Nizhny Novgorod.
Nizhny Novgorod stands on the Strelka, where the Oka flows into the Volga, about 420 km east of Moscow. A red-brick kremlin rises above the confluence, and the old centre keeps memories of the great fair and of Maxim Gorky.
- Region
- Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
- Population
- 1,228,199 (2021)
- Founded
- 1221
- Airport
- Strigino · GOJ
Good news & stories
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All good newsHistory
The city was founded on 4 February 1221 by Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir. In 1612 Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky raised their volunteer army here. In 1817 the Makaryev Fair moved to Nizhny Novgorod, making it one of the country's leading trading centres. From 1932 to 1990 the city was called Gorky after the writer, who spent his childhood here, and its metro opened in 1985.
Culture & traditions
The red-brick kremlin, built in 1508–1511, is still the heart of the city. Nizhny Novgorod has eight theatres, including the Gorky Drama Theatre, and five concert halls, while its art museum holds more than 12,000 works by Russian and Western European artists. The Kashirin House, where Gorky spent his childhood, is now a museum. The Church of the Nativity, or Stroganov Church (1696–1719), is regarded as one of the finest examples of the Stroganov style, and the Pechersky Monastery keeps a five-domed cathedral of 1632 and tent-roofed churches from the 1640s.
Sport
The city's best-known club is the ice hockey team Torpedo. In football it is represented by FC Nizhny Novgorod. The Nizhny Novgorod Stadium hosted six matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Food & drink
Nizhny Novgorod has lived by trade for centuries, and after the Makaryev Fair moved here it became one of the country's main markets.
Practical information
The city is served by Strigino International Airport; fast trains reach Moscow in under four hours, and the Trans-Siberian Railway passes through. There are two metro lines, and a cable car about 3.5 km long spans the Volga. Nizhny Novgorod is on Moscow time. The climate is humid continental, averaging about −9 °C in January and +19 °C in July; May to September is the best time to visit.
What to see
- Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin — an early-16th-century red-brick fortress above the Volga
- Chkalov Stairs — 442 steps linking the embankments
- The Strelka — where the Oka meets the Volga
- Bolshaya Pokrovskaya — the main street, mostly pedestrianised
- Stroganov Church — a showpiece of the Stroganov style on Rozhdestvenskaya Street
- Volga cable car — a 3.5 km ride across the river
Plan a trip
Nizhny Novgorod · GOJ
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Sources
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