The capital of Tatarstan, the city of Kazan, boasts an ancient history, dating back to the depths of centuries. If we talk about modernity, then Kazan can be called one of the most beautiful cities in Russia. There are really a lot of noteworthy sights located here, and it’s a great pleasure to wander through the old Kazan streets.
This city is most often called the “third capital of Russia”. In 2018, at the Kazan stadiums, there were some matches of the World Cup. Kazan consistently occupies one of the first three places in the ranking of the most popular cities of Russia in terms of attendance by tourists from other regions of the country. The local Kremlin is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here lives about 10-12 times less people than in Moscow. Kazan is older than Moscow, it was founded back in the year 1005. In some periods of its history, after the inclusion of the Russian Empire, Kazan was the largest city in the country.
In this city there are temples of 16 different religions. In all of Eastern Europe, only Prague and Kiev are older cities than Kazan (also, check Interesting facts about Eastern Europe). At various times, this city managed to be the capital of the Kazan kingdom and the Kazan Khanate. It was here that the wife of the famous painter Salvador Dali was once born. According to one version, the city got its name in honor of the Kazanka River flowing here. Other researchers associate the name with the name of Khan Hasan. Once there was a record low temperature of -46.8 degrees.
Since the beginning of the 80s of the last century, there was no precipitation three times in Kazan for the whole month. Of all the Russian cities, only here after the collapse of the Soviet Union was built underground. Almost all the buses here are red. Kazan is the only city in Russia that completely recycles all its waste on its own. Since the mid 30s of the last century, the population of the city increased by a million people.
Representatives of 115 nationalities live here, making Kazan the most multiethnic city in Russia. Mostly Tatars and Russians, of whom there are roughly equal. At the turn of the 80s-90s of the last century, the criminogenic situation here became tense due to the growing number of youth gangs based on the territorial characteristics of their districts. As a result, to define such a crime, even the term “Kazan phenomenon” appeared. Kazan hotel rooms can accommodate up to 7,500 guests in total.
Here is the unique Temple of all religions, the construction of which ended in 2013. In 2017, it suffered from a fire, but soon after it began its restoration. In Kazan there is a curious monument dedicated to Kazan Kota, the character of many fairy tales and legends. Catherine II, after visiting this city, called him “the first in Russia after Moscow”. Not far from Kazan there are the famous Blue Lakes, a complex of reservoirs of different depths with healing waters. They are fed by underground sources and do not freeze in the winter.
