Kazan (Казань)

Kazan is one of the oldest Tatar cities in Russia and the capital of Tatarstan. Originally is was the capital of the Khanate of Kazan. Ivan the Terrible conquered it in the 16th century and during the Pugachev's Rebellion of the 1770's it was largely destroyed. Catherine the Great rebuilt it and nowadays it is a mix of Tatar and Russian cultures and a major tourist destination. It is one of the stops that cruise ships make on the Volga River.

There are numerous places of interest in Kazan, most of which can be found in the center of town.

Central Kazan

Kazan's citadel, or Kremlin (кремль) was included in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in 2000. It includes the Annunciation Cathedral, which was built in 1562. The Söyembikä Tower dates from the early 18th century. After construction completed, it started leaning to one side and by the 1990's the inclination was about 2 meters. It was then decided that it should be rectified and nowadays the tower stands straight. It was named after Kazan's last queen and it is one of the city's most familiar landmarks.

The Kremlin is also home to the beautiful Qolşärif Mosque. The remains of the 16th-century Saviour Monastery can also be found there. It was destroyed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution of 1917. Its Spasskaya Tower still stands. The Governor's House dates from the 1840's and is nowadays the Palace of the President of Tatarstan. Next to it stands the baroque 18th-century Sts-Peter-and-Paul's Cathedral and the Marcani Mosque that dates from the same period. The Kremlin's walls and towers were originally erected in the 16th and 17th centuries.

There are numerous Towers is Kazan. The forementioned Spasskaya Tower was originally built in the 16th century. It was later joined with the Spasskaya Church. The tower was rebuilt in at the end of the 17th century to its current version. The defensive South-Western Tower was built simultaneously with the Spasskaya tower. Another defensive tower is the Transfiguration Tower. It was once part of the wall around the Transfiguration Monastery of the Savior.

During the 17th century, numerous other brick round-shaped towers were built. The Tainitskaya Tower dates from the 1550's. The secret water well that was used during sieges gave name to this tower. There used to be a tower in the northeast of the Kremlin, but it was detroyed during the 1770's Pugachev Rebellion. Another brick 17th century tower is the Consistor Tower. Archaeological excavations adjacent to the tower revealed the so-called Tezitsky Moat, which used to run between the towers of Consistor and Transfiguration. The southeastn Round Tower is agood example of 16th-century Pskov architecture.

Central Kazan has two main districts, known as Bistä, or Posad. They are divided by the Bolaq canal and Lake Qaban. The district of Qazan Bistäse (Kazanskiy Posad) is situated on the hill and has historically been Russian. In this district, most of the city's churches are found. Some of them are the churches of Blagoveschenskaya, Varvarinskaya, Nikol'skaya and Tikhvinskaya. The other district is called İske Tatar Bistäse (Staro-Tatarskaya Sloboda) sits between the Bolaq and Volga rivers. It has always been Tatar. Most of Kazan's mosques are in the Tatar Bistäse. Some of them include the mosques of Nurullah, Soltan, Bornay, Äcem, Märcani, İske Taş and Zä&nmacr;gär.

Major streets in the city center are Bauman, Kremlyovskaya, Dzerzhinsky, Tuqay, Puşkin, Butlerov, Gorkiy, Karl Marx and Märcani.

Wooden Kazan

Originally, most of Kazan consisted of 2-storey wooden buildings. During the short-lived Russian Republic in 1918 most of those buildings were dismantled in a program known as 'liquidation of ramshackle apartments'. Some 100,000 people were resetlled to the new suburbs of Azino, Azino-2 and Quartal 39, amongst others.

Smolentzev and Shmelev

The 19th-century former Smolentzev and Shmelev tea house and hotel. It consists of 2 parts. The first section dates from the 1860's and was used as a shop. The second section was constructed in 1910 and was in use as a hotel. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 it became the Hotel Soviet and since 2000 it is named the Shalyapin Palace Hotel.

There are numerous other interesting buildings in Kazan, such as the Epiphany Church. Kazan has one of the oldest tram systems in Russia. It was inaugurated in 1899. The city's trolleybus system is also on of Russia's oldest. Kazan is 700 km east of Moscow.

There are countless hotels, bars, café's and restaurants in Kazan.

Because of random arrests of foreigners it is not recommended to travel to Kazan (Казань), or any other destination in Russia at this moment.

Kazan (Казань)

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