Many people know about this city thanks to the song-story about unhappy love for a married man. But the townspeople themselves assure that the history of Saratov contains many other beautiful and sad events, more worthy of attention. Today it is one of the most beautiful cities on the Volga, a major economic and cultural center of the region.
The birth of a walled city
Local archaeologists cite thousands of arguments confirming the existence of settlements on the territory of modern Saratov. But the official date of the foundation of the city is 1590. It is interesting that Prince Grigory Zasekin had a hand in this event, thanks to whom the residents of Samara also express their gratitude for the contribution to the appearance of their city on the map.
This was done by decree of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, in which the importance of the Volga and the surrounding territories for Russia was assessed, and the need to build fortresses to protect against enemies was also recognized. In 1674, Saratov was moved to the opposite bank of the river according to the decree of another tsar, Alexei Mikhailovich.
True, this did not save the city from constant attacks from the Kalmyks, Tatars from the Kuban and local gangs of thieves. The robberies were carried out in the city by Stepan Razin (1670) and Kondraty Bulavin (1708).
Center of the province
Before becoming the head of the province, Saratov himself had to move from one administrative-territorial association to another, twice he was part of: Kazan province (in 1708 and in 1728); Astrakhan province (in 1718 and 1739).
Several factors contributed to the development of the city and the expansion of its borders, including the granting of land by Peter I, the founding of the Pokrovskaya Sloboda by the Chumaks, salt carters near the city, and permission for schismatics and foreigners to settle in the local territories.
Saratov changed its status, at first it became the main city of the governorship (in 1780), the province (in 1796). Stone town planning, culture, education, science developed.
Age of enlightenment and industrialization
You cannot tell briefly about the history of Saratov, especially when it comes to the 19th and 20th centuries - there are too many bright, extraordinary events. For example, the appearance of the French after the Patriotic War of 1812, first prisoners, then as residents. The growth of large and medium-sized industrial enterprises, including tobacco factories, weaving workshops, rope brick and other factories.
The Soviet era brought its own changes to the life of the city, it was the center of the Lower Volga region and the Saratov region, then - the Saratov region (since 1936). For a long time in the post-war period, the city was closed to foreigners, as it had several important military-industrial facilities.
