About Orenburg

Orenburg

Background and History

Orenburg is a city on the southern Urals in Russia and the administrative center of Orenburg region. According to the 2012 data, Orenburg has a population of close to six hundred thousand and is the 28th populated city in Russia.

The city was founded in 1735 as a fortress at the confluence of the Ural River with the Or River. Five years later the town was laid out again, but lower down the river. The old town was named Orsk and got a new name Orenburg. But in 1793 Orenburg moved for the third time – this time to the west. In 1773-74, Orenburg was besieged by the army of Pugachev. In the next century, the city became major centre of trade between Russia and Kazakhstan and the countries of Central Asia.

In 1905, the railroad Orenburg-Tashkent was built and subsequently many railway workshops came up in Orenburg. Before the revolution, the city became a major trade and distribution center of livestock, meat, Siberian butter, lard, leather and wool. Several sawmill and woodworking industries also came up in Orenburg. From 1920-25, Orenburg was the capital of the Kirghiz SSR and from 1934 it was the centre of Orenburg region.

In the years 1938-1957 Orenburg was named Chkalov in honour of the pilot Valery Chkalov. In 1966 a large deposit of natural gas was discovered in Orenburg.

Orenburg associated with famous personalities like Nikolai Karamzin, Derzhavin, Ivan Krylov, Pushkin, Taras Shevchenko, A. Pleshcheeva, VI Dal etc.

Pushkin visited Orenburg in 1833 for researching material about the Pugachev uprising. He composed ‘The Captain's Daughter’ and ‘The History of the Pugachev rebellion’ after his visit to Orenburg.

Currently, Orenburg region is one of the largest regions of the Russian Federation. The Orenburg region is surrounded by forests, grasslands, mountains and plain. The steppes and forests of the region are home to over 60 species of animals and 200 species of birds

Orenburg region has an amazing diversity of natural resources. In the depths of the Orenburg region deposits of over 75 kinds of mineral resources, including oil, gas, copper-pyrite and iron ore, rock salt, asbestos etc are found.

Lake Razval in the south of Orenburg region is a unique natural object formed at the site of ancient salt mines and having a salt concentration similar to that of the Dead Sea. The area is popular for mountain and water tourism as there is an abundance of fast-flowing mountain rivers and rocks on the southern tip of the Ural Mountains.

Orenburg is famous for its feather scarves, as well as Orsk - products made from jade.

The cost of living for a student

Cost of living in Orenburg is much cheaper than in Moscow. The same applies for the cost of education in universities in the city.

Currently, the approximate rental rates are as follows:

Studio apartment – approx 12000 rubles per month

Hostel Room - 2000 rubles per month (Common kitchen on each floor. Bathroom and Toilet in each block consisting of two rooms-each with two students)

Transportation costs around 10-12 rubles.

The average amount requires is estimated at around 7000-8000 rubles / month($220-300 / month)

Places to Visit in Orenburg

Caravanserai is a unique architectural monument that reflects the style and the national characteristics of the Orenburg region in the first half of the XIXth century. The Caravanserai was built in 1837-1846 years by the architect A. Bryullova. Well-known far beyond the borders of Orenburg caravanserai was built in the years 1837-1846 by the architect A. Bryullov. Caravanserai is an architectural complex consisting of a main body, a mosque and a minaret.

The historical part of the city connects the pedestrian bridge across the Ural River, which is a symbolic sign of the boundary between Europe and Asia: Two border posts with the coat of arms of Orenburg – one with the inscription ‘Europe’ and on the other ‘Asia’.

Holy Trinity Convent of Mercy was founded in 1999 on the site of Protection Church that was founded in 1990. Since then it has evolved into a large Orthodox complex, which includes temples, House of Mercy, the Orthodox Theological School and High School.

The Museum of the History of Orenburg city was founded in 1983 to mark the 240th anniversary of the city of Orenburg. The museum consists of 9 stationary expositions depicting the history of the city since ancient times namely the founding of the city on the eastern border of Russia, the peasant war led by Pugachev, Orenburg in XIXth century, AS Pushkin’s stay in Orenburg, City architecture, famous personalities - Karamzin, G.Derzhavin, I. Krylov etc.

The Rostropovich Home Museum

The River with freshwater and saltwater . River Berdyanka is the left tributary of the Ural. The river has freshwater upstream and saltwater downstream.

The Holy Mountain and Devil Mountain. At the foothills of the Southern Urals, are two great mountains. They are distinguished by a huge accumulation of marine fossils of Jurassic time. One of the mountains is called the Holy Mountain and the other is called the Devil Mountain.

Dead Sea in the desert. In the spring of 1906, a small river overflowed for several kilometres and water flooded the salt mines and formed salt lakes.

One of the Lakes- Tuzluchnoe is a source of mud with healing properties. During summer, the temperature at the bottom of the dirt reaches 60 degrees. Silt mud and brine containing bromine have healing properties. This mud is used to treat diseases of the bones, tendons, nerves, rheumatic fever, brucellosis, and many others.

In stark contrast, the nearby salt lake - Razval retains a negative temperature of up to -5 degrees below a depth of 4 metres even during summers.

More Information is available at: http://russia.edu.ru/vuz/6076/

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