General Information
Orenburg Region is located between Europe and Asia, west of the Ural Mountains. It borders the Bashkortostan and Tatarstan, Chelyabinsk and Samara regions, as well as Kazakstan. The area of the region is 124 thousand sq.km. It is bigger than Latvia, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Austria or Portugal. The region stretches 750 km west to east.
The population of the region is 2,223,400 people. It consists of 35 districts and 11 cities, including Orenburg, the main city, Abdulino, Buguruslan, Buzuluk, Gai and others. Orenburg with a population of 532,100 is the centre of the Orenburg region. The city stands on the Ural River.
City telephone code: +7 3532
Time: Moscow time + 2 hours, GMT +5 hours
Distance from Moscow: 1478 km
Climate
Because of the region’s remoteness from the ocean, the climate of the region is sharply continental. Winters are long and springs and autumns are short. The average temperature in January is -14,8îÑ, the average temperature in July is +21,9îÑ. The annual average temperature is -9îÑ. The temperature may vary greatly within the season. In January it may range from +5 to -42îÑ, in July – from +42 to +5îÑ.
History
Originally the territory of modern Orenburg Oblast was home to several nomadic tribes, including the Kalmyks, Skiffs, and Tatars, who later moved westward. The Russian state took control of the region in the XVI-XVII centuries, though intensive migration to the area from the country’s western territories began only in the 1830s.
In 1743, the present capital city, Orenburg, was founded as a fortress on the cross of the Yaik and Sakmara rivers. It was an important military outpost on the frontier with the nomad Kazakhs. After Central Asia was incorporated into the Russian Empire, Orenburg became a trading station and a prominent railway junction on the way from the new Central Asian possessions and Siberia.
From 1920 to 1925 Orenburg was the capital of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Russia (renamed Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1925, presently called Kazakhstan). In 1938 it was renamed Chkalov and in 1957 back to Orenburg.
Economy
The Orenburg Region that is the natural border between Europe and Asia has tremendous economic potential. 2,560 mineral deposits and 75 kinds of minerals have been discovered here, including natural gas, oil, copper, iron and nickel ores, gold, silver, brown coal, salt, marble, jasper and many others. The region is second only to Yamal-Nenets region in the extraction of gas. Orenburgskoe gas-condensation field, the biggest in Europe, makes up almost 6% of all gas reserves in Russia.
The main industries of the city are fuel industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering, metal-working, chemistry and petrochemistry and machinery construction. The local heavy and light industries are among the ten most developed industries in Russia. Shawls and open-work kerchiefs "Pautinka" produced in the Orenburg region are well-known all over the world. More than three fourths of the oblast’s output comes from industry.
The region also has developed agriculture. The gross yield of hard and strong sorts of wheat equals 5 million tons.
The investment potential of the region is determined by the saturated market, well-developed ties with the foreign countries, mineral wealth, skilled personnel and powerful scientific and technological potential. Among its top ten trade partners are Germany, India, Italy, Egypt, Poland, Switzerland, Ukraine, Byelorussia and Kazakhstan.
The region is located on the crossroads of numerous railroads and highways making it an important transportation hub. It is a major rail junction where the Trans-Caspian, the Central Asian and the Samara-Orenburg railroad lines meet. The country’s major gas and oil pipelines, connecting Siberian gas and oil fields to the European part of Russia and other European countries cross its territory.
Culture
Scientific potential of the Orenburg region is high. There are 1,560 schools, 45 colleges and 10 universities in the region: the Orenburg State University, State Agricultural University, State Medicine Academy, Pedagogical University and others.
There are several professional theatres in Orenburg including Gorky Regional Theatre of Drama, Theatre of Musical Comedy, Faizy Tatar Dramatic Theatre and Puppet Theatre. The main places of interest also include the Philharmonic Hall, the Museum of Local Lore, the Museum of Fine Arts, Gostiny Dvor (1749-1754), and Caravansarai (1836-1842).
Among the most famous regional handicrafts is shawl-making. Traditionally, warm clothing made of goat was a necessity in severe winters. The famous Orenburg woven shawls are made entirely by hand. They are handspun and hand knitted from the finest down of goats in the region of Orenburg near Ural Mountains. The shawls may be bought in the city.
Hotels
Bely Medved Hotel. Address: Tomilinskaya Str., 241. Phone: +7 3532 354 542.
Fakel Hotel. Address: 32, Parkovy Prospekt. Phone: +7 3532 771 728, +7 3532 771 713; +7 3532 410644.
Garnizonnaya Hotel. Address: Sovetskaya Str. 3, Orenburg. Phone: +7 3532 770 776.
Gazovik Hotel. Address: Turkestanskaya Str., 7. Phone: +7 3532 410 734, +7 3532 412779.
Gostinny Dvor Lada. Address: 5, Volgogradskaya str.. Phone: +7 3532 367 006, +7 3532 369 776; +7 3532 368 430.
Invertor Hotel. Address: Naberezhnaya Str., 25. Phone: +7 3532 772 053.
Kolosok Hotel. Address: Nevelskaya Str., 6a. Phone: +7 3532 778 019.
Niva Hotel. Address: Chicherina Str., 24a. Phone: +7 3532 774 400, 775281, 774063.
Orenburg Hotel. Address: 30, Vystavochnaya str. Phone: +7 3532 410 501; +7 3532 410 644.
Evgeniya Stroganova
|
