverdlovsk Oblast. A business class bus stop near the town of Rezh.
The entry to Sverdlovsk Oblast from Khanty-Mansia.
