Tatarstan is a place where you want to come again and again. Moreover, at any time of the year. In addition to famous brands - the third capital of the country Kazan, the auto city Naberezhnye Chelny, the oil capital Almetyevsk - Tatarstan is also a tourist region. With a preserved culture, many historical and archaeological monuments, national identity. This is a land where different religions, customs and traditions coexist peacefully.
If you do not limit yourself to Kazan and go further, you can admire the beautiful small towns, where excellent roads lead. And get acquainted with the real Tatarstan, not always pretentious and branded, but certainly interesting and cozy.
Mendeleevsk
The settlement was founded in the middle of the 19th century on the right bank of the deep Kama. The town received its modern name a century later. And not only thanks to the famous D. Mendeleev. It is historically a city of chemists. The first plant in it was opened shortly after the founding of the settlement, and by the end of the 19th century, the enterprise became the most famous in Russia. So advanced that the famous chemist took up the production of smokeless gunpowder on it.
Boris Pasternak lived in Mendeleevsk before the revolution, for a short time, a year. He worked at a chemical plant as an employee. He loved the town very much, calling it Manchester on the Kama. And more than once he described it under different names in his novels. The details of the stay in the town of famous scientists, writers and public figures are kept by the local museum. It is located in an old building built in 1870.
The city is rich in historical buildings of the century before last, objects of cultural heritage. It is also known for its gorgeous color and music fountain, a beautiful park with a pond and access to the river. Mendeleevsk is very green, clean and tidy. His Epiphany Church, built at the same time as the foundation of the settlement, looks picturesque among the lush vegetation.
Chistopol
The old county town is highly respected by tourists. It has preserved merchant mansions, old carved houses, cobbled streets, Orthodox churches. Moreover, in such a state, as if built recently. It received the status of a city at the end of the 18th century, and by the end of the 19th century it became the largest center for the grain trade. A little later, the first engine appeared at the city mill, and the merchant dynasties had their own river fleet. In the First World War, the city became one of the suppliers of flour and bread for the front.
During the Great Patriotic War, Chistopol became a place where many Soviet writers were evacuated. Even today, the old-timers retain a special spirit of the Soviet intelligentsia, which is difficult to convey in words.
The most popular tourist places are the ruins of the lost Bulgar city and the brewery. The ancient settlement consists of two, they date from the 10th and 13th centuries. The name Djuketau is translated as linden mountain. The protective system of ditches and ramparts has been preserved. But the main thing is that an excellent view of the Kama and the surrounding expanse opens up from here.
Brewery "White Kremlin" offers an educational excursion with a visit to all stages of the production of the national drink. And, most importantly, with tasting of 10 sorts of beer. You can go to the neighboring village to the "Wild Farm" - an eco-complex where more than 200 marals live. But it's better to just walk around the city among the houses that create the classic look of a merchant city.
Tetyushi, 150 km from Kazan
The fish capital of Tatarstan. It was once the main place of the Volga fishing. From here sterlet, pike perch and pike were supplied to the whole republic. A local celebrity is a monument to the beluga. The event took place 100 years ago. The fish weighed about a ton, the nets had to be pulled out by horses. It contained more than 190 kg of black caviar.
Most visited places:
- the observation tower of the city mountain Vshikha, from here a beautiful view of the Volga opens;
- a museum of the history of fisheries, here you can not only learn interesting details from the life of fishermen in the old days, but also get useful skills: they teach smoking fish and cooking real fish soup, wood carving, weaving nets, etc.;
- a fishing tavern at the museum, it is believed that you can taste the most delicious fish in it.
Bolgar, 140 km from Kazan
One of the most famous historical sites of the republic is located near the town. The ancient city of the Great Bulgar is located right on the banks of the Volga, on a small hill. Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Only here you can see the buildings of the times of the Golden Horde.
From the 10th to the 13th century it was the capital of the Volga Bulgaria. The Great Silk Road passed through it. In the 15th century, Russian troops began a campaign against the Volga Bulgars. During the capture, the capital was partially destroyed. The place gradually turned into an ancient settlement.
Today on the territory of the ancient city there are minarets, mausoleums, memorials, museums, craft workshops. The world's largest printed Quran is located here. The territory of the settlement is quite large. Bicycles can be rented at the entrance. Electric cars run around the main attractions.
Sviyazhsk
Another center of republican tourism. The history of its appearance dates back to the time of Ivan the Terrible. To conquer the Kazan Khanate, he needed a stronghold, a sort of transshipment base. The island at the confluence of the Sviyaga River with the Volga fit perfectly. But how to build a fortress in full view of enemies?
The surprise effect is due to a talented engineering solution. The fortress was cut down in Myshkin, dismantled and floated to the island. There she was quickly assembled, and the khan's army faced a fact. So in 1551 the first Russian fortress appeared on the island.
There is a legend that has not yet found confirmation. About the fact that the fabulous Pushkin island Buyan was written off from the fortress island of Sviyazhsk.
Now the island has become a historical reserve. There is a road to it. The ancient city has something to see and admire. Unique medieval atmosphere, ancient fortified ramparts and walls, temples and monasteries, a real smithy. All this is set against the backdrop of picturesque nature. Historical reconstructions, exhibitions, master classes are regularly held here.
