Attractions of Ekaterinburg

1. Attractions of Ekaterinburg

State Budget Vocational Educational Establishment
“Sverdlovsk Regional Medical College”
Krasnoufimsk branch
Krasnoufimsk, 2020

2. Learn the new words:

logistics hub – логистический центр
ironworks - металлургический завод
to establish – установленный
settlement – поселок
in honour - в честь
to revert – возвращать
pedestrian – пешеход, пешеходный
merchant mansion - купеческий особняк
immense – огромный
manor – поместье
park ensemble - парковые ансамбль
cast iron pavilion - чугунный павильон
gem - драгоценный камень
lapidary factory - гранильная фабрика
picturesque - живописный
large-scale – крупномасштабный
trellised – решетчатый
copper - медь

3. Overview

Yekaterinburg or Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk in 1924-1991) is the fourth most
populous city in Russia (after Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Novosibirsk), the
administrative center of the Ural Federal District and Sverdlovsk Oblast.
This city is one of the country’s largest transport and logistics hubs, as well as an
important industrial center. It is unofficially called the “capital of the Urals.”
The population of Ekaterinburg is about 1,483,000 (2018), the area is 468 sq. km.
Ekaterinburg city flag
Ekaterinburg city coat of arms

4. History of Ekaterinburg

Near the village of Shartash, which was founded in 1672 by members of the Russian
sect of Old Believers, an ironworks was established in 1721 and a fortress in 1722. In
1723 the new settlement was named Yekaterinburg in honour of Catherine I, the wife
of Peter I the Great.
In 1924 it was renamed Sverdlovsk in honour of the Bolshevik leader Yakov M.
Sverdlov, but the city reverted to its original name in 1991.
Ekaterinburg first ironworks

5. Main Attractions of Ekaterinburg

Sevastyanov House
This beautiful palace was built in 1817. One of its main features is a roofed fountain.
The palace is named after its most famous owner under whom, the appearance of the
palace underwent many interesting changes. Its classical facade was complemented by
original elements in the classical and neo-Gothic style.
.

6. Plotinka

It is the dam of the city pond on the Iset River built in the 18th century. From an
architectural point of view, it is an ordinary bridge. However, it is of particular
importance for the residents of Yekaterinburg since the construction of the entire city
started from this place. Today, this is the main place for festivities in Yekaterinburg.

7. Vaynera Street

It is the central avenue of Yekaterinburg, the so-called “Ural Arbat”. One of its parts
from Kuibysheva Street to Lenina Avenue is a pedestrian street. This is one of the
oldest streets in Yekaterinburg laid in the middle of the 18th century. Along it, you can
see merchant mansions, shops, administrative buildings, most of which were built in
the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.

8. Observation Deck of the Business Center “Vysotsky” 

It is an open-air observation deck on the 52nd
floor at an altitude of 168 meters. From here you
can enjoy the views of all of Yekaterinburg. On
the second and third floors of this skyscraper
there is the memorial museum of Vladimir
Vysotsky - a singer, songwriter, and actor who
had an immense effect on Soviet culture.

9. Rastorguev-Kharitonov Palace 

It is a large-scale complex of buildings in the classical style. The estate itself and the
farm buildings located next to it, have survived to this day in their original form.
Another interesting feature of the architectural complex is a luxurious garden with a
pond. It is very popular not only among tourists, but also among locals.

10. Church of the Ascension 

It is one of the oldest churches in Yekaterinburg located next to the RastorguevKharitonov Palace. This beautiful building combines the features of baroque, pseudoRussian style, and classicism.

11. Yeltsin Center

It is a cultural and educational center dedicated to the contemporary history of Russia,
as well as the personality of its first president, Boris Yeltsin. The museum dedicated to
his life is one of the best museums in Russia.

12. Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts 

It is the largest art museum in the Urals housed in two buildings. This museum is best
known for its unique collection of Kasli art castings and the world-famous Kasli cast
iron pavilion - a participant in the 1900 Paris World’s Fair.

13. Museum of the History of Stone-Cutting and Jewelry Art

A unique collection of this museum consists of gem minerals, works of jewelers and
stone-cutters of the Urals, and products created at the Ural lapidary factory. The
museum has Malachite and Bazhov halls, the Emerald Room, and several exhibition
galleries where visitors can see works made of colored stone and metal created by local
artists.

14. Old Railway Station of Yekaterinburg

It is one of the most beautiful and picturesque buildings in the city built in 1878. In
2003, after a large-scale reconstruction, the Museum of the History of Science and
Technology of the Sverdlovsk Railway was opened here.

15. Yekaterinburg Circus

Visible from a lot of points of the city, the building of the Yekaterinburg Circus is
known for its amazing dome consisting of trellised openwork semi-arches, which is not
typical for circuses in Russia.

16. Interesting facts about Yekaterinburg

It was founded by the decree of the first Russian Emperor Peter I and the last Russian
Emperor Nicholas II was shot here;
In 1820, the roof of the UK Parliament building in London was made of roofing iron
produced in Yekaterinburg;
Ural steel was used in the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris;
Ural copper was used in the construction of the Statue of Liberty in New York;
Two most northern skyscrapers in the world are located in Yekaterinburg: the Iset
residential tower (209 m) and the Vysotsky business center (188 m), they are the tallest
buildings throughout Russia east of Moscow.

17. Thanks for your attention!

18.

Exercise 1. Match architectural monument with its description.
One title is extra.
1. Observation Deck of the Business
Center “Vysotsky”
a) a museum with Kasli iron pavilion
2. The Museum of Stone-Cutting and
Jewelry Art History
b) a big pedestrian street in Yekaterinburg
3. Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts
c) a viewing platform for the best urban
panoramas of Yekaterinburg.
4. Vaynera Street
d) a unique museum dedicated to the art of
stone-cutting.
5. Rastorguev-Kharitonov Palace
e) a palace on the promenade of the Iset
river, painted in green, white, and red tones.
6. Sevastyanov House
f) the most valuable architectural manor
and park ensembles in Yekaterinburg, built
in the classical style.
7. Plotinka

19.

Exercise 2. Answer the questions.
1.
Have you ever been to Yekaterinburg?
2.
What sights of interest have you seen there?
3.
Are there many shops?
4.
Are there many architectural monuments?
5.
There are many skyscrapers in Yekaterinburg, aren’t they?
6.
What sightseeing do you want to see in Yekaterinburg?
Exercise 3. Make plan of your own presentation on the topic “My native
town”.