Orenburg - Оренбу́рг - Orsk - Krasnogor - Ivan Neplyuyev

[mendeleyev]

Orenburg (Оренбу́рг)





Just down the road a bit, southwest from Yekaterinburg and Cheliabinsk is the city of Orenburg.  Orenburg (Оренбу́рг) is a city on the Ural River and the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast in the Volga Federal District of Russia. It lies 1,478 km southeast of Moscow, very close to the border with Kazakhstan. Population: 542,700 in 2005, down from the 549,361 registered in the 2002 Census.





This bridge crosses the Ural River, Europe on one side and Asia on the other.





Or you can take the tram across the river.  This is car #2.  On the left of the tram is the Russian name for Europe (Yev-ROpa) and to the right is the term for Asia (Ah-zeya).





Orenburg Cathedral.


Miscellaneous facts about Orenburg:
International dialing code: +7 (3532)
Postal code: 460000
The mayor of the city is Yuri Meshcheryakov.
The time zone is Russia 4
Temp: this morning (24 Sept 2008) was 48*F/9*C





The main street is "Sovietskaya" and here it leads toward the monument to Valery Tchkalov.

 



Regarding Orenburg, immediately this question comes to mind:
Isn't that a German sounding name...in Russia? 

Answer: Yes, 'burg' is the German name for 'fortress.'  The "Or" is the former name of the river which runs thru Orenburg.  The river is now called 'Ural."  It's the fortress on the Or (sk) river.





Orenburg electric trolley bus runs on overhead electric wiring.



Some famous things about Orenburg:
It was a White Army stronghold during the civil war, very anti-Communist.
Given it's large German population, Stalin accused many residents of being Nazi's and excuted, imprisoned, or exiled many of it's residents.
Orenburg may be close to Muslim Kazakhstan but it has a sizeable Jewish population.
Stalin changed the city name but not long after his death the name was returned.
"Orenburg" lace and knitting is famous all over the world.

 
Okay, here is a question all of you guys wanted to ask but were afraid: 
How did Orenburg become famous for that beautiful silk and lace?

Answer: The city of Orenburg, raises a breed of goat primarily for milk. These goats produce hair that responds to the climatic conditions of the region. It's wonderfully soft hair that is spun with silk from Uzbekistan and knit into the delicate, spidery lace used in shawls that are known by the region's name: Orenburg shawls. The shawls are so fine that they could be passed through a ring and are often called "wedding ring shawls."





Orenburg was founded in 1735, and is the third city named Orenburg.  The first is now called Orsk and is just South-Southeast of Orenburg.  The second attempt at an "Orenburg" failed.  Today's Orenburg is the third and only one in Russia.






Here is a nice 2 minute video tour of Orenburg: