Red Rose are proud to sponsor this "Unite for Diabetes" TB! Here is some info on the home city:
[b]Solikamsk – the salt capital of Russian Empire[/b]
Solikamsk (Kama salt) – is the north city of Perm region. The city starts its history from 1430, when on the river Usolka was organized the settlement which was called Kama Salt. In XVI century on the territory of the future Solikamsk salt was found and the city became the only where salt was extracted – it was a real “salt-cellar” of Russia.
Solikamsk became the city of the state importance from 1636 to 1738 it was an official capital of Ural.
Solikamsk has the status of the historical reserved city.
Built in the form of the horseshoe it includes the rarest by its decoration Cross constructing cathedral, a bell tower, Voskresenskaya church, Troitzk cathedral, Bogoyavlenskaya church and Voevoda house. The leading place in the ensemble has the Troitzk cathedral (1685-1697) – the most monumental and picturesque building of the city. Its pyramidal-graduated composition with the beautiful decoration of figure bricks leads in the panorama of the city building. It is also remarkable by the fact that the icon of Nikolaus the miracle-maker, presented by Ivan the Terrible, was kept.
Near it there is the 60-meters spire of the cathedral’s bell tower, which was built on the ridge of a steep slope in 1713. Probably the most interesting church of the city – Bogoyavlenskaya with the side-altar of Vladimir God’s Mother. At the external look attracts the great number of glazed tiles. At the entire look – carved wooden iconostasis (a wall, covered with the rare collection of icons) of the Stroganov’s painting.
In Solikamsk you can also acquaint with the oldest stone building of the civil architecture of the XVII century in the Urals. This is the Voevoda House. In the walls of two meters’ thickness there are loopholes. Under the building there is a stone arch of the underground tent and the doors with a huge lock, which helps in the case of a danger, turn the building in the fortress.
The architect guiding line of the eastern part of the city makes the Ioanno-Predtechenskaya church – a majestic work of Prikamye’s architects of the first quarter of the XVIII century and the building of the Voznesenskiy monastery, founded in 1589.
In Solikamsk you can see the rarest monuments of the wooden architecture – industrial buildings of Ust-Borovskoy salt factor. The complex includes brine-lifting towers, salt chests, salt boiling units, salt warehouses, smithies, bath-houses, civil houses. Different epochs in the development of the salt boiling business, masters’ and workers’ factory way of life are exposed in the museum “Salts of Prikamye”. Not long ago by the initiative of the scientists and museum workers it was recommended to be included in the List of the World’s Legacy of UNESKO.
Being in Solikamsk you can also go on the excursion to salt mines. Before you get down to the mine you should dress into the costume of the mine worker, put on the safety helmets and equip with a lamp and oxygen balloon. All this equipment is needed according to severe measures of safeness. To avoid accidents you should follow the instructor.
[This entry was edited by Red Rose on Saturday, January 06, 2007 at 9:32:36 AM.]