How old is Barnaul? The question remains open

Every year at the end of August or the beginning of September, residents of Barnaul celebrate the day of their glorious city, however, celebrating another anniversary, many of them are not quite sure how many years Barnaul is actually performed. The fact is that the story is silent about the date of the foundation of this city, but the official date is 1730.

Factory Akinfiya Demidova

According to historians, the beginning of Barnaul was laid by Akinfiy Demidov, the builder of the copper smelter on the land leased from the state. In 1730 on the banks of the rivers Barnaulka and Ob, two hundred souls of the registered peasants, transferred by Demidov to the Altai, appeared. The mission of these peasants was the laying of factories. This serious event could well serve as a starting point in the search for an answer to the question of how many years Barnaul.

However, the construction of the plant itself began on September 29, 1739. And some researchers believe that this date is the beginning of the foundation of Barnaul, especially since it has the first written mention of the city of Barnaul, and then this year was generally rich in creative events, namely: The construction of a dam and the laying of a diversion canal. That's why between the townspeople on City Day there are often disputes about how old Barnaul is.

During the period of the stormy activity of Demidov, it was planned to build a wooden fortress with a fortress, so that the copper-silver smelter was safe. But for objective reasons the construction did not take place. Enterprising merchant Demidov, along with good undertakings could not resist the temptation to smelly cloak gold and silver. And because all the secret becomes clear, everything became known in Petersburg.

Development of the mining city

1749 was marked by the transfer of the Chancellery of the mountainous district to the Barnaul Plant from Kolyvan. The plant becomes the property of the imperial family with all the ensuing consequences. Production is increasing, the staff of the plant is replenished by mining engineers and officers who came from the Urals. Among them was Ivan Polzunov, whose inventive talent served the country with dignity. In 1766, it was here, in the Altai remote place, that his steam engine was tested.

And five years later, in 1771, Barnaul deservedly is given the status of a mountain town. This date also gives rise to the question of how many years of Mr. Barnaul.

Having received a powerful impetus to development, Barnaul began to grow qualitatively and quantitatively: in 1764 a technical library appeared, in 1779 a mountain school was opened, the population grew, the quarters were built up, the architecture of which greatly influenced Petersburg. By the middle of the 19th century the city became a significant cultural and scientific and technical center for Siberia.

Shopping center

By the end of the 19th century, ore reserves were depleted, serfdom remained in the past, the plant management failed to cope with these difficulties, and in 1893 the plant ceased to exist. Other industries are developing, and in Barnaul, trade is flourishing, the city is becoming the center of a fairly developed agricultural area. Since 1915 the Altai Railway was put into operation, which further strengthened the economic development of Barnaul. Development in the social sphere was provided by the local merchants, among whom there were many patrons and public figures. Their efforts opened educational institutions (there were 29), a city hospital, churches and a monastery were being built. In the care of the moral health of the townspeople in 1914, the decree of the City Duma closed all brothels.

In 1917, apart from the public upheavals, Barnaul brought a devastating fire on May 2, half the city was burnt out, architecture was irreparably damaged, people lost their homes and were killed.

In the Land of Soviets

The cataclysms of the revolution and the Civil War Barnaul experienced, like other Siberian cities, undergoing one power, then another. Only on December 11, 1919, with the arrival of the Red Army, the power of the Soviets was finally established in the city.

In the new conditions, Barnaul developed, like all Soviet cities, in the context of the electrification and industrialization of the entire country. In 1923, the Barnaul Power Plant was launched, in 1925 - radio. In 1929 the first buses appeared in Barnaul, in 1931 it was marked by air communication with Novosibirsk and other nearby cities. The founding of a large melange mill was held in 1932. But in a dashing year of 1937 Barnaul received the status of an administrative center of the Altai Territory. And if we consider Barnaul solely as the capital of the region, then the question of how many years Barnaul is here is also appropriate.

When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Barnaul, like all other trans-Urals cities, had to forge a victory in the rear. After the war, many industrial enterprises were put into operation here.

After the collapse of the USSR

The Soviet Union remained in the historical past, the "dashing nineties" came, Barnaul, like all industrial cities in the country, suffered from new trends. Above the large plants and mills there was a threat of bankruptcy, and Barnaul, the former industrial center, had to set foot on another economic path. For the city came the era of trade, construction, prosperity of the service sector. Outwardly it is changing: stalls, offices, elite housing in the center, devastation in the outskirts.

In the early 2000s, the city gradually, synchronously with the country, Barnaul is selected from the economic crisis. Thanks to investors the industry revived, private business flourished, the facades of buildings in the city center were reconstructed.

And nowadays Barnaul has again become an industrial, scientific, cultural and educational center. The city has adequately passed the difficult path of its development. How many years Barnaul is performed this year - 286, 277 or 245? Is it important whether he is older or younger by nine years or by forty-one years? Today, in 2016, he is handsome, full of hopes, populated by intelligent and hardworking people. Does it really matter how many years Barnaul is performed?