Yekaterinburg between Lake Shartash and the city’s history

Yekaterinburg brings nature and urban history together in different ways: to the east lie Lake Shartash and Shartash Forest Park; museums and exhibitions explore the city’s development and various historical periods. On your trip, you can choose your own focus, moving between landscapes, walks, and cultural history.

Lake Shartash and the forest park in the east of the city

Lake Shartash, in eastern Yekaterinburg, is designated a natural monument. Scientists date its formation to more than a million years ago. Together with Shartash Forest Park, the lake forms a nature reserve of regional significance. Most of the pines in the forest park are more than 120 years old.

The lake and forest park give this side of the city a landscape focus, distinct from its exhibitions and historical themes. If you want your trip to include both nature and urban history, you can take both into account when planning. The old pines and the lake appeal to different interests than the development of streets, facades, and urban life, which the museums explore.

Exhibitions about the city and its historical periods

The exhibition “Nebesny kod Yekaterinburga. Klyuch k prochteniyu” uses original 18th-century maps, designs, and drawings, as well as a multimedia book, to show how the city’s outline, streets, and building facades have changed. It also tells the story of the construction of the factory and everyday life at the Yekaterinburg fortress factory. The city’s layout and factory life offer different ways to explore the history of the place.

Another exhibition, “Yekaterinburg: ot zavoda k gorodu,” covers Yekaterinburg’s history from the granting of city status in 1781 to 1917, as well as the period of nationwide reforms that significantly influenced the city’s history. The Boris Yeltsin Museum presents the history of the 1990s through documents, photographs, artifacts, media programs, and interactive information panels. Together, the periods covered span the city’s founding through to more recent history.

The locations of the Museum of the History of Yekaterinburg also offer practical options for those interested in cultural history. In the historic center, the Water Tower at Plotinka, at 4v Gor'kogo Street, is one of the museum’s locations. The “Dom Metenkova” Photography Museum at 15 Turgenev Street is another. The city history exhibitions explore broader historical developments; with its focus on photography, the photography museum offers a different perspective.

Walks and trip planning

The nine-kilometer “Krasnaya liniya” route is marked on the pavement and is suitable for self-guided walks to Yekaterinburg’s main sights. It offers a different focus from a visit to Lake Shartash or exploring specific museum themes.

When choosing a holiday apartment, you can consider which side of Yekaterinburg you want your trip to focus on: the landscape around Lake Shartash, exhibitions about urban history and culture, or a self-guided walk to the sights.

Discover the Sverdlovsk Oblast

In the wider Sverdlovsk Oblast destination, a list of approved road tourism routes published in 2026 includes the Demidov Route between Yekaterinburg, Nevyansk, and Nizhny Tagil. Check the route information before setting off. Also in Sverdlovsk Oblast, the Museum Complex for Civilian and Military Equipment in Verkhnyaya Pyshma has more than 15,000 exhibits, including over 2,000 civilian and military vehicles. Collection figures may change. These regional attractions offer more to explore beyond Yekaterinburg’s city destinations.

Discover more destinations: Beryozovsky, Malysheva, Samotsvet, Belokamennyy, Tygish, Kungurka, Monetnyy, Kadnikovo.

View the wider travel guide: Sverdlovsk Oblast.