Walking around Yekaterinburg with the Library. The City Pond
вторник 27 июня 2023, 14:17
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We continue our tour оf the Ural capital as a part of the series of posts “Walking around Yekaterinburg with the Library”. Our path lies to the very heart of the Ural capital – the Historical square. It is just the place where the city was founded 300 years ago.
In 1723, the Russian Emperor Peter the Great published a decree on the construction of an ironworks on the Iset River. The outstanding engineer Wilhelm de Gennin and the cleverest statesman and historian Vasily Tatishchev are believed to be the initiators of the construction of the works, from which the whole city began. The first of them described to the Emperor the military-strategic advantages of the works-fortress, and the second presented the economic benefits of the project. The monument to the founding fathers of Yekaterinburg stands in the historical square.
But before creating the works, a dam was built to provide power supply. This date is considered to be the works' starting day and the birthday of Yekaterinburg. At that time the at the ironworks’ dam was the largest one in the Urals. Of interest is the fact that the citizens used to call “plotinka” (a diminutive of the “dam”) not only the oldest works dam, but the entire area of the historical square.
The square acquired its modern look only in 1973, on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the city. The square is located in the heart of Yekaterinburg. It stretches from south to north from the bridge along Malysheva Street to Lenina Avenue and is divided into two parts by the Iset River. Historical objects (gates, fragments of fences, ancient machinery and mechanisms) have been preserved on the left bank of the river. A "rock garden" was laid out on the right bank. Now it is a favorite place for local residents’ walking and for numerous excursions.
Author: Olga Mikhailitsina
Translator: Ksenia Khudyshkina |
