Sightseeing in Barnaul - what to see. Complete travel guide

Barnaul - the capital of the Altai Territory and the breadbasket of Siberia, a beautiful ancient city, founded in the middle of the XVIII century. Territorially it is located in the south of Western Siberia, where the Barnaulka River flows into the mighty Ob. The city is quite large; it is the cultural and educational center of Western Siberia. There are many theaters, museums and ancient monuments of architecture. In Soviet times, the city was exceptionally industrial; the crisis of the complex 90s did not reflect its appearance in the best way.

Now that the crisis is far behind, Barnaul is rapidly developing and flourishing, new office buildings of glass and concrete are being built in the center, which surprisingly change its appearance. It is worth noting that Barnaul is the unofficial capital of Altai, one of the oldest cities in the region and a popular tourist center. By population, Barnaul ranks second in Russia among cities that are not administrative centers.

About Barnaul and its history, a lot of interesting things can be told. The building, which now houses the city administration, previously belonged to the Russian general. He was a terribly jealous man, who madly loved his young wife. According to one of the legends, while in a fit of jealousy, the general walled up his wife in the wall of living room of his family mansion, but this gloomy history has not been formally confirmed. Eyewitnesses say that since then a ghost in the image of a young lady who demands revenge has been seen repeatedly in the building, what Mark Yudalevich told about in detail in his play "The Blue Lady". Copyright www.orangesmile.com

There is another city legend in Barnaul, connected with the name of a large industrialist Akinfiy Demivov, who smelted silver at his factories. The industrialist was convicted of illegal activities, and the government decided to transfer all of his factories to the state treasury. On May 1, 1747, the factories passed to the state, and the desperate industrialist, before dying, cursed them. Since then, in places where old factories were located, catastrophes and unexplained calamities often occur. It is worth mentioning that they happen in early May. A unique symbol of the city is the monument of Lenin, which is in many Russian cities, but only in Barnaul in the composition of the monument is there also a drapery. In the famous British guidebook "Lonely Planet" this monument was ironically called "Lenin Toreador".

In Barnaul, there is the Altai State Art Museum opened in 1959. The unique paintings you can see today started to be collected in the 19th century. The core of them is the private collection of Petr Frolov, a wealthy inventor and scientist. Over the years of its existence, the museum collection was enlarged thousandfold. Today, the museum presents over 13 000 exhibits. They include the paintings painted by Siberian artists in the 18th century. Besides paintings, the museum houses other pieces of art.

In the beautiful historical building, there is another museum called Gorod. It was opened not so long ago, in 2007. Its collection is dedicated to the history of the city development. Its guests can learn about how the small trading village was turning into a big prosperous city. The museum stores unique historical documents, the first pictures of the city, and its wealthiest people’s personal belongings. Since its opening, the museum has been a place where different themed lectures and events are regularly held. In the warm season, the guests of the city have an opportunity to visit unique nature attractions. In the immediate surroundings of the city, there is the Barnaul Ribbon Forest. It stretches along the left shore of Ob. The total length of the forest is over 400 km. When hiking here in summer, you can admire rare trees, birds and wild animals. Tourists can visit only some part of this relic forest. Today, many measures are taken to maintain its environmental situation.

In Barnaul, there is an excellent planetarium that can be visited by the whole family. It was opened in 1950 and occupies a very spectacular historical building. Since its opening, it has been distinguished by its up-to-date equipment. Its visitors have an opportunity to observe stars and planets and even see gaseous nebulae and meteors. In the planetarium, lectures and quizzes are regularly held for children of different ages. It is also actively involved in charitable work.