Do you know the history of Belgorod?

Do you know any famous people who were born in Belgorod?

What is your favourite place in Belgorod?

 

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BELGOROD

Belgorod is my native town. It is one of the oldest towns in Russia. It has a long and interesting history, which dates back to the ancient times. People settled on the Seversky Donets river in the Stone and Bronze Ages. Belgorod is first mentioned in theannals of history in the 10th century.

Originally it was a very small settlement of Slavs atop the chalky hill overlooking the Seversky Donets. The White Hill gave its name to the future fortress town.

In 1596, under Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich, a fortress was built on the south boundary of the Russian State. The Russian army chiefs Princes Michael Nosdrevaty and Andrew Volkonsky founded the fortress «whitetown». It was of great strategic importance as it repulsed the attacks of the nomads. The people of Whitetown were occupied with fishing and hunting.

After the Polish and Lithuanian invasion, which took place at the beginning of the 17^th century, Belgorod was destroyed and all its wooden buildings were burnt.

In 1626 the new fortress of Belgorod was built on the left bank of the Seversky Donets, opposite the old site. It should be noted that the new site of the fortress was rather inconvenient: it was low and swampy. In spring the floods did great damage to the wooden buildings, which became rotten.

During the reign of tsar Michael Romanov the noblemen N.T. Odoevsky and V.P. Sheremetjev were sent to find a new site for the fortress of Belgorod. The building of the new fortress on the right bank of the river began in 1650. It was situated between the rivers – the Seversky Donets and the Vselitsa. Belgorod had been built by 1651 under the supervision of the army chief Prince B.A. Repnin.

Gradually Belgorod grew stronger and stronger and in 1727 became the chief administrative center of the region comprising the Belgorod, the Oryol, and the Kursk provinces. Belgorod has changed its status several times in the course of centuries. In 1954 Belgorod became the center of the Belgorod region, separate from Kursk region.

A new page in the history of Belgorod was opened with the revolutionary movement spreading in Russia. The Civil War was a hard period in the life of the Belgorod district.

On June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War broke out. The fascist invaders came twice to occupy Belgorod in the course of three years. For the first time Belgorod was occupied on October 25, 1941, after a heavy battle at the village of Streletskoye in which the Red Army was defeated. In 1943 fascists returned to Belgorod. The victory in the battle of Kursk Bulge was of the great importance as it was a turning point in the Great Patriotic War.

On August 5, 1943, Moscow fired a salute in honour of the liberation of Belgorod and Oryol for the first time during the war years. The Kursk Bulge Diorama Museum was opened in the center of Belgorod on August 3, 1987 to commemorate the battle of Kursk Bulge.

Nowadays Belgorod is one of the administrative, industrial and cultural centers of the Russian Federation, in the South of the Black Earth Zone. Since 1954 it has been a regional center of the Belgorod region. So there are some museums, educational buildings, plants, factories, libraries and entertaining centers.

There is Land Study museum, which covers the history of the city from ancient times till present. The Art Museum has much to offer to residents and tourists. It shows different pictures and a great deal of wooden toys made by our regional skilled craftsmen. Museum of Folk Culture tells about history of folk in our region. It presents the way of life in previous centuries, national dress, folk songs and local social history.

There are several parks in Belgorod. The biggest one is the Central park. It offers various attractions. There are several summer cafes. The town library is situated next to the Central park.

You can see many students in Belgorod. They study at Belgorod State University; Belgorod Shukhov State Technology University; Belgorod University of Cooperation, Economics and Law; Belgorod State Agricultural Academy; Belgorod State Institute of Culture and Arts and Belgorod Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia; and also at the branch of Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics and the branch of Modern University for the Humanities.

Belgorod is an industrial town. There are many factories and plants in it. They are the Belgorod Engineering Plant, a sugar refinery, a cannery, a creamery, cement works, a brickfield and many others.

Belgorod is a beautiful town. In the center of it you can see Sobornaya Square, which was laid out in 1956. On one side of the square you can see the Belgorod State Academic Drama Theatre named after M. Shepkin. On the other side of it you can see the monument to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War with the Eternal Flame. The House of the Belgorod Regional Administration is opposite the theatre.

The town is still developing. There are a lot of new buildings there including banks, trade centers and churches. The people of Belgorod are proud of the town they live in.