Discover Siberia - Russia

Irkutsk from above – the cultural capital of Eastern Siberia

Irkutsk is one of the ten largest Siberian cities, occupying the sixth line in this list. Located 66 kilometers from Lake Baikal, Irkutsk is divided into two parts by the Angara. Angara is the only river that flows from the deepest lake in the world.

For more than 350 years of history, Irkutsk has long remained a city of merchants and gold miners. With the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the capital of the Angara region received a powerful incentive for the development of transport enterprises, coal and timber industries. 

During the Soviet years, Irkutsk became one of the largest industrial centers in Russia. And now the city is often credited with the status of the cultural capital of Eastern Siberia. Mostly due to the large number of museums, theaters and a high level of university education.

Urban development makes up more than a third of the territory of Irkutsk, one tenth is on water surfaces, and the rest of the area of ​​the regional center is covered with forests, meadows and floodplains.

Glazkovsky automobile bridge – one of the automobile crossings across the Angara. Construction lasted five years and was completed in 1936. The central spans of the bridge reach 80 meters in length, which at the time of the completion of construction was an absolute record for the USSR.

Glazkovsky automobile bridge
Monument to Yakov Pokhabov, the founder of Irkutsk

Cathedral of the Epiphany. It belongs to the main symbols of the city. In Soviet times, the confectionery shop of the bakery was located under the vaults of the church.

Cathedral of the Epiphany

Church of the Savior. Along with the Epiphany Cathedral, it is considered one of the oldest stone structures in the city and throughout Eastern Siberia. This is the only building of the Irkutsk Kremlin, which was dismantled in the 1790s.

Church of the Savior

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary – a Catholic church, which currently houses the Organ Hall of the Irkutsk Philharmonic. In addition to organ concerts, Catholic services are held in the church.

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary – a Catholic church
he Church of the Exaltation of the Cross is an outstanding monument of the Siberian Baroque

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