RU-448947 179 - ая открытка

Country: Russia

Distance: 1,623 km

Travel time:  46 days

On postcard: Cheboksary

Cheboksary (Russian: Чебокса́ры; Chuvash: Шупашкар, Šupaškar/Shupashkar) is a city and the capital of the Chuvash Republic,Russia. It is a port on the Volga River. Population: 453,600 (2010 Census preliminary results); 440,621 (2002 Census); 419,592 (1989 Census).

Cheboksary was first mentioned in written sources in 1469, when Russian soldiers passed here on their way to the Khanate of Kazan. According to archaeological excavations, however, the area had been populated considerably earlier. The site hosted a Bulgarian city ofVeda Suvar, which appeared after Mongols defeated major Volga Bulgarian cities in 13th century. During Khanate period the town had a Turkic (probably, Tatar) name Çabaqsar and that the current Russian and English names originate from it. However, in maps by European travelers it was marked as Cibocar (Pizzigano, 1367), Veda-Suar (Fra Mauro, 1459). Shupashkar, the Chuvash name literally means the "fortress" of the Chuvash.

In 1555, the Russians built a fortress and established a settlement here. In 1625, there were 458 soldiers quartered in Cheboksary, and in 1646 there were 661 males living in the settlement. At the end of the 17th century, Cheboksary was regarded as a major commercial city of the Volga region, and in 1781 it received the status of a city of the Kazan province. In the beginning of the 19th century the population was about 5500, the town had a sawmill and several small manufactures.

Cheboksary also was noted for its 25 churches and four monasteries, and Cheboksary bells were known in London and Paris.

In the 16th and the first half of the 17th century the Vvedensky cathedral, four monasteries and eighth churches had been built, in the 18th century the stone buildings of treasury and archive, magistracy, court, and 10 churches. In 1880 here were counted 783 houses (33 of them from stone), 91 stores, three schools, two hospitals and a bank.

In the beginning of the 20th century, 5,100 people lived in Cheboksary. In 1965, the population was 163,000.

ike many Russian cities, Cheboksary possesses many cultural opportunities. There is an opera-ballet theater, a philharmonicorchestra, and numerous theaters (showing productions in both Russian and Chuvash languages). However, a very popular gathering place for the locals is the recently completed zaliv (bay), beautifully situated in the middle of the city. There people gather to stroll, visit cafes, and socialize. Cheboksary also has beautiful boardwalks and beaches along the Volga River, where people swim in the summer. There are also a number of heated pools, health clubs, and museums (including Russia's only beer museum).