Between Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Tagil lies the cozy little town of Kushva, known for its unique development of iron ore deposits. In addition to industrial victories in the city, you can find amazing sights with a rich history.
General information
Those who travel around Russia and choose to visit an industrial city will have to make their way to the Urals. After all, the city of Kushva is the Sverdlovsk region, and this is the Ural Federal District with the administrative center in Yekaterinburg. It is a small city with a population of about 28 thousand people. It is noteworthy that the name Kushva is translated from the Komi-Permyak dialect as "rotten water".
Kushva begins its history in 1735, when huge deposits of iron were discovered in the depths of its land.
When forming all the details of the trip, you need to take into account that the clocks in Kushva are moved two hours ahead.
Deposits of usefulfossils
The city of Kushva in the Sverdlovsk region arose due to the discovery of rich deposits of magnetic iron ore in the bowels of Mount Blagodat. In 1735, this discovery was made by a local hunter, Stepan Chumpin. He brought some ore samples to one of the chiefs. A commission was assembled, which after a while confirmed the presence of iron, and of very good quality. In the autumn of the same year, the head of the factories, Vasily Tatishchev, named the mountain where the ore was mined Blagodat in honor of Empress Anna Ioannovna. From the Hebrew language, the name Anna is translated as "grace".
The construction of mining plants has begun. To work in the mines, peasants from many regions of the Russian Empire were driven to Grace, as well as Tatars who were recruited and taken to Kushva.
The field was developed until 2003. In the same year, all work was stopped due to the full development of the deposit. The shutdown of all enterprises hit the economy and population of the city of Kushva hard. Ore mining was the main occupation here.
The role of Kushva during the wars
The history of the city of Kushva during the Soviet era is full of sad events. First, the Civil War of 1918-1919 caused great damage. The city was an important strategic point in the Urals.
After fierce fighting, the city was taken by the Whites. In 1919, units of the Red Army were still able to drive the invaders out of the territory. However, along with the liberation in the person of the Reds from the enemies of the people, destruction came to Kushva andvandalism.
One of the most difficult periods in the history of the city is the time when the country was dominated by Nikolai Yezhov, head of the NKVD. Kushva was a place where not only people were deprived of their lives for political crimes, exiles and prisoners, convicts were brought here.
The small industrial city endured the hardships of the Great Patriotic War with honor. Around the clock in several shifts in a row, people worked in the mines, stood at the smelting furnaces. Women, children, the disabled were brought to Kushva from all over the country.
Architectural landmarks
The sights of the city of Kushva are not diverse. These are mainly residential buildings concentrated on several streets.
The architectural sights of the city of Kushva in the Sverdlovsk region include various types of wooden houses. Most of them were built before 1917. The abolition of serfdom had a great influence on the construction of private housing. The workers of the city were compelled to build their own houses. However, not everyone had the opportunity and means to build private housing. People who come to work on a contract or for the season preferred to live in the barracks.
The first thing that catches your eye when you get acquainted with architectural sights is a mixture of styles. At first glance, wooden houses looked like village houses. However, the differences were very significant. For example, the material from which the housing cost. Logs were used in the village. City houses were built from timber - an inaccessible luxury forvillages.
You rarely see a stone house in Kushva. The few buildings that exist can be called typical. The thing is that in those days much attention was paid to the standardization of buildings. Dozens of samples were sent to factories, according to which construction had to be carried out. The same rule applied to state-owned industrial enterprises.
The houses of merchants are especially beautiful, they decorated windows, doors and roofs with wooden tiles. The carpenters used mainly Russian folk motifs to create jewelry.
Mount Grace
Perhaps the main attraction of the city of Kushva is Mount Grace. Several centuries of daily development have turned a powerful mountain with three peaks into a deep quarry with a diameter of about a kilometer. Today, only one of the three peaks remains. After the closure of the mine, the city administration turned the remaining mountain peak into an observation deck.
Most administrative and city buildings are located on the slope of Grace. During the formation of the city, it was an elevated place that was not subject to flooding during the flood. Workers built their barracks in the lowlands. Photos of the city of Kushva of that time, unfortunately, have not been preserved.
Monument to Stepan Chumpin
The monument to the discoverer of huge deposits of iron ore in Kushva. There is a legend among the locals that the hunter Stepan Chumpin was burned alive by his fellow tribesmen for revealing the holy secret of Mount Blagodat.
The monument representsa cast-iron cabinet with a bowl from which fire bursts out. The inscription on the medallion says that Vogul Stepan Chumpin was burnt here in 1730. The monument itself was erected in 1826.
However, no reliable information about the burning was found. Historians and local historians agree that Chumpin was shamelessly killed by the clerks of the industrialist Demidov, who were trying to seize a rich deposit. Opinions differ, but there is no doubt that Stepan Chumpin is a real historical character.
The monument is located in a convenient location next to the equipped observation deck, from where a magnificent panorama of the whole city and the mined-out ore quarry opens.
In the city of Kushva, Sverdlovsk region, there is a good tradition to come to the monument on the wedding day. The newlyweds make wishes and hang a lock on its fence, and throw the key into the quarry.
Religious site
Fans of strolling through the temples will appreciate the Church of Michael the Archangel, located near the square of the city of Kushva. The construction of the church was carried out at the expense of one of the richest merchants M. Ushakov from 1892 until 1895.
This church is lucky. During the period of Soviet rule, when houses of God were closed and burned throughout the country, the Church of Michael the Archangel worked every day as usual. The most revered shrine was the icon "Inexhaustible Grace". Currently, the church has been thoroughly restored and is open to parishioners.
