Irbit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Irbit (Russian: Ирби́т) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. It is located at , about 203 km from Yekaterinburg by train or 250 km by car on the right bank of the Nitsa River. It is crossed by long distance railway Yekaterinburg–Tavda–Ustye-Akha and by road traffic routes, directed to Kamyshlov, Artyomovsk, Turinsk, and Tyumen. Total area of the town is approximately 64 km². Population: 42,578 (2005 est.); 43,387 (2003 est.); 43,318 (2002 Census).
A public park is located in the northern part of the town. Water resources are represented by the Nitsa and Irbit Rivers. Mineral resources include diatomaceous earth and glass-making sand deposits. International dialing code: 34355, postal code: 623850.
As of 2006, the mayor of the town is Andrey Teodorovich Gelmut.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1631 as Irbeyevskаya Sloboda (Ирбе́евская слобода́), its name was changed in 1662 to Irbit. It was granted official town status by Catherine the Great in 1775 for the town's loyalty to the Empress during the Pugachev uprising of 1773–1774. The following year she awarded the town its official crest.
In the 19th century, the Irbit fair was an important event for the trade in Siberian fur and Chinese tea.
[edit] Culture
The Irbit State Museum of Fine Art contains some important works including etchings by famous European artists. At the moment the museum is the only one in Russia specializing in engravings. In its collection there are engravings by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, German, French, English, Spanish, Swiss, Austrian, Polish, Bulgarian, Belgian, and North American artists. The collection includes works from Albrecht Dürer to Francisco Goya. Russian art is represented by the works of A. F. Zubova, I. A. Sokolova, E. P. Chemesova, Mikhail Dobuzhinsky, Alexander Deyneka, and many others. The domestic collection represents the artists of Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Tagil.
There is also a 200-year-old theatre in the town.
Although Irbit no longer attracts as many visitors as it once did, the Irbit State Motorcycle Museum is being built in the town with the intention of bringing foreign motorcycle enthusiasts to the IMZ-Ural motorcycle factory. Each summer thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts come to Irbit from around the world to take part in the Irbit bike show and in the Motocross races.
[edit] Education
There are several educational institutions in Irbit. Affiliates of the Ural State Politechnical University and the Institute of Commerce and Law provide higher education. Motorcycle training college and Agricultural training college, Medical and Pedagogical training schools are facilities of professional education. There are also ten secondary schools and seventeen pre-school institutions.
[edit] Economy
After the World War II, various branches of industry, such as engineering, manufacturing of construction materials, pharmaceutical, light, and food-manufacturing industries developed rapidly. During the war a motorcycle-manufacturing plant was moved here from Moscow. For more than fifty years over three million motorcycles had been produced here. The factory now produces only two thousand motorcycles a year, most of which are for export. In the Soviet era, however, hundreds of thousands were produced.
Today it produces different types of motorcycles and spare parts for them, specializing in heavy motorcycles with sidecars.
Irbit dairy plant is the largest milk-processing plant in the Urals. In 2004, it processed 66,000 tons of milk.
Irbit bakery plant manufactures different types of breads and batons, cakes, croutons, toasts.
Irbit chemico-pharmaceutical plant produces drugs, chemical substances, fluids for chemical industry.
[edit] External links
- (English) Irbit—the people and the city (photos)
- (Russian) A set of postcards with views of Irbit
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Cities and towns in Sverdlovsk Oblast |  |
| Administrative center: Yekaterinburg Alapayevsk | Aramil | Artyomovsky | Asbest | Beryozovsky | Bogdanovich | Degtyarsk | Irbit | Ivdel | Lesnoy | Kachkanar | Kamensk-Uralsky | Kamyshlov | Karpinsk | Kirovgrad | Krasnoturyinsk | Krasnoufimsk | Krasnouralsk | Kushva | Mikhaylovsk | Nevyansk | Nizhniye Sergi | Novaya Lyalya | Nizhny Tagil | Nizhnyaya Salda | Nizhnyaya Tura | Novouralsk | Pervouralsk | Polevskoy | Revda | Rezh | Serov | Severouralsk | Sredneuralsk | Sukhoy Log | Sysert | Talitsa | Tavda | Turinsk | Verkhnyaya Pyshma | Verkhnyaya Salda | Verkhnyaya Tura | Verkhny Tagil | Verkhoturye | Volchansk | Zarechny |
