Karaganda is a wonderful city in Kazakhstan. This settlement is known far beyond the borders of the state. First of all, he is known as the mining capital. And the sights of Karaganda, although they cannot boast of centuries-old architectural objects, but they attract attention with their floridity and some special charm. Among them are both monuments to outstanding personalities and natural treasures.
Karaganda is a modern metropolis, where there are restaurants, shopping and entertainment centers, scientific institutions and many other institutions. The settlement itself can be considered a landmark, since it is the only satellite city in the country, with more than two dozen towns and cities around it.
Monument to the famous phrase
It is best to start exploring the sights of Karaganda with the most popular monument in the country. This object distinguishes the city from all other settlements of Kazakhstan. One popular phrase made the name of the metropolis famous for every person. It sounds like this: “Where, where? In Karaganda!". And it was to this phrase that a monument was erected in the metropolis.
Everyone who was not lazy said this phrase and did not even think about the fact that once tourists would visit the sights of Karaganda, and it is the monument that reflects the essence of this statement that will cause the most admiration for them. In 1999, the idea to build a sculpture dawned on Bari Alibasova, a showman from Russia. He told about this in one of the TV shows. The idea aroused admiration from everyone, but it was possible to realize it only after many years: it was necessary to choose the best place, to raise money for the construction.
The monument was unveiled at the end of May 2011. It was installed on the territory of the Bear restaurant. The future symbol of the city was designed by Vincent Komkov and Murat Mansurov. Architects carried out all sculpting and installation work completely free of charge.
One of the few architectural objects
Very few sights of Karaganda are valuable architectural objects. But still there are a number of historical exhibits among them. One of them is the mausoleum of Jochi Khan. It is located 50 kilometers from the village of Zhezkazgan. The mausoleum was built in the distant XIII century. It became the place where the remains of Jochi Khan, the eldest son of Genghis Khan himself, are stored. The offspring of the great conqueror died near Mount Ulytau in 1227.
The city of Karaganda, the sights of which we are considering, is known in the CIS countries largely due to this particular architectural structure. The portal-domed building is made of burnt brick. The object itself is blocked by a dome. Its outer side, made of two shells, collapsed. It was tiled with turquoise-colored tiles, and the drum, which was distinguished by a complex 17-faced shape, served as a support.
The portal arch was trimmed with the same turquoise tone tiles. The niche is covered by a semi-dome, where brick supports are used as a support. With the help of the domed inner shell, a square chamber is overlapped, in the depth of which a tombstone is placed.
New object
The city of Karaganda, the sights of which will be interesting to see for every inhabitant of our planet, also has completely new cultural and religious sites. So, a completely new attraction is the Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima. This is one of the most magnificent buildings in the metropolis. The authorities were simply forced to build a church, because in the whole Karaganda region there was only one Catholic church, St. Joseph's Cathedral. But all the parishioners could no longer fit in the temple. In 2012, in memory of the victims of political repression of the village of Dolinka, a new cathedral was consecrated.
The inspiration for this religious building was Cologne Cathedral. The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima is the largest organ in the Karaganda region.
Museum and Palace of Culture
Sights of Karaganda (photos with names can be found in the article) - these are also museums. For example, the regional historical museum of local lore is considered to be a notorious object, which stores collections of archaeological artifacts belonging to the Neolithic and Paleolithic eras. Also there are objects dating from the XIII-XV century BC. Today, the institution has over 134 thousand units of monuments of spiritual and material culture of Kazakhstan.
The Miners Culture Palace is another popular site in Karaganda. All the most important events in the city are organized here. The central part of the building is a powerful six-columned portico, which consists of octagonal columns. The pylons of the building and the walls are interconnected by openwork ganch arches. The portico is crowned with six sculptures: a miner, a builder, a shepherd with a lamb, a collective farmer with a sheaf, a warrior and akyn with domra. And without that, a beautiful landmark looks even better with night illumination.
Natural treasure
Sights of Karaganda (a photo with a description is in our review) cannot be considered without paying attention to an outstanding natural object. His name is Lake Balkhash. This body of water takes third place in size after the Aral and Caspian Seas. This is a unique lake. Its originality lies in the fact that it is the only body of water on Earth, divided into two parts. The eastern half is salty. And the western half is fresh at this time. The isthmus of Uzyn Aral prevents water mixing.
Everyone can relax here: everyone will find something special for themselves. For lovers of swimming there is clear, warm water, and if you like to lie down on the beach, then you have sandy clean coasts at your disposal.
Other wealth of the city
Karaganda (sights, photos are presented above) is replete with other "interesting things". For example, the environmental museum. It is considered the only such facility in the Commonwealth. Having visited this place, tourists will get acquainted with the history of the famous Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Spassky Memorial is another attraction that deserves the attention of others. The history of the monument relates to the post-war period. Then prisoners of war from many European and Asian countries were sent to Kazakhstan. The monument was erected in their honor.