Culture of Astrakhan. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

An ancient city with a well-developed tourist infrastructure will amaze its guests with a variety of historical and architectural monuments. One of the main historical symbols of Astrakhan is the ancient white stone "Kremlin" built in the second half of the 16th century in the best traditions of military engineering architecture. The territory of the beautiful city is a rather unusual combination of different architectural styles, where interwoven quaint oriental motifs and truly Russian architecture.

The foundation of urban architecture was laid by the most famous Italian architect Alexander Digby, who successfully worked in Astrakhan for almost 20 years. It was he who introduced the features of late classicism into the appearance of the city and the exotic character of southern color. In the city there is a remarkable "Astrakhan museum of local lore", one of the largest in the region, possessing chic archaeological collections.

Picture gallery named after Paul Dogadin is not without reason considered the best in the Volga region. It has two branches - the "House Museum of Boris Kustodiev" keeps original samples of painting and the "House Museum of the famous poet Velimir Khlebnikov" represents an interesting collection dedicated to his work. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The heart of Astrakhan is the ancient "Belyiy gorod", from which it was built many centuries ago. The ancient Russian cities were built on the same pattern - a military fortress, and behind the fortress - "a residential posad". When the city began to develop, a powerful stone wall also encircled its residential part, in analogy with Moscow. From old Kremlin began the largest central street, before it was called – "Bolshaya", and now it is called "Sovetskoy". It is this street and a large trading area that has been the basis of the city's planning for many years.

All city streets originally started at "Torgovaya Square" and went either to the fortress or to the south. Belyiy gorod, together with its narrow streets, merchants' houses, drawing yards and the Admiralty, has been preserved almost completely. Walking along it is a separate aesthetic pleasure. A significant part of the city's attractions are the ancient churches and cathedrals. It is worth noting that Astrakhan is characterized by an unusual religious tolerance; conflicts on the basis of religious teachings have never arisen here.