In today’s summer section entitled "Walking around Yekaterinburg with the library" we’ll talk about a small but very significant construct that connects the past and the future. What is meant here is a time capsule that was buried fifty years ago (on the day of the 250th anniversary of the city) in the heart of the city. Its dimensions are about 140 centimeters in height and 60 centimeters in diameter. The caption on the capsule reads: "To be opened in 2023 on the day of the 300th anniversary of Sverdlovsk."

Inside the caption there are different artistic, musical and household artifacts. More information about this can be found in the book "Sverdlovsk: a guidebook", which is available in our library in the collection of the Department of Rare Books (Turgeneva, 4, aud. 356).

It may seem that 50 years is not that long a period of time, that there is nothing interesting and new to see there. But just 50 years ago in the Soviet Union there was no such city as Yekaterinburg, because it was named Sverdlovsk. The country and the name of the city are not the only things that have changed, the city has grown a lot during five decades, skyscrapers and the new districts have been built, and the population has already exceeded one and a half million people.

It is planned that the solemn recovery of the capsule will take place on the eve of the city day celebration (the 18th of August 2023). It is already known that a new message, which will be buried in a capsule on the historic birthday of Yekaterinburg on the 18th of November 2023, is being prepared.

Various events (theatrical, musical) are being held in honor of the 300th anniversary of the capital of the Urals, and the exhibitions about the history of Yekaterinburg are also being organized. Besides, you can learn more about the history of the city through books, for instance, "The City in two dimensions" by Nikolai Berdnikov and "Yekaterinburg - Sverdlovsk - Yekaterinburg" by Andrey Gramolin. Both books are stored on the circulation desk of Liberal Arts & Humanities (Turgeneva, 4, aud. 252). You can check their availability in the digital catalog.