Barnaul is a historical city on the Ob, the
capital of the Altai Territory. It is more modest than neighboring
Novosibirsk, which complements in many ways: there is no feeling of
a metropolis, but there are wonderful views from the high bank of
the Ob and a variety of old architecture, up to buildings of the
18th century that are rare in Siberia. Barnaul is also a gate to the
south, where the roads diverge in the direction of the Altai
Mountains and Kazakhstan.
Almost all the cities of southern
Siberia were founded as guard fortresses, and only Barnaul grew up
around the plant. As early as the beginning of the 18th century,
copper and silver ores were found in the foothills of Altai, for the
development of which the Ural industrialist Akinfiy Demidov built a
plant in Kolyvan, not far from the current Kazakh border. However,
there was a steppe there, and there was not enough forest, which at
that time served as the main fuel for metallurgy, therefore, in
1739, 300 km to the north, at the junction of the tape forest and
the Ob, a new plant was laid, which soon became the county town of
Barnaul. In one of the local dialects, the name meant either “muddy
river” (which indeed remains the Barnaulka river flowing into the
Ob), or “wolf river” after the wolves that once lived in the tape
forest.
By the end of the 18th century, Barnaul had an
advanced production facility that smelted up to 90% of Russian
silver. A mining school appeared here, then a museum - objects in
Siberia that had never been seen before, the first beyond the Urals.
At the local museum, you will be shown fragments of a railway built
to deliver ore, and will tell you about Ivan Polzunov, who in 1763
invented a prototype of a steam engine, although the plant
administration did not appreciate the full potential of this device,
and Polzunov himself died before the machine was put into motion. As
a result, it remained only in the memories of Barnaul residents, and
James Watt entered the history of engineering thought, who achieved
similar success a little later, but thereby arranged a whole
industrial revolution.
This revolution bypassed Barnaul, and
although the city was the center of the Altai mining district - an
independent administrative unit that controlled factories on a vast
territory from the Yenisei to the Irtysh, by the middle of the 19th
century it remained without its own production, becoming from an
industrial trade and transport, which was also facilitated by the
location on the Ob. The Trans-Siberian crossed the river to the
north, giving rise to Novosibirsk, but a railway soon appeared in
Barnaul - Turksib, connecting Siberia with Central Asia. All this
predetermined the rapid development of the city in the
pre-revolutionary and Soviet times. In 1937, it became the center of
a vast region that united the current Altai Territory and the Altai
Republic. Now it is far from being a millionaire, but the city is
even larger than the thoroughly industrial Kemerovo and
Novokuznetsk. There is also industry in Barnaul - first of all,
mechanical engineering - although it is not as noticeable to the eye
here as, say, in Novosibirsk.
With such a “multi-stage”
history, it is not surprising that the development of Barnaul is
very diverse: there are buildings of the late 18th century (a huge
rarity for Siberia), pre-revolutionary modern (including wooden) and
good Soviet architecture, especially of the post-war period, as well
as a huge layer of high-rise post-Soviet buildings that form the
skyline and confidently dominate any panorama. At the same time,
there are no masterpieces, and the fire of 1917 destroyed almost
half of the old city, but in general, Barnaul is the place where you
can spend the day with interest and go further with a sense of
accomplishment, which, in fact, all travelers do, then heading to
Kuzbass, Kazakhstan or conquer the Altai Mountains.
Although
Barnaul is infinitely far from Tomsk or Irkutsk in terms of quantity
and quality of old architecture, it develops and nurtures its
tourist potential in every possible way. Created in 2015, the
cluster “Barnaul – Mining City” caused a flurry of criticism, but at
the same time allowed to reconstruct, and even modernize some parts
of the historical center, giving them a neat, cozy look. Outside the
city center, the city also looks quite well-groomed, it is pleasant
to walk around it.
Barnaul stands on the left bank of the Ob, and on its
right bank there is emptiness - swamps and lowlands. The center is quite
large, it stretches from the river to the railway, with the old part
closer to the river, and the Soviet one closer to the station. The main
thoroughfare is Lenina Avenue, parallel to which is the much less
picturesque Krasnoarmeisky Avenue: both are oriented roughly from north
to south, connecting the Soviet part of the center with the historical
one. There are about two dozen small streets perpendicular to the
avenues, the most interesting of which are Polzunova, Lev Tolstoy,
Anatolia and International.
The city goes to the Ob, but in a
somewhat peculiar way - a high and narrow ridge separating the Ob proper
from the Barnaulka flowing into it. Upland Park is equipped here, a
great place for walking.
By plane
Several flights from Moscow are all night
flights, and they fly back early in the morning. In other directions
(St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk), aircraft fly no
more than 2-3 times a week; international flights are reduced to resort
charters. Much more choice in neighboring Novosibirsk; at the same time,
there are direct buses to Barnaul and regular transfers from Tolmachevo
airport.
1 Airport them. German Titov (IATA:BAX). There is only
one food outlet in the terminal - pancake "Skovorodovna", which is open
during flight departure hours, that is, usually only in the first half
of the day. Nearby is an airport hotel with moderate prices (2200 ₽ per
room) and a 24-hour cafe.
How to get there: the airport is located 20
km west of the city, you can get there by bus number 110 or minibus
number 144. Both run at intervals of 10-15 minutes, go along Lenin
Avenue, and the 110th bus also past the station; drive to the center
takes about an hour.
By train
Barnaul stands aside from the
main course of the Trans-Siberian Railway, so there are few trains
coming from Moscow itself: a direct Moscow-Barnaul and one of the two
Abakan, both run every other day. At the same time, suburban
communication is quite developed, 2-3 times a day you can go to Biysk,
Rubtsovsk and some other cities of the Altai Territory.
Plans to
launch Lastochka to Novosibirsk will still not come to fruition, and so
far interregional communication has been arranged through “agreed
commuter trains”: they go to Novosibirsk via Cherepanovo (twice a day,
4-6 hours), and to Novokuznetsk via Artyshta-2 station (once a day, 8
hours). Long-distance trains to Novosibirsk also run, but not every day.
It takes 12-18 hours to reach Omsk, on average two trains a day.
Trains to Kazakhstan should run with approximately the same regularity
if they are restored after the pandemic.
2 Railway station, pl.
Victory. The building of the late 1950s looks ordinary from the outside,
but inside it is decorated in the best traditions of the Stalinist style
with marble columns and luxurious lamps. The station has a
round-the-clock cafe "Autumn" in the dining room format, a large Altai
souvenir shop and a very expensive automatic locker. Dirty eateries
cluster on the forecourt around the nearby bus station; look for
civilized establishments within a 5-minute walk, at the beginning of
Socialist and Krasnoarmeisky avenues, where there are pancakes, a coffee
shop, and the Grillnitsa open until late. Don't miss the old train
station either, a good monument of pre-revolutionary architecture.
How to get there: the nearest public transport stops are the Bus Station
and Victory Square. It is more convenient to use the second one, located
on the other side of the park with a military memorial, since from this
stop you can immediately choose the direction: straight along
Krasnoarmeisky Prospekt - to the historical center, and to the left
along Stroiteley Prospekt - to the Soviet center to the house under the
spire.
By bus
Most flights in the Altai Territory. Buses to
Novosibirsk run every hour on average, travel time to the center of
Novosibirsk (river station, railway station): 4.5 hours. In other
interregional directions, buses run rarely, usually 2-3 times a day; 8
hours to Kemerovo, 7 hours to Novokuznetsk, 10 hours to Tomsk. Flights
to Kazakhstan to Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semey have been temporarily
canceled due to the pandemic.
3 Bus station (next to the railway
station). ☎ +7 (3852) 61-79-79. 6:00–21:50. An uncomfortable Soviet
building that has changed little since its construction. There are
several eateries inside, the most decent of which is located to the
right of the entrance and offers canteen-style food, as well as pancakes
and dumplings. Luggage storage: 70 ₽ per day. Outside, the bus station
is surrounded by stalls with shawarma and other unpleasant
establishments.
By car
Near Barnaul passes the highway P256 -
Chuisky tract, leading north to Novosibirsk (240 km), and south to the
Altai Republic and further to Mongolia. The A322 highway goes to the
south-west to Rubtsovsk (290 km), Semey (450 km) and then deep into
Kazakhstan. If you drive 80 km in the direction of Novosibirsk, in the
Talmenka area, the Altai-Kuzbass road, the main route to the Kemerovo
region, will depart to the right.
There are two bridges across
the Ob in the city; it is better to focus on the new one - located
closer to the center, since the old one is in a state of chronic repair.
On the ship
There has been no long-distance communication along
the Ob for a long time. From May to September there are occasional
commuter flights and more regular pleasure flights within the city.
Up-to-date information on the city transport website.
4 Pier.
Wikidata element ☎ +7 (3852) 50-53-86, +7 (962) 790-36-17. Cash pavilion
on the embankment near the new bridge. The building of the river station
standing next to it was determined for demolition and closed. Inside it,
a unique panel in the style of Florentine mosaic, made by the craftsmen
of the Kolyvan factory, has been preserved, but, unfortunately, it is
impossible to see this panel from the street.
Barnaul has an extensive tram network with 9 routes,
but only four of them enter the center. Mostly the old Tatras operate on
the lines, comfortably rumbling along the streets with low-rise
buildings (routes No. 4 and 5). The interval of movement is 7-15
minutes, work schedule: from 6 am to 21-21:30. Buses, minibuses and a
few trolleybuses (3 routes) continue to run until about 22:30.
There is a clear division in the center: trolleybuses run along Lenina
Prospekt, and trams run along Krasnoarmeisky Prospekt, moreover, with
symmetrical numbers. For trips between the station area and the
historical center, trams No. 1 and 7 (from the station to Demidovskaya
Square) or trolleybuses No. 1 and 7 (from the house with a spire to the
Old Bazaar) are best suited. There are more bus routes than you can
remember, but it is convenient that almost all of them follow one or
another avenue without turning anywhere.
Up-to-date information
on routes and timetables is presented on the semi-official local
website. There is also a real-time display of transport, which,
apparently, is more accurate than the Yandex transport service, which
shows complete nonsense as of 2021.
Ticket: 23 ₽, in minibuses 25
₽ (2021); payment to the conductor in cash or with a contactless bank
card. There are transport cards that work in the mode of travel cards or
an electronic wallet, which gives a discount of 2-2.5 ₽ for each trip.
You can buy a transport card at Rospechat kiosks and the like, and top
up at Sberbank ATMs.
Taxi: along with all-Russian aggregators,
there is a local taxi service "City" with the possibility of ordering
online or by phone, +7 (3852) 333-000. A trip around the center should
cost 100-150 ₽ (2021).
The oldest buildings of Barnaul are located at the
intersection of Krasnoarmeisky Prospekt and Polzunov Street. All of them
are connected with the metallurgical plant, which occupied a block to
the southeast of the square. At first, the plant produced copper, but in
the second half of the 18th century it was completely reoriented to the
smelting of silver. It was knocked down, like many Ural factories, by a
technological lag paired with the abolition of serfdom, so that even
silver smelting here became unprofitable. With metallurgy finally tied
up in 1893, then there was a sawmill, and after the war - a match
factory, which closed in the 1990s. Now the territory is surrounded by a
fence, in which you can find holes, although there seems to be no need:
the stone buildings of the early 19th century have undergone many
reconstructions and look historical only from some angles.
1 Demidov
Pillar. One of the oldest monuments in Siberia is a granite obelisk,
erected in 1831-44. in honor of the 100th anniversary of mining in
Altai. The name "Demidov Pillar" is partly folk and goes back to the
bas-relief that adorned the obelisk with a portrait of Akinfiy Demidov,
through whose efforts the first factories in Altai were built, although
the Demidovs left the Barnaul market relatively early: already in 1747,
the Altai factories were transferred to the treasury, since they left
the smelting of silver in private hands the government was unwilling.
The factory square ensemble was formed in the 1820s and 30s and has
nothing to do with the Demidovs. Its ideological inspirer was the then
head of the mining district Pyotr Frolov, and the implementation was
undertaken by the local architect Yakov Popov, who studied under Karl
Rossi himself and brought metropolitan architecture to Altai. The
Demidov Pillar reproduces the Rumyantsev obelisk from Vasilyevsky
Island, while the yellow buildings with porticos standing on both sides
of the square are pure St. Petersburg classicism: a mountain hospital
(now one of the buildings of the Agrarian University) and an almshouse
building, where a supermarket is now located.
2 Office of the
Kolyvano-Voskresensky plant (Polzunov's house) , st. Polzunova, 41. The
oldest building in the city was built 30 years earlier, in the 1790s,
when there were no standard projects yet, and capital architecture was
not known in Barnaul. Quite an ordinary two-story stone mansion is
crowned with no less than an octagonal tower - this is the "creativity"
of the local architect Andrey Molchanov. He is also considered the
author of the neighboring building of the tool shop (house 39) and the
mountain pharmacy opposite (house 42): both are basically the end of the
18th century, but were rebuilt in the middle of the 19th. May 2021 edit
On the same Polzunov Street, don't miss two more interesting buildings -
a mining laboratory (1844-1851, now the local history museum) in the
spirit of classicism, and a people's house (1898-1900, now the
Philharmonic).
3 Church of St. Dmitry of Rostov , pl. Spartak,
10 (behind the building of the almshouse). Another example of
metropolitan architecture is the rotunda church built in 1840. In Soviet
times, it was mutilated with extensions, but in the mid-2000s it was
restored, although the extensions were not removed, so the church is no
longer perceived as a rotunda, and it has become absolutely impossible
to identify a monument of classicism in it. If you look at the church
from above, its shape suspiciously resembles a crescent with a dome in
the middle. edit
The historical part of Barnaul was badly damaged in
the fire of 1917, but it has its own charm - these are wooden houses and
especially monuments of wooden Art Nouveau, many of which had a hand in
Ivan Nosovich, who was the main Barnaul architect before and immediately
after the revolution. The old buildings are not distributed evenly in
the center: you need to look for them in the area of Polzunov and Lev
Tolstoy streets, as well as to the north - along Anatolia and
Internatsionalnaya streets.
4 House of Lesnevsky , st.
Polzunova, 56. The wooden mansion closest to Demidovskaya Square was
built in 1907 for a deputy of the city duma, later the mayor Alexander
Lesnevsky. The asymmetrical facade is decorated with very beautiful and
authentic carvings, but the roof has changed: before it was checkered,
as if in illustrations for children's fairy tales.
5 House of
Merchants Shadrins, Krasnoarmeisky Ave., 8. The most striking monument
of Barnaul Art Nouveau is a merchant's wooden mansion, which would not
have been lost in Tomsk, although it is not a fact that a strict
qualification would have passed there: after the fire of 1976, the
building was largely rebuilt , and since 2017 it has been restored again
(supposedly in order to return it to its original appearance); given the
change of ownership, it is completely unclear when this restoration will
finally be completed.
6 Profitable house Averina, st. Gogol, 76.
Pre-revolutionary "skyscraper" - a four-story apartment building, built
in 1915 by merchant Nikolai Averin, one of the main contractors of the
Altai Railway. For Barnaul, the building is unusual both in size and
style: the rusticated (unhewn) stone on the facade and the painted
firewall give off something St. Petersburg.
7 Kruger Pharmacy, st.
Pushkina, 64. A two-story house with a rich, downright baroque carved
decor was built at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. and at that time
it was the second pharmacy in the city after the historic mountain
pharmacy on the nearby Polzunov Street. Since 2014, it has been in a
state of sluggish restoration and therefore does not look quite
presentable. In good condition, there is only a memorial plaque
announcing that in 1929 the local radio broadcasting center for the
first time in Altai "transmitted newspapers from Moscow without paper
and without distances."
8 Nosovich House and House of
Architect Wikidata element, st. Anatolia, 106. Two beautiful wooden
houses that have never stood side by side. The house with a turret
overlooking the street (1908) was once the own house of the architect
Nosovich and was located on Chernyshevsky Street a few blocks to the
north. When in the 1980s this area began to be cleared for new
development, they simply wanted to demolish the house, but a group of
local artists and informals settled in it, declaring a hunger strike,
and ensured that the house was moved, although, more correctly, they
were built in a new place based on old. House 106a, located in the back
of the block, has stood here, on the contrary, from the very beginning.
It is now known as the house of an architect, which is even written on
its facade, but it never belonged to any architect - it was the house of
a provincial doctor, later occupied by the local branch of the Union of
Architects, which arranged the reconstruction, which led to the
appearance of an inscription on the facade and many modern elements that
were previously missing. Other houses along Anatolia Street are simpler,
but more authentic: they have not been moved or rebuilt.
9 Gymnasium Budkevich, Krasnoarmeisky pr. 14 (corner of Korolenko st.).
A house that went into the ground, and it was built on. The original
building of 1905 had a stone first floor and above it a second wooden
one, above which there was another third floor, but only along the
edges. In 1912, when the women's gymnasium located here began to run out
of space, the third floor was completed in its entirety, adding lancet
windows and enhancing the Gothic hue, which was not provided for by the
project. Now the ground floor is almost completely underground, and the
house seems to be completely wooden. It is occupied by the craft artel
"City of Masters", leading a leisurely restoration, including the
interior.
10 Intercession Cathedral, st. Nikitina, 137. A
single-domed church in the Russian-Byzantine style is lost even behind
two-story houses, and, of course, there has never been a cathedral. It
was built in 1898-1904. on the outskirts of the poor, which remained so,
and the cathedral status arose quite by accident, when in 1944 this
particular church was returned to believers, allowing it to be opened
for worship. Inside, there are some pretty pretty murals, allegedly
preserved from the 1920s, when they were secretly made by some local
artist.
11 Znamenskaya Church, st. Bolshaya Olonskaya, 24. The
central temple of the city was built in 1853-58. and restored almost
from scratch in the 2000s, which is clearly seen from the not quite
natural shape of its domes. Unlike the previous one, this temple is
visible from almost everywhere and dominates the low-rise buildings of
the old center.
12 Nagorny Park, a hill near the New Bridge (the
beginning of Socialist Avenue, you can also climb from the bridge from
the embankment). The most beautiful place in the city is a high hill,
which offers panoramic views of the Ob and the historical center. For a
long time there was a cemetery with a small church of John the Baptist
(1857, restored in 2014-2017). Then the cemetery was abandoned, leaving
only a few especially important graves, supplemented by a modest
monument to the fighters for the power of the Soviets, and in the 2010s,
a city park was laid out on a hill, which became a great place for
walking. If you have little time, just climb the hill and look at the
city from above: you won't see the details, but the impression of
visiting Barnaul will certainly remain.
You can get to know many Siberian cities just by
walking along their main street from end to end, and Barnaul is no
exception. The local Lenina Avenue begins near the New Bridge and the
former River Station, after which it passes through the quarters of
pre-revolutionary and early Soviet buildings, gradually rising from the
river to the railway, so that after 2.5 km it turns out to be in the
station area, built up after the war. Along the way, there will be
curious examples of modern, post-Soviet architecture, as well as
important city objects: for example, the buildings of the regional
administration and two local universities - Altai State and Technical.
13 Administrative building "Sail", pl. Bavarina, 2. There are quite
a lot of buildings of the XXI century in Barnaul, and this is perhaps
the most interesting of them. The building of 2006 really looks like a
sail, but stands, of course, on the banks of the Ob.
14 Building of
the City Duma, Lenin Ave., 4-6. One of the most beautiful
pre-revolutionary buildings in Barnaul is the work of the architect Ivan
Nosovich, who came up with the idea of combining trade and
administrative functions in a single complex with neo-Gothic facades and
an expressive tower (1914-16). The Duma occupied only the second floor,
shops were located on the first.
15 Kolyvan vase, Lenin Ave.
(opposite house 10). Stone-cutting craft is one of the oldest in Altai.
Kolyvan makes excellent stone products, including vases, the best of
which are shown right in the Hermitage, but Barnaul also got a couple of
pieces. The vases are on display in the squares along Lenin Avenue; one
at the coordinates indicated here, and the second - a little further, in
the square at the intersection with Korolenko street. Both vases are
relatively small and relatively new, made in the 1980s. May 2021 edit
16 The building of the theological school, 17 Lenin Ave. Not the most
common example of the neo-baroque style for the Soviet era, which
developed in the mid-1920s. during the reconstruction of a
pre-revolutionary building built in 1869. Massive domes in the corners
imitate turrets, one of which was the bell tower of the house church
before the reconstruction.
17 The house of the head of the Altai
Mining District, 18 Lenin Ave. Another example of an unusual Soviet
reconstruction: the classic 1827 mansion designed by Yakov Popov was
finalized in the mid-1920s, placing the coats of arms of the RSFSR and a
large expressive bas-relief with a peasant and a worker on the facade.
It happened, however, that they were also built from scratch: for
example, an administrative building in the spirit of constructivism
(house 8, 1927-28) and the monumental Altai Hotel (house 24, 1938-41),
located nearby.
18 House of Yakovlev and Polyakov, st. Korolenko, 50
(behind the Dynamo stadium, corner of Gorky street). One of the best
examples of stone modernism in the city is a large two-story building
built in 1913 for the S.Ya. Yakovlev and A.I. Polyakov", who at that
time owned many Barnaul stores. A detective story is connected with the
same names, when just a year after the construction of such a luxurious
building, the partnership went bankrupt: either it was a machination of
the owners themselves, or the intrigues of competitors - merchants
Vtorovs, who at that time were monopolists of Siberian trade. edit
19 House "Three Bogatyrs" (House under Domes), Lenin Ave., 31
(corner of Partizanskaya Street). A large “pot-bellied” house built in
2000 would be more correct to call “Three Fat Men” - its forms are very
inelegant, although the author cannot be denied the claim to
originality. At the same crossroads, don't miss two pre-war residential
buildings, decorated with large-scale mosaic panels. The composition
"Sky of the Motherland" (1976) with cranes and the sun (house 35) is
dedicated to the military aviation school located across the road, and
on the even side (house 30) there is an epic mosaic "Revolution" (1983),
where a Red Army soldier on a horse, like St. George the Victorious
kills the serpent, the hydra of the counter-revolution.
20 Nikolskaya
Church, 36 Lenin Ave. A typical garrison church of the early 20th
century (1904-06) adjoins the territory of the former barracks of the
Barnaul Regiment, which later housed a military aviation school, and now
houses the Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In Soviet
times, the church was used as a club, now renovated; The ceiling is
painted anew and quite beautifully. However, it is not the church itself
that is of more interest, but the complex of those same
pre-revolutionary barracks that occupy almost the entire block between
Partizanskaya and Chkalov streets. The barracks are perfectly visible
from the street through the fence, the passage to the territory itself
is closed.
21 Monument to I.I. Polzunov, Lenin Ave., 46 (in front of
the AltSTU - Technical University). If the drawings of the steam engine
of the legendary inventor Ivan Polzunov (1728-1766) are easy to find in
the archives, then there are no portraits of him himself, so the figure
in a wig on the monument of 1980 frankly resembles Mikhail Lomonosov,
who lived at the same time. On the pedestal is the inscription "To
facilitate the work for us to come."
The part of Lenin Avenue far from the Ob and the areas
adjacent to the station were built up after the war. There are similar
quarters in every major Siberian city, and it cannot be said that the
Barnaul steel is better than any other, but here the asymmetry of the
layout immediately attracts attention. As in Novokuznetsk, this is a
reminder of the project of a garden city, proposed before the revolution
by the architect Nosovich and not really implemented: only the
characteristic rays of the streets radiating from the forecourt Victory
Square and the October Square adjacent to it remained.
22 House
under the spire, 82 Lenin Ave. (October Square). One of the symbols of
the city - perhaps for lack of the best. The house was built in
1953-1956. according to an atypical project created by Moscow architect
Yakov Doditsa, although many design elements here are rather St.
Petersburg, as is customary in Barnaul: a 15-meter spire topped with a
weather vane, more reminiscent of a sail, is especially characteristic.
23 Monument to settlers in the Altai (composition "The Sower"), pl.
October. The modern monument (2012) with a peasant, a girl and a solar
circle reminds us of the settlers from the time of the Stolypin reforms,
who traveled to Altai for fertile lands. The author of the monument,
Moscow sculptor Oleg Zakomorny, pathetically calls his work “To His
Majesty the Peasant,” who “sows the reasonable, the good, the eternal.”
Many local residents, meanwhile, demand that this work be removed and
the good old Lenin, who stood here in Soviet times, be returned.
24 House with a clock, 22 Stroiteley Ave. (Victory Square). A typical
post-war house is crowned with a clock tower, added in 1975 and not
included in the original design. Perhaps that is why Barnaul residents
advise checking clocks near the house under the spire, and the clock on
the "house with a clock" almost never shows the exact time. Victory
Square itself is occupied by a very impressive military memorial
(1971-1975), the authors of which applied an original solution by
placing bowls with eternal fire around the perimeter of the complex.
When the fire burns (and this is far from always the case), the memorial
begins to resemble a pagan temple.
25 Old railway station, pl.
Victory. The Altai railway from Novosibirsk to Barnaul was launched in
1916 as a forerunner of Turksib, which continued to be built under
Soviet rule. On the section to Barnaul, traces of high pre-revolutionary
architecture are still preserved, the crown of which was the old Barnaul
railway station - one of the best modern monuments in the city. It is
currently unused and closed.
It is also worth taking a walk to
Sakharov Square at the intersection of Molodezhnaya Street and Socialist
Avenue. The drama theater located here is perhaps the best
representative of the 1970s architecture in the city, and right on it
and in the park nearby you can see curious sculptures, mosaics and other
monumental compositions in the spirit of Soviet modernism.
26
Monument "Tselinnik", st. Anton Petrov, 210. Virgin lands were raised
not only in Kazakhstan: the Altai Territory became the breadbasket of
Siberia precisely in the 1950s. The monument to the virgin lands in the
city is genuine - in the sense that it was made according to a model
submitted for an all-Union competition back in the late 1950s, but lying
in the archives until 1985, when it was finally brought to life.
Officially, the monument is called "The Master of the Virgin Lands", but
among the people it is better known as "The Man in the Jacket" or
"Batman".
27 Church of the Intercession, st. George Isakov, 154.
Modern church (2005-2011) with allusions to traditional Russian
architecture.
28 Church of the Infant Martyrs of Bethlehem, st.
Shumakova, 25a. Modern Church (2008), decorated with a smalt mosaic
belt.
1 Local History Museum , st. Polzunova, 46. Wed–Sun
9:30–17:30, Thu 11:00–19:00, days off: Mon and Tue. For free. One of the
oldest museums in Siberia was opened in 1823 on the initiative of Pyotr
Frolov and since 1915 has occupied the building of a former mining
laboratory near Demidovskaya Square. The collection has a lot of rare
and interesting things up to the model of the Zmeinogorsky mine or the
reconstruction of Polzunov’s steam engine, but, unfortunately, since
2021, the main building, and with it this entire wonderful collection,
have been closed for a long-term reconstruction. A temporary, small and
generally unpresentable exposition is exhibited at 28 Krasnoarmeisky
Ave. May 2021 edit
2 Art Museum, st. Maksim Gorkogo, 16
(temporary address, in connection with the reconstruction of the main
building at Lenin Ave., 88). 10:00–18:00, Thu 11:00–19:00, closed Sun
and Mon (summer), Mon and Tue (other times). 30 ₽. An ordinary
second-row Russian art museum is interesting not so much because of what
you will see in other cities, but because of the collection of Altai
artists, primarily mountain landscapes by Grigory Gurkin, the first
professional Altaian artist and follower of all sorts of exotic
religious movements. True, during the reconstruction of the museum (and
it has been going on since 2012, the opening is regularly postponed and,
according to the latest data, is expected in 2022), all this is
inaccessible and the museum operates in the building on Maxim Gorky
Street in an exhibition mode, presenting more than two dozen exhibitions
a year. Find out about the current exhibition on the museum's website.
3 Military History Department of the Museum of Local Lore, Komsomolsky
Ave., 73-b. The museum of patriotic orientation is dedicated to the
events of the Great Patriotic War and the war in Afghanistan. It is
located in the old building of the city hospital (1907), but in
connection with the same reconstruction, it moved to the street.
Polzunova, 39.
4 Museum of Culture of Altai (GMILIKA) , st. Lev
Tolstoy, 2. 10:00–18:00, Thu 11:00–19:00, closed Sun and Mon (summer),
Mon and Tue (other times). 40 ₽. This museum spun off from local history
and tells about the region in a "cultural context": from the work of
Shukshin and Roerich to the history of Orthodoxy in Altai.
5 Museum
"City", st. Leo Tolstoy, 24 (beginning of Lenin Ave.). 10:00–18:00. 45
₽. A relatively young museum, which was created on the basis of the
local library in the early 2000s, but quickly grew into a full-fledged
collection and received municipal status. A variety of artifacts
associated with Barnaul are collected here - from archaeological finds
to exhibits of the Altayrechflot Museum, which ceased to exist along
with this fleet itself in the 1990s. The museum occupies one of the most
beautiful buildings in the city - the former City Council.
6 Museum
of auto theft, st. Anatolia, 130. 11:00–19:00. 350 ₽. The strange
museum, created under the auspices of the Barnaul Rescue Service,
contains a collection of several retro cars and stories about how local
motorists protected themselves from car thieves with improvised means:
for example, by setting a trap in the garage or leaving a mountain of
fish hooks on the driver's seat. You can learn about all this only with
a guided tour, which, according to the unanimous opinion of visitors, is
not worth the money - especially considering that at the end of the
inspection, for some reason, you will be offered to visit the Pleasure
Planet Museum located in the same building, which is normal sex shop.
7 Planetarium, Emerald Park (east of October Square). 150 ₽ (adult), 100
₽ (children). Not every Russian city has a planetarium. Barnaul is also
quite old, it opened in 1950 in the building of the Exaltation of the
Cross Church, the cemetery around which was turned into a city park. The
main profile of the planetarium is full-dome educational films, although
it also has its own telescope through which the Sun, planets and stars
are observed.
8 Drama Theatre. V.M. Shukshina, st. Molodyozhnaya,
15. The oldest city theater dates back to 1921 and is the leader in
Russia in at least one indicator - the number of productions based on
the works of Shukshin. The building, built in 1972, is an outstanding
monument of Soviet modernism, decorated with socialist realist mosaics,
which for some reason are located on the opposite side from the
entrance, although the most mysterious thing here is the sculpture that
adorns the facade, from afar resembling a worker, a collective farmer
and astronauts circling at their feet. Despite the fact that Barnaul is
practically the birthplace of German Titov, in reality these are not
cosmonauts and not an orbit, but a solar circle and Greek gods guiding
the worker and collective farmer to art. If such a rebus seemed not
enough for you, in the park along Socialist Avenue there is a completely
psychedelic composition “Art Belongs to the People” (1968) from a large
mosaic made in the colors of the Russian flag.
9 Musical Comedy
Theatre, 108 Komsomolsky Ave. Born in Biysk and since 1964 moved to
Barnaul. The main repertoire is rock musicals, operettas and
vaudevilles.
10 Youth Theatre, Kalinina Ave., 2. The former theater
for young spectators occupies the building of the DK melange plant
(1937) - an interesting architectural monument built at the junction of
constructivism and steelism.
11 Puppet theater "Skazka" , st.
Pushkina, 41. A classic puppet theater in a brand new building decorated
in fabulous colors.
12 Cinema "Mir", pl. Victory, 1. The cinema
is adjacent to entertainment venues, the noise from which interferes
with watching movies.
13 Cinema Premiere , st. Krupskaya, 97. A
small cozy cinema at the house of children's creativity; mostly not
novelties are twisted, but classics.
14 Philharmonic, st. Polzunova,
35. Concerts of symphonic music are relatively rare in Barnaul, at most
2-3 times a month, and the rest of the time the Philharmonic Hall is
used for performances by local and visiting groups, so you can hear the
organ, the harp, and the singing of the monastery choir. The
Philharmonic is located in the building of the People's House, built in
1898-1900. in pseudo-Russian style. This is a bright monument, which
occupies a worthy place in the historical center on Polzunov Street,
although it does not really fit into its architectural landscape.
15 Central Park, pl. Freedom. summer: 10:00–21:00,
winter: 10:00–19:00 except Mon. The park is historical in the sense that
it is located on the site of an old pharmacy garden, where medicinal
plants were once grown for the factory hospital. Unfortunately, now
there is no trace of the botanical component - the entire park is filled
with attractions, which, according to someone aptly, "create a feeling
of the Soviet era in the good sense of the word."
16 Zoo "Forest
Fairy Tale", st. Entuziastov, 12 (on the northwestern outskirts, tram
number 7 to the final "Depot number 3"). 10:00–21:00. 250 ₽. The zoo
appeared only in 2010, but there are already 60 species of animals and
almost 250 inhabitants. The zoo also has a rose garden.
17 Arboretum,
Zmeinogorsky Trakt, 49 (tram number 7 to the stop "Sanatorium
Barnaulsky"). 10:00–19:00 (May-October). 150 ₽. The best place for a
walk is the arboretum of the Siberian Horticulture Research Institute.
This is an old and not very well-groomed park, where paths are not
really paved, and there is no question of signs with the names of trees,
but it is calm and quiet here. Good views of the Ob.
18 Tape burr.
The forest in which you cannot get lost is a unique feature of the Altai
Territory, where the steppes are interspersed with even stripes of
trees. Barnaul stands on the edge of one of these tape forests, where
you can go for a walk, for example, from the terminal tram number 7
(Kordon stop).
19 Avalman ski complex (south of the arboretum).
There is a rental of skis, skis, snowboards, sleds.
20 City beach
(behind the New Bridge, bus number 40). The main Barnaul beach is
located on the so-called Pomazkin Island, which has become, in fact,
part of the right bank.
1 Old Bazaar, Malo-Tobolskaya st. 23 (corner of Lenin
Ave.). 9:00–20:00, some establishments open until late. The once chaotic
market has been turned into a modern shopping complex, where on the
second floor they sell various products, especially local Altai, and on
the first floor there are self-service cafes with original food like
Italian ravioli or French crepes. Prices are average, environment is
pleasant.
2 Shopping center "CITY-center", Krasnoarmeisky pr. 47a.
10:00–21:00, Bahetle supermarket: 8:00–23:00. The closest large shopping
center to the historical part of the city with a full range of boutiques
and shops of various profiles - from bookshops to electronics. There is
no food court, but it is successfully replaced by the pancake
"Skovorodovna", and the Tatar "Bakhetle" acts as a grocery supermarket.
3 TC "7th Continent", Lenin Ave., 3 (corner of Polzunov St.).
10:00–20:00, grocery supermarket: 8:00–21:00. Clothing stores,
supplemented by the Pyaterochka supermarket, predominate.
4 "Shishka
Altai" store, 10 Lenin Ave. 10:00–20:00. An interesting souvenir shop,
where behind the assortment of herbal teas, balms and taiga honey
familiar to Altai, there is an original line of goods designed by local
artist Elena Leontyeva in the tradition of old house painting.
The local brewery produces good lemonade, which for
some reason is easier to find in the Altai Republic than in Barnaul
itself. On the contrary, you can buy herbal teas everywhere - herbs are
harvested closer to the mountains, but then they are sold anywhere.
However, herbal tea is rarely brewed in cafes.
Cafes are not
distributed evenly throughout the city. In the historical center, they
cluster in the Old Bazaar area. Then 5-6 blocks, in which there is
almost nothing, and then closer to the station, the choice increases
again.
Cheap
✦ Grill. 150-200 ₽ per serving. Siberian network
that brings fast food to diversity and perfection. There are several
options for shawarma and pizza, as well as chicken wings, salads or, for
example, schnitzel. Grillnitsa establishments are convenient because
they work until late or even around the clock.
1 Lenin Ave., 47.
Around the clock. May 2021 edit
2 Socialist pr. 130 (next to the
railway station). 8:00–23:00.
3 Mantovarka , st. Gogol, 43.
9:00–20:00. Portion of dumplings: 100-150 ₽. "Mantovy Ne Restaurant"
offers a full range of dough products: manti, dumplings, ravioli and
even Chinese dim sums - all this on the principle of "cheap and
cheerful", but in general, quickly and of fairly high quality. Several
branches around the city: in addition to the one indicated here, there
is a cafe in the Old Bazaar and in a complex of cheap food at the
intersection of Socialist Avenue with Korolenko Street, but the cafe on
Gogol looks prettier than the other two.
✦ Skovorodovna. From the
outside, the Altai pancake chain looks more like fast food, although
food is still served on plates. The menu includes only pancakes, and for
some reason, buckwheat porridge with different fillings. More than ten
branches in the city; the closest to the center is opposite the Old
Bazaar.
4 st. Chkalova, 66. 9:00–21:00.
5 Socialist pr. 117a
(nearest to the railway station). 9:00–21:00.
6 Cheburekmi.
11:00–23:00. Tasty diner prepares chebureks with any filling — from
marbled beef to banana and strawberry, for 100 ₽ apiece. Unlike
traditional cheburechs, there is service here, and the atmosphere is
more like a cafe than a diner.
7 Cafe-shop "Green", st. Anatolia, 68.
Mon–Fri 9:00–21:00, Sat–Sun 9:00–19:00. Cooking, where they sell food
with a claim, but the dishes are plastic.
8 Cafe "Arafat", st.
Korolenko, 75. 9:00–22:00. The dining room with oriental cuisine is
convenient because it is open in the evenings and on weekends. Visitors
mostly praise, and if you still didn’t like it, in the same building
there is a “Mantovarka” and a cafe “Sesame and Pumpkin” with an
assortment of “proper nutrition”, and not only vegetarian.
Average cost
9 Vietnamese cafes, Malo-Tobolskaya st. (next to the Old
Bazaar). Different opening hours, something will be open as early as
9:00 and at least until 22:00. Hot: 250 ₽. Barnaul is the leader, if not
by the number of Vietnamese cafes, then by their density: they are all
located in one place in the very center of the city. In spirit, these
are more like eateries, where food is ordered at the checkout, and then
they look for a free table, which may not be available - in the middle
of the day, Vietnamese cuisine is in great demand among the hungry local
population. In addition to dishes based on noodles and rice, as well as
tom yum soup, which has become popular all over the world, you can try a
Vietnamese dessert - sweetish pea balls. Regular tea from a bag, no
alcohol.
10 Place of pasta, International st. 72. 11:00–24:00. Hot:
300-500 ₽. A cozy restaurant with an Italian touch. In addition to pizza
and pasta, a small assortment of salads and hot dishes.
Expensive
11 Restaurant "Mountain Pharmacy" st. Polzunova, 42. 12:00–24:00. The
main restaurant of traditional "Siberian cuisine" in the city occupies
one of the most historical buildings - a mountain pharmacy of the late
18th century. The interiors are modern, but carefully recreated antique:
a stove, a piano, luxurious curtains and a basement with low brick
vaults. Expensive and, according to reviews, delicious.
12 Restaurant
Yasnaya Polyana, st. Lev Tolstoy, 30. 12:00–24:00, Fri and Sat: until
3:00. Hot: 500-700 ₽. The institution proudly calls itself a
"house-restaurant" and claims to represent the Altai Territory on the
gastronomic map of Russia. This did not stop the creators from including
pizza in the menu, but there is enough local flavor here too - for
example, borscht with maral meat or dishes from the Ob pike perch.
Visitors are not happy with the service and feel that the prices do not
quite match the quality.
Coffee and sweet
13 Bakery "Danish",
Lenin Ave., 52 (corner of Dimitrov St.). 8:00–20:00. Local bakery with
cheap and delicious pastries. Cafes - apparently not their profile, but
in the central branch there is something like a cafeteria with a minimal
selection of drinks in paper cups. If you want to eat more thoroughly,
but still inexpensive, there is a Fork-Spoon Dining Room in the same
building (Mon–Sat 8:00–22:00, Sun 9:00–22:00).
14 Coffee bar Croque,
52 Lenina Ave. 7:45–24:00. A student coffee shop with a good selection
and at the same time low prices: everything is sweet within 100 ₽, and
there are also not quite trivial things, such as Portuguese pastel de
nata or St. Petersburg donuts.
15 Sweet Gorky Coffee House, 6
Stroiteley Ave. Mon–Fri 8:00–21:30, Sat–Sun 10:00–21:30. The name is not
just a pun, but rather the credo of this "literary coffee house", where
you will be offered sea buckthorn tea "Burning Bulgakov" or, for
example, the author's coffee "Ah, Akhmatova", but for some reason in
paper cups. You can accompany Russian classics with eclairs without a
name or a name.
16 Cherry Merry Coffee House, 73 Lenin Ave.
9:00–21:00. French style cakes and pastries - eclairs, pasta, croissants
and more.
17 Renoir Coffee, Lenin Ave., 10 (TD "Ultra"). 8:00–20:00.
The most foppish coffee shop in Barnaul wants you to "drink great coffee
at important moments in your life." In practice, this means that you can
choose the type of bean, the degree of roasting and the method of
brewing to suit the moment - for example, classic on the way to work and
pour-over on weekends. Syrniki, potato pancakes and various kinds of
bruschettas at 200-300 ₽ per serving serve as an addition. It is quite
expensive for Barnaul, and visitors are not enthusiastic about food, but
coffee is praised. There are a few more points around the city; all of
them are not separate cafes, but racks in shopping centers.
1 Bar "Bootlegger", Malo-Tobolskaya st. 23/4.
15:00–23:00. The main craft bar in the city.
2 Bar-restaurant LOFT,
Krasnoarmeisky pr. 51a. 11:00–1:00, Fri and Sat: until 6:00. On the 13th
floor with a good view from the windows.
Finding accommodation is not difficult, although you
will find that almost all hotels are not located in the historical part
of the city and sometimes quite far from it.
Cheap
1 Victoria
Hotel, st. Leo Tolstoy, 16a (center). ☎ +7 (3852) 24-08-57.
Single/double: from 1100/2000 ₽. Rooms with amenities. Conflicting
reviews.
2 Hotel "Kolos", st. Molodyozhnaya, 25 (station area). ☎ +7
(3852) 62-40-48. Single without amenities: 1000 ₽, with amenities: from
1500 ₽. Slightly renovated Soviet hotel. In the cheapest rooms,
amenities are on the floor, for the next price category, amenities are
already in the room, but everything looks rather shabby.
3 Hotel
"Laletin", st. Malo-Tobolskaya, 24 (center). ☎ +7 3852. Single/double:
1200/2000 ₽. Cheap and a little angry, but right in the historical
center near the Old Bazaar. All rooms with private facilities.
Average cost
4 Altai Hotel, Lenin Ave., 24 (center). ☎ +7 (3852)
50-24-24, +7 (961) 992-93-43. Double without amenities: 1600 ₽, rooms
with amenities: from 2800 ₽. Once the main hotel of the city is located
in a pre-war building - one of the most spectacular on Lenina Avenue -
and has undergone a complete reconstruction, but retained the cute
features of the Soviet era, while acquiring modern furniture and
achieving a reasonable level of comfort. The rooms, however, are quite
cramped - such was the standard before.
5 Hotel "Barnaul", pl.
Pobedy, 3 / Krasnoarmeisky pr. 135 (next to the railway station). ☎ +7
(3852) 20-16-00. Double: from 3000 ₽. The largest hotel in the city,
more than three hundred rooms of different categories - all with
amenities, cozy and decent.
6 Hotel "Rus", st. Chkalova, 57a (halfway
from the historical center to the station). ☎ +7 3852. Single without
amenities: 1100 ₽, with amenities: from 2100 ₽. This is a typical
post-Soviet hotel: in an unattractive building, as if assembled from a
designer, with a swimming pool and a hammam inside. Reviews are
moderately positive. Cheap rooms without amenities are for some reason
only single.
7 Tourist Hotel, 72 Krasnoarmeisky Ave. (halfway from
the historical center to the railway station). ☎ +7 (3852) 63-21-21.
Single: about 2000 ₽. A somewhat surreal accommodation option on the
upper floors of a business center, which is very fond of mirrored walls
and other oddities: for example, the beds are in the center of the room,
and not against the wall. Also, the rooms have a built-in kitchen, and
the hotel also offers accommodation in a hostel, called for some reason
"Yellow Submarine", for 500 ₽ per bed.
Expensive
8 Siberia
Hotel, 116 Sotsialistichesky Ave (station area). ☎ +7 (3852) 62-42-00.
Single: from 4200 ₽. Large four star hotel. Good feedback.
9 Hotel
"Snail", st. Korolenko, 60 (center). ☎ +7 (3852) 35-36-36.
Single/double: from 3200/3900 ₽. The building has a strange shape and a
controversial choice of colors in the interior. Otherwise, everything is
on the level, good reviews.
There are several hypotheses about the origin of the
city's name. Writer and local historian Mark Yudalevich collected
scattered assumptions and reflections of various researchers. The common
thing in their works is that the name "Barnaul" has Turkic, Mongolian or
Ket roots, but the translation of the city's name has different options:
For a long time, a version was spread that the word "barnaul" was
translated from the Kazakh language as "a good camp" or "village of
Barn", if we assume that Barn is the name of one of the nomads of the
Siberian Khanate. But, according to historians, this is nothing more
than a folk etymology, since the Kazakhs do not have such names as Barn,
and there is a term “jailau” to designate a good pasture.
Another
version is linked to the name of the river Barnaulka, which is called
Boronoul or Boronour in the drawings of the end of the 18th century. In
some documents, the river is listed under the name Baranaul, and only in
1745 on the map of Shelegin it is designated as the Barnaul River. Tomsk
professor A.P. Dulzon suggested that the name of the city consists of
two Ket words: boruan - "wolves" and ul, ul - "river", "water". Thus,
Barnaul is a “wolf river”. This option is reinforced by the fact that
wolves were previously found in the ribbon forest along which Barnaulka
flows, and there are many lakes in the region of the river's sources. In
addition, the wolf was considered a sacred animal among the inhabitants
of Altai. Over time, having adapted to the Russian dialect, the word
gave the name to the city.
The Barnaul historian and archaeologist A.
Umansky developed the version about the river and tried to translate it,
assuming that the name has Teleut roots. In his opinion, “boronaul” /
“boronool” occurred as a result of linguistic metamorphosis from the
Teleut word “porongyul”, where “po-rongy” means “muddy water”, “ul”
means a river. Thus, Barnaulka is translated as "muddy river". It really
abounds in organic and mineral substances, including sand.
Officially, the year 1730 is considered the year of Barnaul's
foundation, when the miner Akinfiy Demidov transferred 200 ascribed
peasants to Altai to lay factories, but the year 1739 is documented,
when he began the construction of a copper-silver smelter, which
served as an impetus for the development of the settlement. Settlers
and service people from Central Russia and the Urals rushed to the
small village of Ust-Barnaulskaya.
On February 16 (27), 1748,
the office of the Kolyvano-Voskresensky mining district, with the
consent of the Cabinet of Her Imperial Majesty, was transferred from
Kolyvan to the Barnaul plant. In 1766, the Russian inventor Ivan
Polzunov built the first steam engine in Russia on the banks of the
Barnaulka River, and in 1771 Barnaul was given the status of a
mountain town (according to other sources, in 1828). Thanks to this,
despite the remoteness from the capital, the city grew, and by 1835
more than 9 thousand people lived in it. In 1764, a technical
library was opened, in 1776 - the Barnaul Theater House, and in 1827
- the first printing house. P. K. Frolov organized a museum of local
lore, the first in Siberia.
In Barnaul in 1785, the first
school in Siberia was opened, which trained specialists in the field
of mining: the Barnaul Mining School.
The abolition of
serfdom and the depletion of natural resources led to the closure of
the silver smelter in 1893. The city became a major merchant center,
other industries appeared: leather, candle, brick, brewing, soda,
fur coats, sawmills and others. Since 1877, the city duma and city
government have been elected. Vowels also chose the mayor, who
simultaneously headed the Duma.
May 5 (18), 1917 there was a
strong fire. 40 quarters burned out, urban architecture was damaged,
many buildings, especially wooden buildings, perished in the fire.
The restoration of the city was interrupted by the Civil War.
On December 7 (20), 1917, Soviet power was established, which
was overthrown by the White Guards on June 15, 1918. Barnaul was
finally taken by the partisan army of Yefim Mamontov on December
9-11, 1919. The White Guards left the city and went to
Novonikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk).
In the 20-40s of the 20th
century, the development of Barnaul was determined by the processes
of industrialization and collectivization. Residents of villages and
small towns moved to the city, and it itself becomes the center of
an agro-industrial region. In 1932, the largest melange plant in
Western Siberia was laid.
In connection with the formation in
1937 of the Altai Territory, the status of the regional
administrative center was assigned.
During the Great
Patriotic War, about a hundred industrial enterprises from Moscow,
Leningrad, Odessa, Kharkov, and other cities occupied by German
troops were permanently housed in it. They became the basis of the
industry of the Altai center. About half of the cartridges used by
the Red Army during the war were produced in Barnaul at a
machine-tool plant.
The post-war years were marked by an
industrial boom and in-line building of the city. At this time, the
territory of the city more than doubled, and the northern and
northwestern directions were chosen for the development and
construction of new quarters.
In connection with the collapse
of the USSR and the change in the political and economic situation
in the country, the largest industrial enterprises were on the verge
of bankruptcy. Barnaul was retrained from a predominantly industrial
center to other areas of the economy: trade, services, construction
and food industries. The in-line development was replaced by point
and block construction. Active housing construction continued to the
west along the Pavlovsky tract, where new residential areas
appeared. At the same time, in the city center, one-story wooden
buildings began to be replaced by high-rise residential buildings
and shopping centers.
In December 2003, the urban settlements
(working settlements) Zaton and Novosilikatny were abolished as
settlements and included in the city limits of Barnaul. The same
thing happened in December 2003 with the other two urban settlements
(working settlements) Yuzhny and Nauchny Gorodok, but then in July
2005 they were restored as separate settlements in the categories of
urban settlements and settlements (rural type), respectively.
It is located in the forest-steppe zone of the West Siberian Plain, in the northeast of the Ob plateau, in the upper reaches of the Ob River, mainly on its left bank, at the confluence of the Barnaulka River with the Ob. From the north and east, Barnaul goes around the Ob riverbed, and in the southwest, a ribbon forest. The distance to Moscow is 3419 km. The nearest large city is Novosibirsk (239 km).
Barnaul is in the MSK+4 time zone. The offset of the applicable time from UTC is +7:00. According to the applicable time and geographic longitude, the mean solar noon occurs at 13:25.
The relief of the territory of Barnaul is determined by the Ob
plateau, on which the city is located, and the valleys of the Ob and
Barnaulka rivers. Absolute elevations from 132-135 m near the mouth of
the Barnaulka River to 230-250 m in the northern part of the city; the
general slope of the surface from the northwest to the southeast towards
the Barnaulka valley. In the southern part of Barnaul is the so-called
Upland part of the city - the watershed between the valleys of the Ob
and Barnaulka. The relief is complicated by erosional structures of
medium and small forms: the valley of the Pivovarka River (12 km), small
depressions, ravines. The slopes in the Ob valley are rather steep
(25-60 degrees), steep in places, 50-110 m high, unstable and subject to
suffusion processes, planar washout and gully formation.
The
terraced valley of Barnaulka is a typical accumulative landform that can
be traced in the city center from the street. Youth to the street. Lev
Tolstoy. The floodplain itself is not wide (50–200 m), confined to the
hollow of the ancient runoff, and three terraces above the floodplain
extend in the northwestern direction with heights from 137 to 185 m
above sea level. The area of the occupied territory is 939.5 hectares,
of which about 1/3 is built up with city blocks.
The continental climate is determined by a peculiar geographical
position in the south of Western Siberia. Openness to influence
simultaneously from the Atlantic, the Altai Mountains, the Arctic Ocean
and the steppe regions of Central Asia creates the possibility of
incoming air masses of different properties, which contributes to a
significant contrast in weather conditions. Barnaul is characterized by
frosty, moderately severe and snowy winters, but warm, comfortable and
moderately humid summers.
The coldest month of the year is
January (average temperature is -15.5 °C), the warmest is July (+19.9
°C).
Relative humidity in the cold period of the year varies
within 73-76%, and in the warm period it is about 62%. The average
annual precipitation is 433 mm, during the warm season (April - October)
65% of the total falls. The average number of days with precipitation is
220, of which 129 are in the warm season.
Number of overcast,
clear and partly cloudy days per year: 130, 49 and 186, respectively.
The total duration of sunshine per year: 2180 hours.
In the wind
rose of Barnaul, there is a predominance of southwestern, western and
southern winds.
The vegetation of Barnaul and its environs belongs to the southern
forest-steppe subzone. Indigenous vegetation is represented by steppe,
forest and floodplain-meadow types, cereals and herbs are common here:
narrow-leaved bluegrass, awnless brome, silver cinquefoil, sickle-shaped
alfalfa.
Forests occupy the bottoms and slopes of the beams:
birch pegs with an admixture of aspen and an undergrowth of wild rose,
caragana. On the surface of the hollow of the ancient runoff, the
Barnaul Ribbon Forest grows, in which there are up to 30 species of tree
species. The banks of the rivers are abundantly overgrown with bird
cherry, willow, poplar, and honeysuckle.
Among urban development,
vegetation is represented by artificial plantations: parks (Jubilee,
Central, Solnechny wind, Emerald, Lesnaya Skazka, Nagorny, arboretum),
squares, boulevards, which are located near public buildings, along the
axes of the main streets. The main tree species: black poplar,
ash-leaved maple, mountain ash, warty birch, Siberian spruce, apple
tree. In total, 880 species of vascular plants grow in the city and its
environs, which belong to 95 families and 413 genera, of which 30
species are listed in the Red Book of the Altai Territory.
Barnaul, as a large industrial center, is characterized by a large
concentration of anthropogenic objects in a limited area, which have a
negative impact on the components of the natural environment. Most of
the natural complexes of the city belong to the territories with a tense
ecological state, partially with the exception of the floodplain of the
Ob and Barnaulka. The main pollution, the sources of which are
industrial enterprises and stove heating in the private sector, falls on
the atmosphere. Emissions of harmful substances from stationary sources
amount to 80 thousand tons annually. Vehicles have a significant impact
on the atmosphere. An extremely unfavorable situation has developed in
the northern part of the city (Leninsky and Oktyabrsky districts), the
concentration of large industrial enterprises leads to a 10-fold excess
of the MPC for cadmium emissions. In the southern part of the city
(Central District), near the mouth of the Pivovarka, next to the Altai
Plant of Aggregates, there is also a zone with an extremely unfavorable
environmental situation.
Territories with a conditionally
satisfactory ecological state occupy a small part of the city
(Industrialny, Zheleznodorozhny and Central regions), are located on the
outskirts and do not form a stabilizing background for improving the
environmental situation. The values of exceeding the MPC for cadmium
emissions here are 2-5.
Pollution of surface water occurs due to
the discharge of untreated wastewater into the Ob and Barnaulka by the
enterprises of the city. The largest sources of discharges are
industrial enterprises (Barnaul Tire Plant - average annual discharge up
to 3 million m³; Altaidiesel - up to 500 thousand m³; Barnaultransmash -
up to 270 thousand m³; Altai Plant of Aggregates - up to 400 thousand
m³), urban wastewater treatment plants (up to 100 million m³) and 3
thermal power plants (up to 11 million m³). The entry of pollutants into
the Pivovarka, Vlasikha and Sukhoi Log rivers is represented by
stormwater runoff from gas stations, landfills, as well as roads,
parking lots and garages.
Most of the large industrial enterprises are located in the northern,
western and southern parts of the city. The industrial complex is based
on 126 large and medium enterprises with 22,000 employees.
The
industrial production index in Barnaul is 105.5% (2017). The largest
growth in volumes is shown by enterprises producing vehicles, equipment
and metalworking; chemical industry; processing industry.
In
2017, the industrial enterprises of Barnaul shipped goods of their own
production, performed works and services in the amount of 82.6 billion
rubles. The share of Barnaul in the total volume of shipped industrial
products of the Altai Territory is 23.7%.
More than 100 thousand people are employed in the service and trade
sector. Retail trade turnover in 2016 amounted to 64 billion rubles.
The main areas of retail facilities: shopping and entertainment
centers Galaxy, Altai, Vesna, Europe, Ogni, City Center, Pioneer, Arena,
Volna, Celebratory, etc. etc., hypermarkets Metro Cash & Carry, Auchan,
Lenta, as well as DIY hypermarkets (construction): Arsidom, Znak,
Formula M2, Leroy Merlin, DOMMER.
Food supermarkets of retail
chains "Maria-Ra", "Anix", "Yarche", "Bakhetle", "Magnit",
"Pyaterochka". There are network supermarkets of electronics DNS,
M.Video, Eldorado, RBT.
There are food markets "Covered Market",
"New Market", "Chinese Market", "Old Bazaar", VDNKh Market and others.
Social food fairs are held annually.
In 2010, the turnover of
public catering amounted to 2.2 billion rubles. The market includes
Vkusno - i Tochka, Burger King, KFC, Freddo pizzeria, Peppers, I.Ponkin
sushi bars, Food Master holding (Fork-Spoon canteens). There are other
coffee houses, sushi bars and modern dining rooms. Various pancake
houses and establishments of Uzbek cuisine are also popular.
Representative offices of most of the major federal banks are located in
Barnaul. The city has the largest call center beyond the Urals, VTB 24,
Alfa-Bank.
Barnaul is a major transport hub, located at the entrance from the
federal highway P256 "Chuysky Trakt". Here begins the federal highway
A322 Barnaul - Rubtsovsk - the border with the Republic of Kazakhstan,
which is included in the Asian route AH64 and connects Barnaul with
Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, Nur-Sultan, Kokshetau and Petropavlovsk.
Sredsib, Yuzhsib and Turksib, territorially related to the West Siberian
Railway, pass through the city. The railway station of the same name
located in the city is the main one in the Altai region of the West
Siberian railway.
G. S. Titov International Airport is located 17
km west of the city. There is a cargo river port on the Ob. Passenger
turnover of the Barnaul bus station averages 4,500 people per day. The
city is connected by bus with all 60 districts of the Altai Territory,
as well as with neighboring regions: the Republic of Altai, Novosibirsk,
Kemerovo, Tomsk regions. Regular bus services are operated to the cities
of Kazakhstan: Kokshetau, Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk and
Alma-Ata. Since July 2011 a new route to Krasnoyarsk has been opened.
City transport is represented by buses and fixed-route taxis, trams (9
routes) and trolleybuses (3 routes). The first tram was launched in
1948, the first trolleybus - in 1973. From 2000 until the spring of
2011, double-decker buses of the MAN brand could be found on the streets
of the city. In addition to double-decker buses, accordion buses were
common in Barnaul, but over time they disappeared from the streets of
the city.
The main highways of the city:
Pavlovsky tract (to
Kamen-on-Obi, Novosibirsk),
Zmeinogorsky tract (to Rubtsovsk and
Kazakhstan),
Right-bank tract (to Novosibirsk and Biysk),
Highway
"Lentochny Bor" (bypass road),
as well as intracity (Lenin Ave.,
Krasnoarmeysky Ave., Popov St., Kutuzov St., Malakhov St.,
Severo-Zapadnaya St., etc.).
Some guests of Barnaul mistakenly
expect to see the metro in the city due to the presence of the Barnaul
metro website and active accounts in social networks. But this project
is fictitious, there is no metro in Barnaul.