Pervouralsk is known for its harmonious combination of sports and culture, which attracts tourists from all over the country. It is located in a mountainous area - between the peaks of the Ural ridge, on the banks of the Shaitanka River. The attractions in this city of the Sverdlovsk region will not leave indifferent anyone who decides to come here. The history of Pervouralsk began in 1732 with the small village of Vasilyevsko-Shaitansky, which gradually developed into a significant industrial and cultural center, receiving city status and its modern name.
What to see first in Pervouralsk
A sightseeing tour of Pervouralsk, as a rule, begins with an examination of its main attractions, the so-called “calling cards” that create the face of the city.
Innovation cultural center
- Address: st. Lenina, 18B.
Pervouralsk ICC is the most recognizable building in the city, which has become its symbol and business card. Construction of the center started in 2013 and lasted three years. The result of the carefully thought-out work of the architects was an unusual structure in the high-tech style. It rises above the city like a gigantic glass ball and sparkles in the sun.
Due to its rounded, flattened shape, the building was jokingly nicknamed the “innovation puck.” The multi-storey ICC houses various cultural, educational and entertainment institutions:
- Extensive library.
- Cinema.
- Museum of Mining Civilization. The exposition consists of several stands telling about the cities of the Sverdlovsk region.
- Mineralogical Museum. The exhibition presents a collection of minerals that abound in the Ural Mountains.
- Children's technology park "Quantorium".
The Innovation Cultural Center is one of the most visited institutions in Pervouralsk. It often organizes public events, cultural evenings and children's parties.
Park of New Culture
- Address: st. Gagarina, 24A.
The New Culture Park is a great place to relax with children. On its territory there is a huge number of attractions suitable for children of different ages. Here you can ride the Ferris wheel (a great opportunity to see the city from a bird's eye view), spin in the Cups and test your agility in the Beehive rope park.
Of particular interest is the Husky Park, a corner of Alaska in the Urals, where trained sled dogs await visitors. A visit to the park provides a wonderful opportunity to play with Siberian Huskies and Nenets Samoyeds and ride in a real dog sled (in winter).
The zoo, where bears, wolverines, wolves, foxes, deer and camels live, is no less in demand among the little guests of the Park of New Culture. We can safely say that it’s easy to spend a whole day on the territory of this multifaceted attraction and never get bored - 99% of reviews confirm this fact.
Church of Peter and Paul
- Address: st. Ordzhonikidze, 1.
The history of the Peter and Paul Church began in August 1748, when a wooden structure topped with a cross rose in the middle of the Vasilyevsko-Shaitansky village. The small church was destroyed by a large fire that broke out in the city in April 1820. The restoration of the temple began immediately after the disaster. A new (this time stone) church was laid on the old foundation.
For a long time this temple was considered one of the best in the diocese of Yekaterinburg. There was a parish school under him, in which more students studied than in all the nearby villages.
The era of prosperity gave way to times of decline. In 1922, persecution for the faith began and the church building was taken away from the parishioners. The domes, bells and church utensils were melted down, and the building itself remained abandoned. In 1935, its interior was renovated and converted into a cinema; later, local history museums and a living corner were opened in the adjacent halls.
During the Second World War, entertainment facilities in the former church were closed, and a laundry room was installed in the rooms, where women washed soldiers’ uniforms from dirt and blood. In the post-war years, the laundry was closed as unnecessary and its place was taken by a sausage shop. Tormented by time, war and endless reconstruction, the building was blown up in the 1970s.
The temple was revived in 1990. The new building was built on the ruins of its predecessor. The newly born Peter and Paul Church is a monumental structure made of red brick. The main building in the classicist style is crowned with a golden dome, and the adjacent bell tower is crowned with a high spire. Today, the Church of Peter and Paul welcomes parishioners and students of the Orthodox school in the same way as 200 years ago.
Pervouralsk museums and theaters
The cultural life of the city revolves around museum exhibitions and theatrical plays. They bring a touch of spirituality into the daily life of city residents and add variety to the vacations of Pervouralsk guests.
Historical Museum "City of Pervouralsk"
- Address: Karbysheva street, 1.
The Museum of the History of Pervouralsk is the largest and most important exhibition center in the city. It was founded in December 1987 on the basis of the museum. The exhibition is housed in four halls, each of which is dedicated to a separate stage in the formation of Pervouralsk.
- The first hall presents the history of the construction of the plant and its work at the beginning of the 20th century.
- The exhibition in the second hall covers the life of the city during the Great Patriotic War. It tells about the evacuation of the plant, what contribution the Pervouralsk home front workers made to the achievement of the Great Victory, as well as about the voluntary tank corps.
- The third hall is dedicated to the post-war development of the city and the plant.
- The fourth hall is a venue for temporary exhibitions on historical and ethnographic topics.
The museum pays great attention to the military-patriotic education of the new generation. School and student excursions are often combined with meetings with combatants, politicians and historians.
The Wax Museum
- Address: pl. Pobeda, 10.
Some travelers rightly call the wax museum the “highlight” of Pervouralsk. Not every city can boast of an establishment of this kind. Several halls display figures of rulers, poets, military leaders and other personalities known to us from the history of Russia.
Made of wax, the sculptures here reflect the individual characteristics of the characters: eye color, posture, posture and clothing style. The costume designers did not miss even small details, such as brooches and hairpins in the ladies' attire.
The museum's collection is not very rich. There are not as many sculptures in it as in Madame Tussauds London or the St. Petersburg wax exhibition, however, it is very interesting and deserves attention. The museum gains additional points due to its advantageous location in the city center.
Drama Theater "Option"
- Address: st. Lenina, 18A.
The Pervouralsk Theater began its history in 1980. His first troupe consisted of graduates of local schools - young enthusiasts who gained experience and mastered the dramaturgy of such writers as Shakespeare, Gogol and Ostrovsky. The Variant theater received the status of a professional theater in the early 1990s, at which time it was allocated a separate building.
Today “Variant” is one of the most significant cultural centers of Pervouralsk. Its repertoire includes productions for adults, children's plays, classical and original plays, as well as dance shows and music concerts. The local troupe regularly tours and has become famous in Perm, Kurgan and Tyumen.
Bottom line
A city with a population of more than 120,000 people is not an urban village with 10,000, but in this case, Pervouralsk is inferior in terms of housing stock, amenities and infrastructure to its “smaller” brothers with the same rich industrial history.
Despite the fact that an innovation center was opened here, and the center of Pervouralsk looks updated, the city lacks good playgrounds and renovations, restaurants and sports organizations. The city's population is declining due to migration - young people are moving to larger areas. The reason for this is both the state of the city itself and the opportunities for work, as well as environmental problems.
Beautiful architecture of the city of Pervouralsk
Walking along the streets of Pervouralsk, you can see a wide variety of buildings, some of which have come into modern times from past centuries.
People's House
- Address: st. Lenina, 65.
We are talking about the oldest house in Pervouralsk, built in the 19th century. In its heyday, the two-story manor was part of a noble court, which also included a barn, a forge and a mighty gate.
The names and fate of the owners of the house are not known. Most likely they left the country after the revolution, leaving the estate to the city authorities. The outbuildings were demolished, and the main building was given over to communal apartments.
Today the house is in disrepair, awaiting either restoration or demolition. The architectural monument of the century before last has preserved subtle traces of its former beauty. The elaborate carvings are still visible on the dilapidated walls.
Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr
- Address: st. Weiner, 89.
The young temple, built in 2008, stands in the suburbs - on the edge of the forest. This is a one-story stone building, decorated with modesty, without frills. Drums with golden domes are installed on the slate roofs of the temple, and a hipped bell tower rises nearby. Not far from the church there is an almshouse where disabled people and orphans live, who regularly attend local liturgies.
Singing Fountains
- Address: Victory Square.
Of course, this is the main decoration of Victory Square, and indeed the entire city. Fountains of various sizes and shapes rise from a rectangular granite bowl stretching for several meters.
There are violent streams hitting the sky, gracefully bending crystal streams, and foamy splashes that create a ghostly water haze. At night, the fountains are illuminated with bright lights, the music is turned on and a show begins that can delight any random person.
Ecology
Air pollution levels were “high” in 2016-2017 and “low” in 2021. But there are problems with pollution of certain sections of rivers.
Over the past few years, three radiation incidents have been reported in the city. In a car with scrap metal at the Pervouralsky New Pipe Plant, there was radiation twice – in 2021 and 2017. In the same year, increased radiation was discovered on the territory of MetalTeka.
In total, 25 waste disposal sites are registered in the city for 2021, of which 6 are abandoned industrial waste sites and 2 are municipal waste sites.
In 2021, 22 unauthorized landfills were liquidated in the city district - that’s 10 thousand cubic meters of garbage in 285 Kamaz trucks.
How to visit famous monuments of Pervouralsk
City monuments attract the attention of tourists. As can be seen even from the photographs, these memorial signs tell the history of the city no worse than museums.
Monument "Anchor"
- Address: Vatutina street.
The memorial is a massive ship's anchor resting on a stone. In the center of the granite boulder there is a tablet with the inscription “Loyal to the sea, duty and oath.” Uninitiated people are surprised to see a maritime monument in a land city, but it was installed here for a reason.
The initiative to create the memorial belonged to the organization “Union of Marine Corps Veterans”. Townspeople whose past is connected with the navy, and those whose great-grandfathers served on military ships, contributed to the formation of the monument: some helped with the installation, and others supported the project financially.
The memorial was opened in 2012 on Navy Day. According to the designers, it reminds the First Urals residents of the valiant service of their fellow sailors.
Stella "Europe - Asia"
- Address: Moskovsky tract.
The obelisk is located on Mount Berezovaya, recognized as the boundary between continents. The border between Europe and Asia is marked by a tall red granite stele with a double-headed eagle on top. There is a square around the monument, where you can literally have one foot in Europe and the other in Asia.
Monument "Unity of Front and Rear"
- Address: Pervouralsk Park of Culture and Leisure.
The monument is located in the Park of New Culture. On a cubic pedestal, stone figures of a soldier and a home front worker rise side by side. The monument was inaugurated in 1965 in honor of the 20th anniversary of Victory Day. Today, the square next to it hosts annual rallies and military events.
Memorial of Glory
- Address: Ordzhonikidze street.
The main memorial complex of Pervouralsk is located near the city cemetery. It includes the following monuments:
- Tank T-34
- Obelisk dedicated to the soldiers who died during the Second World War. A red banner is engraved on the white stone and a five-pointed star adorns the top.
- The memorial wall is a long granite slab with the slogan “Your feat is immortal.” In front of it is a model of a soldier's helmet.
On Victory Day, almost the entire city gathers here. A ceremonial meeting and laying of flowers takes place on the square.
Sports tourism in Pervouralsk and its surroundings
Winter sports are very popular in Pervouralsk, but in the summer, active recreation enthusiasts will have something to keep their muscles busy.
Mount Volchikha
- Coordinates on the map: 56.824332, 59.995587.
Volchikha is the highest mountain in the Yekaterinburg environs (526.3 m). It got its name from the fact that in the 18th century a large number of wolves lived in its forests, but today this place is safe for tourists.
In the summer, climbers come here. The rocky slopes of the mountain are used as a natural climbing wall. And in winter, the mountain is “captured” by skiers and snowboarders. During the snowy season, a funicular starts running on Volchikha, and ski slopes of different difficulty levels open.
Mount Teplaya
- GPS coordinates: 56.945609, 59.882977.
Mount Teplaya rises above the picturesque surroundings of the Chusovaya River. In past centuries, it played the role of a border between settlements, but now it serves as one of the most popular ski resorts.
The sports complex has 4 tracks, between which there are lines of coniferous forest. Here you can rent skis, snowboards and tubing, and after the rides, rent a gazebo and barbecue on the edge of the forest.
Mount Pilnaya
- Address: st. Prospector, 2B.
The name of the mountain is due to the fact that there was once a sawmill on it. Currently, the forest expanses are not subject to deforestation and have restored their richness. The slopes of Mount Pilnaya are equipped with ski slopes, the total length of which is 3 km. There are cafes on the mountain where you can relax and have a snack at the end of an active day.
Ice Sports Palace
- Address: ave. Ilyich, 2B.
The Pervouralsk Sports Palace was opened in 1968 and became the first ice palace in the Urals. The sports complex is located in a spacious blue and white building, which includes an artificial ice rink where hockey matches and figure skating performances are held, a fitness room, a choreography room, a room for playing table tennis and a buffet.
The “Start” sports school has been opened at the ice palace, producing professional hockey players and figure skaters. The Sports Palace is open not only to section students; anyone can visit it. Skate rentals and a blade sharpening station are available for visitors here.
Trampoline
- Address: st. Danilova, 2A.
If you need to release accumulated energy, come to “Spring”. In this entertainment and sports center, visitors will find over 30 trampolines for children and adults. The sports area includes trampolines of varying difficulty (professional and amateur), inclined trampolines, air cushions, a climbing wall and a pool with foam cubes.
Before entering the trampolines, visitors are required to undergo instruction and warm-up. "Pruzhina" provides services for organizing children's parties with animation. For events there are buffet rooms with a capacity of up to 30 people. The rental of the premises includes table setting and decoration with garlands and balloons.
Read reviews of other cities of the Sverdlovsk region - Sysert, Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Irbit, Alapaevsk, Nevyansk, Nizhny Tagil and Kamensk-Uralsky
The weekend in Pervouralsk promises to be fun and full of impressions. Adult travelers will love the sights and opportunities to challenge themselves on the ski slopes, while kids will love the cute activities created just for them. In a word, a trip to Pervouralsk will bring joy to everyone, young and old.
Automobile highways
The following roads and routes pass through Pervouralsk:
- P242 is a public highway of federal significance, the length of which is 354 km. It is part of the European route E22. The highway passes through the territory of two regions of the Russian Federation: Sverdlovsk region and Perm region.
- E22 is a European route with a length of 5,320 km. The highway passes through the cities of the following countries: Great Britain, Latvia, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Russia.
