Novouralsk: City History on Three Routes

Three color-coded museum routes offer different ways to explore Novouralsk: one passes through the historic district, one visits sights along the Bunarka, and one focuses on a more recent period. This means city history, places of remembrance and a walk by the water are presented as distinct themes. When choosing a holiday apartment, it may help to decide on your preferred itinerary first: the blue and red routes are walks, while a car or bicycle is recommended for the yellow route.

City History on Foot and on Wheels

The blue route, “Historic Novouralsk,” passes through a historic district built in the first half and middle of the 20th century. The self-guided walk is estimated to take 40 to 50 minutes. Check the current signposting on site. Stops include an obelisk to the heroes of the Civil War, the DMK Theatre, the Novouralsk Museum, the children’s library and a monument to V. I. Lenin. These stops offer different points of connection with the city’s history, from a monument to the heroes of the Civil War to the museum.

The yellow route, “A More Recent Period,” links its stops to Novouralsk’s more recent history and to individuals who contributed to the city’s development. A car or bicycle is recommended for this route. The listed points include a memorial plaque on Tegentseva Street, the Church of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, Fomenko Boulevard and a monument to I. A. Savchuk. This gives the route a different historical focus from the blue route through the historic district.

Along the Bunarka and to Places of Remembrance

The red route, “Along the Bunarka,” is a 30- to 40-minute walk to sights along the Bunarka, Novouralsk’s main waterway. Stops include the “Eternal Flame” Memorial, a monument to internationalist soldiers, a memorial plaque about the Bunarka River, the “Founders of the City” stele and a monument to the liquidators of the Chernobyl disaster. The “Cranes” monument to the victims of political repression is also part of this route.

The “Cranes” sculpture, 4.5 meters tall in total, consists of three cranes symbolizing the song “Cranes,” with words by Rasul Gamzatov. The “Founders of the City” stele depicts three figures inside a circle: a scientist, a worker and a geodesist. They represent the city’s first builders. At the “Eternal Flame” Memorial, plaques commemorate defenders of the Fatherland who lived during the Second World War in the settlement near the Light Alloy Plant No. 484 built there and did not return from the battlefields. The walk along the river thus leads to several monuments whose themes range from the founding of the city to remembrance of the war.

Museum and Central Park

The Novouralsk Museum of Local History opened on May 7, 1975, for the 30th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War. After renovations, it reopened in 1995 with four permanent exhibition halls: “Nature of Our Homeland,” “Our Homeland in the Past,” “For Life on Earth” and “History of the City.” More than 20,000 items from the main and scientific auxiliary collections are kept and exhibited there. The collection items are connected with the history of the city and its home region. The hall titles range from nature to city history; current exhibitions may vary.

The Central Park of Culture and Recreation adds a place for leisure to the historical routes. In February 2003, the park was granted the status of “Central Park of Culture and Recreation of Novouralsk.” It is a center for organized leisure as well as educational, recreational, sporting and entertainment activities. Check what is currently on offer before visiting. Along with the two walking routes and the yellow route, for which a car or bicycle is recommended, the park offers another possible focus for planning your time in Novouralsk.

Discover more destinations: Talitsa, Nevyansk, Krasnyy Partizan, Berezovsky, Verkhny Tagil, Kalinovo, Perepryazhka, Sovkhoznyy.

Return to the regional travel overview: Sverdlovsk Oblast.