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Kursk

Coordinates: 51°44′14″N 36°11′14″E / 51.73722°N 36.18722°E / 51.73722; 36.18722
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For other uses, see Kursk (disambiguation).
Kursk
Курск
Kursk Cathedral
Kursk Cathedral
Flag of Kursk
Flag
Coat of arms of Kursk
Coat of arms
Location of Kursk
Map
Kursk is located in Russia
Kursk
Kursk
Location of Kursk
Kursk is located in Kursk Oblast
Kursk
Kursk
Kursk (Kursk Oblast)
Coordinates: 51°44′14″N 36°11′14″E / 51.73722°N 36.18722°E / 51.73722; 36.18722
CountryRussia
Federal subjectKursk Oblast
Founded1032
Government
 • BodyCity Duma
 • MayorNikolay Ovcharov
Area
 • Total190 km2 (70 sq mi)
Elevation
250 m (820 ft)
 • Capital ofKursk Oblast
 • Urban okrugKursk Urban Okrug
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK Edit this on Wikidata[1])
Postal code(s)[2]
305000
Dialing code(s)+7 4712
OKTMO ID38701000001
Holiday25 September
Websitewww.kurskadmin.ru

Kursk (Russian: Курск; Russian pronunciation: [ˈkursk]) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. Kursk was a key turning point of the Russian-German war during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history. Population: 406,799 (2008 est.);[citation needed] 412,442 (2002 Census);[3] 424,239 (1989 Soviet census).[4]

History

Stalin-era buildings flanking Kursk's Red Square
Pre-1917 view of Kursk
Modern view of Kursk

Archaeology indicates that the site of Kursk was settled in the fifth or fourth century B.C.E.[citation needed] The settlement was fortified and included Slavs at least as early as the eighth century C.E.[citation needed]

The first written record of Kursk is dated 1032. It was mentioned as one of Severian towns by Prince Igor in The Tale of Igor's Campaign: "As to my Kurskers, they are famous knights—swaddled under war-horns, nursed under helmets, fed from the point of the lance; to them the trails are familiar, to them the ravines are known, the bows they have are strung tight, the quivers, unclosed, the sabers, sharpened; themselves, like gray wolves, they lope in the field, seeking for themselves honor, and for their prince, glory."

The seat of a minor principality, Kursk was raided by the Polovtsians in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and destroyed by Batu Khan around 1237. The city was rebuilt no later than 1283. Kursk joined the centralized Russian state in 1508, becoming its southern border province. It was an important center of the corn trade with Ukraine and hosted an important fair, which took place annually under the walls of the monastery of Our Lady of Kursk.

Town status was granted in 1779.

The Soviet government prized Kursk for rich deposits of iron ore and developed it into one of the major railroad hubs in the Russian Southwest. During World War II, Kursk was occupied by Germans between 4 November 1941 and 8 February 1943. Again in World War II, the village of Prokhorovka near Kursk was the center of the Battle of Kursk, a major engagement between Soviet and German forces which is widely believed by historians to have been the largest tank battle in history and was the last major German offensive mounted against the Soviet Union.

Attractions

The oldest building in Kursk is the upper church of the Trinity Monastery, a good example of the transition style characteristic for Peter the Great's early reign. The oldest lay building is the so-called Romodanovsky Chamber, although it was erected in all probability in the mid-18th century, when the Romodanovsky family had ceased to exist.

The city cathedral was built between 1752 and 1778 in the splendid Baroque style and was decorated so sumptuously that many art historians attributed it to Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Although Rastrelli's authorship is out of the question, the cathedral is indeed the most impressive monument of Elizabethan Baroque not to be commissioned by the imperial family or built in the imperial capital.

Religious Procession in Kursk Province, painting by Ilya Repin (1880-1883)
Sergievsko-Kazansky Cathedral in Kursk, 1752-1778
Central Bank of Russia building

The cathedral has two stories, with the lower church consecrated to St. Sergius of Radonezh and the upper one — to the Theotokos of Kazan. The upper church is noted for an intricate icon screen which took 16 years to complete. The three-storey cathedral bell tower derives peculiar interest from the fact that Seraphim of Sarov, whose father took part in construction works, survived an accidental fall from its top floor at the age of 7. The Resurrection Church is also shown where St. Seraphim was baptised.

The monastery cathedral of the Sign (1816–26) is another imposing edifice, rigorously formulated in the purest Neoclassical style, with a cupola measuring 20 metres in diameter and rising 48 metres high. The interior was formerly as rich as coloured marbles, gilding, and frescoes could make it. During the Soviet period, the cathedral was desecrated, four lateral domes and twin belltowers over the entrance pulled down. There are plans to restore the church to its former glory.

The modern city is a home for several universities: Kursk State Medical University, State Technical University, Kursk State University (former Pedagogical University) and Agricultural Academy, as well as the private Regional Open Social Institute (ROSI). There are also modern shrines and memorials commemorating the Battle of Kursk, both in the city and in Prokhorovka.

The Command Station Bunker & Museum [5][failed verification]was built specifically in memorial of the courageous Russian T-34 tank units that fought in the Battle of Kursk, where a T-34 tank is on display. Over 6,000 armored vehicles fought in close range over the open territory near Kursk in 1943. This battle stopped the German advance into the Kursk Salient, and was a turning point in WWII on the Eastern Front.

Kursk played a role in the Cold War as host to Khalino air base.

Nearby is Tsentralno-Chernozemny Zapovednik, a large section of steppe soil that has never been plowed. It is used for a variety of research purposes.

Transport

Kursk is located on a major railway line between Moscow and Kharkov, with trains also linking the city to Voronezh and Kiev. Kursk Vostochny Airport provides domestic flights. Public transport includes busses trolleybuses and trams.

Culture and sports

Kursk State University is home to the Russian Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of conductor and trumpet soloist Sergei Proskourin. The orchestra performs regularly, tours internationally and has produced multiple CDs.[6]

Pushkin Theatre located in the center of the city. It has permanent company as well as visiting shows.

The City's football team FC Avangard Kursk, were promoted to the Russian First Division after winning their zone of the Russian Second Division in 2009.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kursk is twinned with:

Honors

Prominent residents

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). 3 June 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  2. ^ Local post office info - http://www.russianpost.ru/PostOfficeFindInterface/FindOPSByPostOfficeID.aspx?index=305000
  3. ^ Federal State Statistics Service (21 May 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
  4. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
  5. ^ "Dr. Ed Norris, World Indigenous Missions, 2007". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  6. ^ ""Russian Chamber Orchestra"".
  7. ^ "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr Destrict" (PDF). © 2009 Twins2010.com. Retrieved 2009-10-28. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Dictionary of Minor Planet Names - p.253

Websites

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