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Hotels, motels and where to sleep
Restaurant, taverns and where to eat
Belgorod is a city in the south of the middle belt of the European part of Russia, the administrative center of the Belgorod region. City is located on the southern outskirts of the Central Russian Upland, on the banks of the Belgorod Reservoir, on the rivers Vezelki and Seversky Donets, 700 km south of Moscow, 40 km from the border with Ukraine. Forms the municipality of urban district of the city of Belgorod. The population of 391,554 people (2018). Around the city formed Belgorod agglomeration with a population of more than 0.5 million people. Russia's first city to receive the title of "City of Military Glory."
Belgorod was badly damaged during the war, and a few dozen
buildings remained in the city before the revolution. These are
literally detached buildings - they do not form any ensembles and
are interspersed with Soviet architecture, sometimes ugly.
Nevertheless, among them there are very interesting. In addition, in
the suburbs on the outskirts of the city, a single-story stone
building was unusual for a resident of central Russia, and
surrealistic landscapes can be found between the settlements and the
center when the first row along the street is low-rise, and behind
it are built multi-story brick or panel houses.
Melovaya Gora
- Chalk Mountain, st. Studencheskaya. The place of the ancient
wooden fortress of 1596, as well as the white-stone fortress Belaya
Vezha of the times of the Khazars and Alans. There is nothing left
from the fortress, but a view of the city from a bird's-eye view
opens up.
House of merchant Selivanova. The only surviving
sample of a residential house in Belgorod is a manor of an urban
classicism era. Built in 1782. Now it houses the Literary Museum and
the Energy Museum.
Savior Transfiguration Cathedral, Transfiguration, 63. The
cathedral was built in 1805-1813 in the style of classicism,
five-dome and with a huge portico. A bell tower, also classicism, is
attached to the cathedral.
Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery. On the
territory there are two cathedrals: Uspensky-Nikolaevsky Cathedral,
built in 1701, Peter I donated money for its construction; and the
Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, built in 1791
in the style of early classicism, in 1837 and 1865, the side chapels
were added to it.
Smolensk Cathedral, Grazhdansky Ave 50A.
1727-1763
Local History Museum, st. Popov, 2a. ☎ +7 (4722) 32 16 76. 10:00
- 19:00. The exposition presents archaeological monuments of
Scythian and Saltovo-Mayak culture, materials about the emergence of
Belgorod and its role in Russian history, about the most important
past events on the territory of the region and outstanding natives
of Belgorod Region.
Art Museum, st. Victory, 77th. ☎ +7 (4722)
58-96-67. 10.00 - 19.00, a break 14.00 - 15.00, except Tuesday. 70
rub. The original Art Nouveau building was built in 2005. Soviet art
of the 20th century is mainly represented. In addition to the
paintings, sculptures, objects of decorative and applied arts
(including the collection of dolls of the Belgorod Region), and
iconography are on display.
Museum-diorama “Battle of Kursk.
Belgorod direction ", st. Popova, 2. ☎ +7 (4722) 32-96-89. Tue - Sun
10:00 - 18:00, break 13:00 - 14:00. 65 rubles, a tour of at least 10
people - 36 rubles / person, audio guide 106 rubles. The main thing
that is worth visiting the museum is a diorama depicting a tank
battle at Prokhorovka on July 12, 1943, the victory in which became
a turning point in the Battle of Kursk. The diorama in Belgorod is
the largest diorama in Russia: length - 67, height - 15 m. Created
by artists N. Bout, G. Sevostyanov, V. Shcherbakov. The museum
building is made in the form of an arc on a high base. At the
entrance to the museum, an IS-3 tank, an ISU-152 self-propelled gun,
three mortars and a gun were installed.
Museum of Folk Culture,
st. Michurin, 43. bsmnc@mail.ru ☎ 26-74-17. 10:00 - 18:00, Thu 10:00
- 20:00, Mon - day off. entrance ticket 16 rubles and an additional
16 rubles for each exhibition.
Museum of the Interior. The
cultural center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the
Belgorod region.
Literary Museum, st. Transfiguration, 38. ☎
27-64-23. Mon-Sat 09: 00-18: 00. Located in the local architectural
monument of the XVIII century house of the merchant Selivanov.
Exhibits include items belonging to local writers: bibliographer,
writer, publicist I.V. Vladislavleva; aviator and cinematographer ND
Anoschenko, as well as Soviet writers VS Bukhanova, M.M. Obukhova,
V.S. Zhukovsky, N.G. Ovcharova, N.S. Krasnova. On the second floor
there is a museum of the history of energy in the Belgorod region -
the departmental museum "Belgorodenergo".
Museum of
Communications. Opened in 2003.
Ethnographic Museum of the
Institute of Culture.
Monument to Prince Vladimir the Great. According to one of the
versions, the prince founded Belgorod, although there is no
documentary evidence of this. The height of the monument is 22.5
meters, which makes it the largest monument of Belgorod and the
world's largest monument to Prince Vladimir.
Monument to Pavel
Kirillovich Grechikhin (incorruptible traffic cop). Element Wikidan
Monument is an inspector of the traffic police Pavel Kirillovich
Grechikhin, standing with a raised rod next to a motorcycle. It is
installed at the place where the traffic police post was previously
located.
Army General Apanasenko I.R. Discovered in 1949.
Authors: sculptor N.V. Tomsky, architect L.G. Golubovsky. It is a
monument of monumental art of federal significance.
Monument-stele "City of Military Glory", Cathedral Square. It was
installed in 2013 on the place where a monument to Lenin had been
erected before. The text of the decree on conferring the honorary
title "City of Military Glory" to the city is posted on the stela.
Monument to Mikhail Shchepkin. Dedicated to the Russian actor, the
founder of realism in the Russian scenic art, Mikhail Semenovich
Shchepkin, a native of Belgorod.
Monument to St. Joseph.
Monument to Y. Trubetskoy. Former first Belgorod governor.
Monument dog handlers F. S. Khikhlushka.
Friendship tree
Sundial (near the Central Market on the 50th anniversary of the
Belgorod region).
First teacher
Janitor
Photographer
(Family)
Remembrance (Grandma)
Chelnoki. Private citizens who
travelled in the late 80's and early 90's to foreign lands to buy
merchandise and delivered it to new Russia
Gymnast
Volleyball
players
Dreams Come True
Local historian
Stonecutter
Shchepkin Drama Theatre, Cathedral Square, 1. ☎ Cashier +7 (4722)
32-06-44. Ticket office Tue–Sun 13:00–19:00.
State Puppet Theatre,
st. Nekrasova, 5b/8. ✉ ☎ +7 (4722) 26-72-93. Ticket office
Tuesday-Friday 10.00-18.00; Saturday-Sunday 10.00–15.00; Monday is a day
off; lunch break on weekdays 14.00-15.00.
Theater of clownery "Two
Monkeys" , Belgorod Regiment, 56a. ☎ for group applications:
+7-906-605-6805.
In addition to those listed below, there are two more cinemas at
shopping centers: GrinnFilm (10:00 - 03:00, Mega Grinn shopping center)
and Cinema Star (Rio shopping center).
Cinema "Victory", st. 50th
anniversary of the Belgorod region, 8 "b". ☎ 35-65-63.
Cinema
"Rusich", ave. Vatutina, 8. ✉ ☎ +7 (4722) 52-61-45.
Cinema
"Rainbow" , st. Shershneva, d. 6. ☎ answering machine 26-42-42.
Cinema "Cinema Park", st. Shchorsa, 64.
Sports and recreation complex "Alpika", Dubove settlement, st.
Donetskskaya, 26. ✉ ☎ +7 (4722) 402-470. Weekends and holidays
10:00-21:00, weekdays 15:00-21:00. Night skiing by prior arrangement -
Fri, Sat and public holidays 21:00-00:00. Located 7 km south of the
center of Belgorod. Located in a forested area, the complex offers in
winter - skiing, snowboarding and snowtube; in summer - cycling, zorbing
(skiing downhill in inflatable balls), volleyball courts. There is a
hotel and a restaurant.
Picnic Park , Solomino. ☎ +7 (4722) 372020.
🕑 Daily: 10:00-21:00. Park, camping, cafe, pier
"White Mask". in summer. Street art festival in Belgorod, held
annually in May. The festival features all kinds of arts, from
theatrical performances, to poetry reading from a large stool, to
dancing right where you left off.
"BelMelFest" (International Chalk
Festival). ✉ On August 1, 2015, the 1st International Chalk Festival was
held in Belgorod, within the framework of which there was a competition
of 3D drawings on asphalt with the participation of teams from Belarus,
Kazakhstan and Russia, a video contest "Belgorod + chalk", a competition
among coffee houses for the best drawing on chalk boards and more.
"Art Festival". Open City Art Festival. The first time was in 2015.
Other
Belgorod State Center of Folk Art (BGTsNT) , st. Wide, 1. ✉
☎ 21-14-44 +7 (4722) 21-34-24, 21-14-44. 10-00-18-00. Festivals,
competitions, exhibitions, concerts.
Belgorod Philharmonic, st.
Belgorod Regiment, 56A. ☎ +7 (4722) 33-33-19.
Zoo, Sosnovka tract,
Volchanskaya street, 292v (By buses 123, 232A, 103, 129). ☎ +7 4722
40-62-02. Tue - Sun 10:00 - 18:00. 200 rub.
To Belgorod by plane
Regular flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg. In
the summer, flights from Sochi and Simferopol are added.
1
Belgorod International Airport (IATA: EGO), prosp. Bogdan
Khmelnitsky, 166. ☎ +7 (4722) 235777. Open around the clock. The new
airport building was built in 2012. Inside on each floor there is a
small cafe “Aerocafe” with hot drinks and sandwiches. Coming out of
the airport building and passing 100 meters towards the city, the
Kukuruznik cafe works in the building of the airport hotel, where
you can already have a full meal, visitors, it seems, are praising.
Whether the hotel itself is unknown. 500 meters away - the Rio
shopping center is located with the only cafe - hipster burger
"Artel".
Getting there: The airport is located on the
northern outskirts of the city, 6 km from the center. You can get
there by trolleybus number 1, 4, 8, bus number 7, 15, 17, 25 or
minibuses. A taxi to the city center costs 150-200 rubles (2018).
To Belgorod by train
From Moscow on the fast train "Day Express" can be
reached in 7 hours, regular trains go 9-11 hours. On the way, pass
Tula, Orel, Kursk.
Trains run from the following locations:
Nezhegol, Gotnya, Kursk, Naumovka.
From Ukraine by rail one
can only take long-distance trains from Krivoy Rog and
Dnepropetrovsk passing through Kharkov (2-3 trains a day late in the
evening); electric trains do not go.
2 Railway station, st.
Vokzalnaya, 1. ☎ 8 (800) 775-00-00. It consists of two buildings: in
the first one there is a luggage room, a waiting room, a snack bar,
souvenir shops, food stalls, and in the second building there are
suburban ticket offices.
Getting there: At least 10 bus numbers
and several trolleybuses depart from the station square.
To
Belgorod by
bus
You can get from Moscow by bus, but it’s rather exhausting to
sit for 7–8 hours. It is mainly used by those who go to Moscow for
shopping at clothing markets.
You can also take a bus from
Orel, Kursk (3.5 hours), Voronezh (4 hours), Stary Oskol, Saratov,
Kharkov.
3 Bus Station, B. Khmelnitsky Ave., 160. ☎ +7 (4722)
34–19–86. The old building of Soviet construction. There are several
shops, small cafes, ATMs.
To Belgorod by car
From Moscow on the M2
(700 km). From Kharkov along the same route (80 km) through the
Goptovka-Nekhoteyevka border point. Crossing the border usually
takes from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. During the season, time
increases by 2-3 times.
Urban transport in
Belgorod is represented by buses and trolleybuses, but if you just
walk around the center, seeing the sights, you most likely will not
need them: about twenty minutes on foot from the station to the far
edge of the center. The cost of payment is 15 rubles (2018), the
entrance to the rear doors, exit through the front with payment to
the driver.
Online taxi order is available from Yandex.Taxi
and City Taxi (+7 (4722) 710-710). In addition, they can be ordered
by phone. +7 (4722) 510-510 and inexpensive taxi 555-555.
Urban transport routes can be found at
https://wikiroutes.info/belgorod
Shopping and entertainment complexes
1 City Mall "Belgorodsky". ✉
☎ +7 (4722) 28-90-01. 10:00-22:00.
2 Mega Grinn. 10:00-22:00.
3 Rio. 10:00-22:00.
4 Modny Boulevard, 308024, Russia, Belgorod, st.
Kostyukova, 39. 10:00-22:00.
Shopping centers
5 "Mayak"
department store. 09:00-20:00.
6 "Belgorod" department store. ☎ +7
(4722) 32-37-85. 10:00-21:00.
7 Slavonic.
Line (Hypermarket).
Markets
8 Central.
9 Salute.
10 South.
11 Vegetable.
12 Car market.
13 Family (shopping center).
14 Sunny (shopping
park).
Cheap
1 Expansion (hotel, guest houses, saunas,
restaurant) , Dalnyaya Igumenka, st. Centralnaya 76 (10 km from the
city. Get there: by bus No. 204, 104 from the Energomash stop; by
car along the Belgorod-Korocha highway). ☎ +7 (4722) 249222. Economy
double room 1200 rubles per day, business class room — 2000 rubles
per day, suite and guest houses — 3000 rubles per day.
Average cost
2 “AMAKS Congress Hotel”*** , Vatutina Ave., 2
(located in the Kharkiv Mountain area, 2 km from the city center). ✉
☎ +7 (4722) 509999, fax: 55-45-96, amaks-belgorod. 12:00. From 1500
rub. Modern business hotel. 271 numbers. Billiards, bath complex,
beauty salon. Free WiFi. Cable TV. There are two restaurants -
Europe and SuperKuzmich.
Expensive
3 Hotel "Belgorod" ***,
pl. Cathedral, 1 (located in the city center). ☎ 230021 +7 (4722)
230020, 230021. From 2900 rub. Secure parking, restaurant, 24-hour
lobby bar, wired and wireless internet, conference room, business
center.
4 Guest house "Vincent" (hotel "Vincent"), Russia,
Belgorod, Narodny Boulevard, 78 (in the very center of the city,
within walking distance of the square, restaurants, park.). ✉ ☎ +7
(4722) 336699. 00:00-24:00. from 2900₽. Hotel in the very center of
Belgorod. Suitable for both business trips and family vacations. The
hotel has 26 rooms from Economy category to Suite rooms. Free Wi-Fi
throughout the hotel, hotel restaurant (city cafe "Vincent"),
transfer to anywhere in the city and beyond.
Cheap
Cafe-pizzeria "Potapych". ☎ +7 (4722) 37 47 01. A
network of cheap pizzerias, the most expensive pizza is 220 rubles.
"Orange Island" A network of stalls with street fast food.
Average cost
Khinkalnaya No. 1, Cathedral Square, 1B (entrance
from the back of the Shchepkin Drama Theatre). ☎ +7 960 634-48-48.
First place on Tripadviser. Despite this, the food is not
surprising: the most common khinkali, khachapuri and other dishes of
Georgian cuisine. Tables and walls are decorated in the Caucasian
manner with hats, sheepskins, and horns for wine.
Expensive
Restaurant "Tower", Prosp. Glory, 55. ☎ +7 4722 23-17-77. 12:00 -
00:00. Main dishes 400-800 rubles. The main interest is the building
of the restaurant, made in the form of an exact copy of the Moscow
Watchtower, which was the main tower of the Belgorod Kremlin in the
17th-18th centuries. The tower is surrounded by a bulk earthen
rampart. The culinary possibilities of the restaurant are much more
modest, the food is not very tasty. Pathetic and uncomfortable. In
the warm season, the summer veranda is open.
Coffee houses
The central part of the city has a sufficient number of cozy coffee
houses that can accommodate up to several dozen visitors with an
authentic entourage and atmosphere.
"Honey Bunny",
Grazhdansky prospect, 29a. 8.00-22.00 seven days a week.
Pastila,
Popova St., 28.
"Calypso", Narodny Blvd., 79a (city centre,
between stops "Rodina" and "Stadium"). 09-21. 150. One of the most
popular coffee shop chains in the city.
Mega
Grinn. 24 hours.
"New Babylon"
"Forum"
City code +7(4722). Mobile communication of Russian operators in the city is generally accepted steadily. On the outskirts of the city, an unstable signal is possible. Free WI-FI Internet is available in some cafes, hypermarkets and bus stops.
In the areas of the most densely populated streets of Yesenin, Konev, Budyonny, as well as Korolev, Kostyukov and Gubkin, conditional criminal statistics are expectedly high. This should not scare you, but you should be careful.
The toponym Belgorod comes from a combination of the words “white”
and “city”. There are several versions of the appearance of the
combination. First option: The White City is a fortress whose walls are
built of white stone. Another interpretation is associated with the name
of the chalk mountain (White Mountain), on the slopes of which Belgorod
is located, then the name has the meaning: a city on a white mountain.
In the Old Russian language, this toponym means: “a brightly made,
shining house”; "the house that brings light." The chronicle also
preserved other names: “Belograd, Belogorodye”.
The city arose on the site of the Seversky settlement (Romenskaya
culture), located on a chalk mountain, near the confluence of the
Vezelitsa River with the Seversky Donets. Seversky settlement is a
village of Eastern Slavs (northerners), who came here no later than the
8th century. The dominance of the Alan tribes that poured into these
places from the south was replaced by the power of the warlike nomadic
Khazars and Pechenegs. The settlement was probably destroyed at the
beginning of the 10th century by the nomadic Pechenegs.
In 884,
the nomads were pushed back by the squad of the Kyiv prince Oleg. In
965, the lands in the upper reaches of the Seversky Donets were finally
annexed to the Pereyaslav Principality, and its eastern border passed
through them. Based on archaeological research conducted in 1951 in
Belgorod, Academician B. A. Rybakov concluded that the settlement on
which modern Belgorod stands arose in the 10th century.
The
historian V. Tatishchev, the Polish historian S. Kuchinsky, and the
historian of the Don Cossacks E. Savelyev spoke in favor of the
antiquity of the city.
Pre-revolutionary sources indicated 1593
as the date of the city's founding.
The 1998 Toponymic Dictionary
states that modern Belgorod “was founded in 1596 on Belgorodye, that is,
in the tract where the White City was once located, which was
subsequently destroyed.”
According to the point of view accepted by most local historians, the
city of Belgorod was first founded by decree of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich
on September 11 (21), 1596, as a border fortress, the center of the
Belgorod voivodeship and the Belgorod category.
In 1995, city
authorities celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the city. This date was
determined based on the research of local historian Yu. N. Shmelev.
Disputes about the founding of Belgorod in the 10th century have
been going on since the mid-19th century. Scientific study of the
history of Belgorod of the X-XV centuries has not been carried out to
date.
In 1612, the fortress was taken, plundered and burned by the
Polish-Lithuanian army. To improve the defense and water supply of the
fortress, the Moscow government decided to restore it in a new location
- on the low left bank of the Seversky Donets.
In June 1633, the
southern Russian border was attacked by 5,000 people of the Zaporozhye
army of Colonel Y. Ostryanin. The Cossacks besieged Belgorod. The enemy
managed to capture the fort, but on July 22 (August 1), 1633, during the
assault on the city, the Cherkassy suffered heavy losses, after which
they were forced to retreat. The defenders of the Razumensky Gate made
an unexpected foray for the enemy, during which the tours, shields,
signs, and stairs installed under the walls of the fortress were
destroyed and 78 Cherkasy (Cossacks) were destroyed, one of the
opponents was captured, and the rest were put to flight.
In
connection with the construction of defensive structures of the Belgorod
area in 1646, a decision was made to move the fortress to the right bank
of the Seversky Donets near the Vezenitsa River (Veselitsa or Vezelka) -
the central part of present-day Belgorod.
Since 1658, Belgorod
was the main city of the Belgorod region. In the same year, the Belgorod
Regiment was formed - a large permanent military formation, which
included all the armed forces on the Belgorod border and was subordinate
to the Belgorod governor. The formation of the Belgorod regiment
represented the formation of a large military-administrative district -
the Belgorod discharge, which existed until the beginning of the 18th
century. At the beginning of the 18th century, after the annexation of
the Novorossiysk region to Russia and the construction of the Ukrainian
defensive line, the strategic importance of Belgorod decreased
significantly.
On December 18 (29), 1708, during the division of
Russia into eight provinces, Belgorod became the center of the Belgorod
province of the Kyiv province.
From March 1 (12), 1727 to May 23 (June 3), 1779, the city was the
center of the Belgorod province, which included cities such as Orel and
Kharkov (the latter only until 1765 and only in civil administration,
since it itself was administrative center of the Slobodsky regiments).
After the abolition of the province, Belgorod became a district city of
the Kursk province.
With the construction of the Kursk-Kharkov,
Belgorod-Volchansk and Belgorod-Sumy railways, the city’s connections
with industrial centers and neighboring counties expanded. Belgorod
entered the 20th century as a major railway junction.
Belgorod was occupied by the Bolsheviks on October 26 (November
8), 1917. On April 11, 1918, the city was captured by the forces of
the Ukrainian People's Republic. After the conclusion of the
Brest-Litovsk Treaty, a demarcation 20-kilometer neutral strip
appeared between Belgorod and Kursk; in the law on the new
administrative-territorial division of Ukraine adopted on March 6,
1918, the Belgorod region was noted as an integral part of the
Kharkov province of the Ukrainian state with its center in the city
of Slavyansk until April 29, 1918 , when the old provincial division
from the times of the Russian Empire was returned.
On
December 20, 1918, after the overthrow of Skoropadsky, it was
occupied by the Red Army. From December 24, 1918 to January 7, 1919,
the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government of Ukraine under
the leadership of G. L. Pyatakov was headquartered in Belgorod. The
city was the temporary capital of Ukraine. From June 23 to December
7, 1919, the city was occupied by the Volunteer Army and was part of
the white South of Russia.
Since December 1922, as part of the Russian Soviet Federative
Socialist Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
On
May 14, 1928, in connection with the introduction of a new
administrative division in the country, the Belgorod district and Kursk
province were liquidated. Belgorod becomes the center of the Belgorod
district of the Central Black Earth Region. In 1930, after the
liquidation of the district system, Belgorod became a regional center.
On June 13, 1934, Belgorod was included in the newly formed Kursk
region.
On March 2, 1935, Belgorod was separated into an
independent administrative and economic unit with direct subordination
to the Kursk Regional Executive Committee.
During the Great
Patriotic War, bloody battles took place in the vicinity of Belgorod.
The city was occupied by the Germans twice - from October 24, 1941 to
February 9, 1943 and from March 18 to August 5, 1943.
During the
war years, the city was severely destroyed, almost all of the historical
buildings of the city were destroyed, only a few dozen buildings
survived. In honor of the liberation of Belgorod and Orel from German
troops, on August 5, 1943, a fireworks display was given in Moscow.
Since then, Belgorod has been the city of the first fireworks display,
and August 5 is celebrated as the city's day.
On April 26, 1954,
the city became the administrative center of the newly formed Belgorod
region. From these times the rapid development of the city as a regional
center began.
In the second half of the 1950s, chalk mining
destroyed the remains of the first Belgorod fortress, which still
remained on the high coastal cape of the right bank of the Seversky
Donets. At the same time, the unique ancient Kremlin of Belgorod
disappeared forever.
Belgorod of the 21st century is a city with developed infrastructure, a scientific, cultural, economic and spiritual center of the Central Black Earth region of Russia. Belgorod has repeatedly taken first place in terms of cleanliness and amenities among Russian cities with a population of 100 to 500 thousand people.
On April 1, 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, two
Ukrainian Mi-24 attack helicopters struck an oil depot located in the
city, resulting in a fire at the oil depot.
On July 3, 2022,
strikes were carried out on Belgorod from the Ukrainian side. The
missiles were shot down by the air defense system. According to the
Ukrainian telegram channel Ukraine Weapons Tracker, it was its debris
that fell on a residential area on Mayakovsky Street and exploded. The
explosion killed four people and injured four more. According to the
Conflict Intelligence Team, the target of the Ukrainian attack could be
military facilities and oil infrastructure facilities. 70 houses were
damaged, 13 of them are subject to demolition.
On April 20, 2023,
an aerial bomb dropped on the city by a Russian Su-34 military aircraft
exploded in the central part of Belgorod. The Russian Ministry of
Defense called the incident “an abnormal discharge of aircraft
ammunition.” As a result of the explosion, residential buildings were
damaged.
On December 30, 2023, the city was subjected to powerful
rocket fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is regarded as the
most massive since the start of the war. Several explosions were heard
in the center and on the outskirts of the city. Despite statements by
the Ukrainian leadership that only military targets would be attacked,
one of the attacks hit a skating rink where there were children. 25
people were killed, including 3 children, 109 people were injured,
including 17 children. The Russian side appealed to the UN Security
Council with a request to “immediately respond to the shelling of the
Ukrainian Armed Forces on the civilian population,” and a criminal case
was opened.
On February 15, 2024, as a result of another rocket
attack in the city, 6 civilians were killed and 20 were wounded.
Belgorod is located on the southern edge of the Central Russian Upland, on the left and right banks of the Seversky Donets River at a distance of about 700 kilometers south of Moscow, 42 km from the border with Ukraine. The nearest city in Ukraine is Volchansk (43 km). It runs from north to south, and from west to east, forming a rectangle on the map slightly elongated along the cardinal points.
The climate of Belgorod is moderate continental, with hot, dry
summers and changeable, cool winters. Winters are moderately frosty,
there are often thaws accompanied by rain (especially in December), and
quite often there are temperature drops below −20 °C, which can last up
to a week or more. Summers are warm and in some years rainy or dry.
Autumn is mild and rainy. The Belgorod Reservoir is covered with ice in
late November - early December, while the spring ice drift lasts from
March to April.
Average annual air temperature: + 7.7 °C
Average annual humidity: 76%
Average annual wind speed: 5-7 m/s
The average annual precipitation is 480–550 mm, mainly in summer.
Belgorod is located in the MSC time zone (Moscow time). The applied time offset relative to UTC is +3:00. In accordance with the applied time and geographic longitude, average solar noon in Belgorod occurs at 12:34.
The Seversky Donets, Vezelka, Razumnaya, Gostenka and Nizhegorodka
rivers flow through the territory of the city of Belgorod. The
ecological condition of the city's rivers is assessed as satisfactory,
this is facilitated by the improvement of city beaches, sanitary
cleaning of river water areas and sanitary cleaning of their water
protection zones. The Belgorod Reservoir begins in the city. The total
volume of the reservoir is 76 million m³, within the city limits it is 4
million m³. The surface area of the Belgorod reservoir within the city
limits is 199.74 hectares.
In the valley of the Seversky Donets
River, unique chloride-sodium waters have been explored, which are
confined to Carboniferous limestones and Archaean-Proterozoic rocks.
Waters of Archean-Proterozoic age with a mineralization of 30-31 g/dm³
are intended for use for balneological purposes in the form of baths.
Waters with a mineralization of 4.5-7.0 g/dm³ of sodium chloride
composition are confined to Carboniferous limestones and are recommended
for use as table medicinal drinking water.
The city is located mainly on the territory of two slopes (the Kharkov Mountain behind which the main guard mounds were built at the end of the 16th century and the former Chalk/White Mountain) from the north and south, descending to the floodplain of the Vezelka River at its confluence with the Seversky Donets River. The slopes of the third mountain (conventionally called “Western”) are currently built up by about a third. In addition, the city occupies a floodplain area on the left bank of the Seversky Donets. The relief of the city's territory is of erosive origin and is a hilly plain inclined from north to south, generally elevated almost 200 meters above sea level.
Minerals
Currently, two deposits of writing chalk of the Campanian
stage of the Cretaceous system are known on the territory of the city of
Belgorod: Zelenaya Polyana and Streletskoye.
The Zelenaya Polyana
deposit was explored in 1979-1981, located in the northern part of the
city between the car market on the street. Student and cemetery in
Yachnevo. The thickness of the useful strata ranges from 17.6 to 26.0 m,
with an average of 21.7 m.
Cretaceous deposits are overlain by
Paleogene-Neogene and Quaternary rocks classified as overburden rocks:
glauconite-quartz fine-grained sands of the Kanev formation, 0.5–11.8 m
thick;
quartz fine-fine-grained sands of the Buchak formation,
1.5–8.0 m thick, on average 5.6 m;
clays of the Kyiv suite, 2.1–19.4
m thick;
glauconite-quartz clayey (to the state of loam) fine-grained
sands of the Kharkov formation, 1.2–3.6 m thick;
Neogene red-brown
clays with interlayers and lenses of clayey sands, exposed with a
thickness of 1.3–7.7 m;
Quaternary deposits are represented by cover
loams, the thickness of which was exposed is 1.3–5.6 m;
Modern
deposits are represented by a soil-vegetation layer with a thickness of
0.4–1.1 m.
The average thickness of overburden rocks in the white
chalk counting circuit is 26.7 m. Reserves of chalk suitable for the
production of building air lime are 27,803 thousand tons; sand reserves
for brick production - 4829 thousand m3.
The Streletskoye chalk
deposit is located in the western part of the city of Belgorod -
Streletskoye, 2nd Dekabristov Lane, 15.
The strata-shaped chalk
deposit of the Streletskoye deposit has a rectangular shape in plan,
elongated in the north-west direction on the eastern side of the Palkin
Log gully, the average thickness in the reserve calculation contour is
12.0 m.
The writing chalk is overlain by loams of the
Zheleznogorsk soil-loess complex and a soil-vegetative layer attributed
to overburden rocks during the development of useful strata in an open
pit - a quarry. Their thickness varies from 0.8 to 3.0 m, on average 1.1
m, including the soil-vegetative layer from 0.0 to 1.2 m, on average 1.3
m. The chalk reserves of the Streletskoye deposit are equal to 860
thousand tons. The volume of overburden in the field is 52 thousand m3,
including the soil-vegetative layer of 14 thousand m3.
Belgorod is located in the forest-steppe zone, in the chernozem zone. Within the city there are coniferous and deciduous forest tracts with a total area of 1495 hectares. On the left bank of the reservoir there are man-made pine forests - the forest tracts "Sosnovka" and "Sands", the right high bank is covered with an upland oak grove - the forest tract "Massive". Every year, about 30 thousand trees and shrubs and more than three million flowers are planted in the city. The area of green space per city resident reaches 19 m².
One of the main directions for increasing the environmental safety of the city is the transition to economic methods of environmental management, which involve compensation for environmental damage caused as a result of pollution of the urban environment. Every year, work is carried out to compensate for damage to the city’s green fund - revenues to the city district budget amount to more than 600 thousand rubles. Also, the city budget is annually replenished by more than 13 million rubles due to environmental payments for emissions and discharges of pollutants, waste disposal and other types of harmful effects on the environment. Payments for environmental pollution serve as an economic incentive for organizations and other sources of pollution to reduce harmful impacts on the natural environment and the health of citizens.
The planning structure of individual areas of the city developed
individually under the influence of the historical development of the
city and the natural landscape. The main meridional directions: Bogdan
Khmelnitsky Avenue, Krasnoarmeyskaya - Magistralnaya, Shchorsa,
Korochanskaya and Volchanskaya streets and the main latitudinal
directions: Sumskaya, Gubkina - Mikhailovskoe Highway - Makarenko and
Konstantin Zaslonov streets have external exits, along which
historically there were estate buildings (former settlements, included
in the city). The Moscow-Simferopol (“Crimea”) federal highway runs
along the western border of the city. Large areas within the city are
occupied by quarries of construction materials directly related to
industrial enterprises.
The established network of main railway
lines and the river valley. Seversky Donets divide the city's territory
into separate planning areas, conventionally called Central, Southern,
Western and Eastern, and areas saturated with industrial enterprises and
utility and warehouse organizations in the western and eastern parts of
the city are conventionally called Western and Eastern industrial zones.
Central planning area
In the central part of the city, a
historical grid of streets with small rectangular blocks (150 x 250 m)
lined with two-, three-, four- and five-story residential and public
buildings has been preserved. In recent years, high-rise residential
buildings (9-18 floors), as well as office buildings of commercial and
municipal buildings, have been built here, contrasting with historical
objects and architectural monuments. In the 1950-1960s, microdistricts
of multi-storey buildings (4- and 5-storey) appeared to the north of the
historical part of the city.
Southern planning area
In
1970-1980, the main housing construction in the city was carried out in
the southern part - on Kharkov Mountain. Microdistricts of 5-9-story
buildings were built here, and a community center for the area was also
built. The planning solution is looser than in the historical part of
the city; the outlines of the microdistricts approximately correspond to
the nature of the relief. Since the end of the 20th century, the main
multi-storey residential construction has been carried out in the
southern planning area: the microdistricts “Luch”, “Predzavodskoy”,
“Molodezhny”, “11”, “Novy-2”, “Thalweg”, and a block on Shalandina
Street were built.
Western planning area
The planning
structure of the Western region, proposed in the master plan, takes into
account as much as possible the complex terrain of the “Western”
mountain (gully and fairly steep slopes). The system of transport
highways provides good connections between the area and the city center
and other areas, as well as with the Western and Eastern industrial
zones and the citywide recreational zone. The public center of the
district is located at the highest elevations and compositionally faces
the historical center of the city. The western planning area is the best
area of the city from an environmental point of view.
Eastern
planning area
The layout of the eastern part of the territory of
Belgorod, the so-called “Old Town” (on the left bank of the Seversky
Donets), is made of small rectangular blocks of capital low-rise and
estate buildings. A significant part of the area is occupied by the
Sosnovka forest park and recreational facilities. On the territory of
the forest park it is planned to create a Multipark - an all-season
recreational area of regional importance. The area of the Multipark is
1,230.5 hectares. The area of land plots planned for development is
308.4 hectares. As part of the development of the planning project for
the territory of the Multipark, 23 land plots were allocated for
development with an area from 0.5 to 75 hectares.
Community
Center
The city's public center is located mainly in the historical
part of the Central Planning District and is developing in the southern
and northern directions. The main square of the city is Cathedral
Square, the main street is Civil Avenue, the main pedestrian direction
is Narodny Boulevard. In the northern direction, the city's public
center is developing in blocks parallel to Bohdan Khmelnytsky Avenue. In
the southern direction, the city public center gradually descends to the
valley of the Vezelka River and then, through a pedestrian bridge, the
public center rises to Kharkov Mountain, and then to the public center
of the southern part of the city. In the central part of the city on the
Vezelka River, the arrangement of the embankment has been completed[.
Honorary title “City of the first fireworks” (August 5, 1943).
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (April 9, 1980) - for the courage
and fortitude shown by the working people of the city during the Great
Patriotic War, and for the successes achieved in economic and cultural
construction.
Based on the results of 2004, the Government of the
Russian Federation awarded Belgorod a II degree diploma of the
All-Russian competition for the title “The most comfortable city in
Russia” among cities of the I category.
In 2006, the Ministry of
Regional Development of the Russian Federation, following the results of
the all-Russian competition “Best Municipal Formation”, awarded the
urban district “City of Belgorod” a third degree diploma in the category
“Social Sphere of Municipal Formation”.
In 2006, by the decision of
the board of trustees of the all-Russian competition for economic
development of Russia “Golden Ruble”, Belgorod was recognized as the
winner in the category “Best city of the Russian Federation in terms of
economic development indicators in 2005” in the category “Regional
center of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation” in the Central
Federal District.
The honorary title of the Russian Federation “City
of Military Glory” (April 27, 2007) with the presentation of a diploma
from the President of Russia - for courage, fortitude and mass heroism
shown by the defenders of the city in the struggle for freedom and
independence of the Fatherland.
According to the results of the II
All-Russian competition “Best Municipal Formation” in 2007, the urban
district “City of Belgorod” took 2nd place in the nomination “Best
municipal formation in the field of providing information support for
local government reform.”
In February 2009, the city of Belgorod was
recognized as the winner of the All-Russian competition “Best Municipal
Formation” in the category “Economics and Finance of a Municipal
Formation” and was awarded a 1st degree diploma.
In October 2009,
Belgorod was awarded a letter of gratitude from the Ministry of Regional
Development of the Russian Federation for its active participation in
the all-Russian competition for the title “The Most Comfortable City in
Russia” for 1997-2008 and for repeatedly winning prizes.
According to
the results of the V annual All-Russian competition of municipalities in
2010, Belgorod took first place in the category “The best municipal
formation among urban districts - administrative centers”.
On June
23, 2011, the city of Belgorod was awarded a high award - a diploma from
the Council of Europe for outstanding success in promoting the ideas of
European partnership and cooperation, and the development of
international contacts.
In 2013, the Ministry of Regional Development
of the Russian Federation recognized Belgorod as the third most livable
city in the country.
In an azure (blue, blue) field rises a golden (yellow) lion with a
scarlet (red) tongue and silver (white) eyes, teeth and claws; above
him, flying to the right with outstretched wings is a silver (white)
eagle with golden (yellow) eyes, tongue, beak, claws and paws.
The current coat of arms was approved by resolution of the head of the
city administration No. 1416 of August 1994, as amended in accordance
with decisions of the City Council No. 278 of June 18, 1999
(regulations) and No. 303 of July 22, 1999 (image).
The modern
coat of arms of Belgorod recreates the historical continuity of the coat
of arms of Belgorod, approved on July 21, 1893 (with subsequent changes)
based on the banner emblem of the 1712 Belgorod infantry regiment, which
showed valor in the Battle of Poltava.
A rectangular panel of two horizontal stripes: the upper one is blue
and the lower one is white. The ratio of the sizes of blue and white
stripes is 2\3:1\3. In the roof on the blue stripe (near the flag staff)
there is a color image of the figures of the coat of arms of Belgorod -
an eagle and a lion. The width of the coat of arms is 1/5 of the blue
stripe. The height of the figures is 4/5 of the height of the blue
stripe.
The current flag was approved on July 22, 1999 by
decision of the Belgorod City Council of Deputies No. 321 and entered
into the State Heraldic Register of the Russian Federation with the
assignment of registration number 978.
The flag was designed
based on the coat of arms, the figures of which were first depicted on
the banners of the Belgorod regiments in 1712. According to one version,
the composition of the flag symbolizes the victory of Russia in the
Russian-Swedish war. The eagle, symbolizing the Russian army, is chasing
the lion - the Swedish king.