Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg was founded in 1723 and named in honor to the empress Catherine I. During the rule of Catherine II the main road of the Russian Empire was laid through the young city. That was Siberian high way. Later the main railway Transsib was built. Yekaterinburg became a key to boundless and resourceful Siberia, a kind of “port to Asia”. It could be compared to St. Petersburg, which was a Russian “port to Europe”. Till nowadays Yekaterinburg remains one of the most important transport links of Russia.

Yekaterinburg is a large industrial centre . Two thirds of the industrial potential of the Sverdlovsk Region, of the so called “engine” of Russian industry, are concentrated in Yekaterinburg. Yekaterinburg is a great scientific and educational center of Russia. A presidium of the Ural department of the Russian Academy of Science is located in the city. About 40 scientific and research institutes, 18 state Higher Educational Establishments are functioning here.

Yekaterinburg is considered to be a leading cultural center of the region not by chance. More than 30 museums, 20 theatres, exhibit centers, galleries, a philharmonic society are functioning every day. The image of Yekaterinburg is original and distinctive; a lot of architectural monuments and monuments of different styles and epochs have been preserved here.

“Sputnik” Yekaterinburg International Tourism Bureau provides:

* visa support
* hotel reservations
* city and out-of-town excursions,
* tours about the Urals (in Russian, English, German and French)
* transfer