The city of Abakan is the capital of the Republic of Khakassia. The city is located in the eastern part of Siberia, closer to the south. Only 400 km from Abakan is Krasnoyarsk. The location of the city is unique. It is here where the confluence of two rivers - the river of the same name Abakan and Yenisei.
As for the capital city, not so many people live here - only 168 thousand, 12% of which are the indigenous population of Khakassa.
The city itself is not so rich in historical places, attractions, but still there is something to see.
Description
Abakan roughly takes the same parallel as Minsk, Magnitogorsk and Hamburg. The Minusinsk Basin has become the foundation of the city. The basin itself was formed between the mountains of the Kuznetsk Alatau in the west, the rocks of the West Sayan in the east and south, and the ridges of the East Sayan in the north. Through the entire pit from north to south, the mighty Yenisei River flows . In the center of the basin, the Yenisei is connected to the Abakan River. In this place of confluence of two rivers the beautiful city of Abakan is located. On its northern outskirts are located industrial zones, as well as state-owned enterprises "Airport" and the Abakan airline. In the east, the city is adjacent to the Minusinsk district. The southern city line borders the lands of Altayskoye AO and Alkom AO.
Suburbs of Abakan
The city of Abakan is conditionally divided into two parts - the right-bank and left-bank. On the right bank, the city borders on the small village of Verkhnyaya Sogra and a river cargo port, located on the banks of the Yenisei. Just beyond the river is the left bank of the city, which begins with the embankment of the dam. The dam, in turn, serves as a kind of protection against the rapid spill of the river, and also acts as a freeway.
What to see in Abakan? Attractions are the most diverse. For example, you can go to the observation deck - the bridge, and from there you can see the whole panorama of the city. Abakan can be called a green island. There are a huge number of parks and green spaces.
Legends of Abakan
Abakan owes its name to the river of the same name, the name of which is legendary. One of them says that the river Abakan was called the hero Ochen Pig. Before that, it was called Ala-Ort. When the hero jumped over the river, he gave her a new name - Abakan. There is another legend. It says that Abakan was formerly called Alairt. On the bank of the river then lived the powerful hero Aba Kann, which means "bear blood." On his horse, he could leap the river, and at the same time the horse's hooves did not even touch the water. But once, when the river spread widely, the horse could not jump over it and plunged into the water with its hind legs and dropped the hero. After that, the river began to be called Abakan.
The following legend tells that in ancient times, many bears walked along the banks of this river. This is where the name Abakan comes from. So, in translation from the Khakass language, “aba” is a bear, and “kan” is blood.
There is another legend about the giant bear. He lived near one village and constantly made trouble. He attacked cattle and people. Everyone was very afraid of him. But a hero grew up in the aul, and he decided to join the battle with the bear. They competed for a long time, but the bear surrendered and fled. The hero decided to continue the hunt for the beast and went in his wake. He walked for a long time until he heard the wounded beast scream loudly, sensing his near end. He ruined everything in his path. He uprooted trees, broke mountains. From this horror the whole earth shuddered. At dawn, the hero saw the dead body of the beast, which turned into a large rock. Streams flowed from the mountain, forming a powerful stream. Below it became a river, which the locals began to call Abakan ("bear blood").
The city of Abakan is famous for such amazing legends. The history of the attraction of Abakan - rocks that resemble a huge bear, is exactly that. Indeed, streams flow from these rocks, which form the Abakan River.
Abakan. sights
It cannot be said that there are many historical monuments in Abakan. But if you go from Krasnoyarsk, you can see all the most picturesque places of Khakassia. The very location of the city inside a huge hollow is the main attraction. The city itself is simply breathing positive. Here you can just relax and feel life. Clean well-groomed streets, green parks and squares, neat small buildings - all this cannot but fill with positive emotions.
The city center is striking in its provincial simplicity. One gets the impression that all the passion left the city, and only peaceful, measured people remained to live in it. Abakan does not at all look like a city in Siberia. Rather, we can say that it is part of the Krasnodar or Stavropol Territory.
The main attractions of Abakan are represented by temples, the Museum of Local Lore, the Transfiguration Park complex.
National Museum of Local Lore
The historical and cultural attractions of Abakan are museums. The main exposition of the museum of local lore is the antiquity art hall. Here you can find the unique steles of the Khakass steppes. The impressions of visiting the hall remain in memory for a long time. The museum regularly holds various exhibitions. Some of the currently unused exhibits are kept in the funds. The first floor of the museum is occupied by the hall of monuments of steppe Khakassia, and on the second is the gallery of the local artist.
The museum’s expositions consist of stone slabs decorated with petroglyphs, copies of cave paintings, ancient monumental stone sculptures, artistic stone products, as well as excavations made of bone and bronze, found among the ancient mounds of Khakassia.
There are also ethnographic collections in the museum, consisting of household items and clothing of the local indigenous population, attributes of shamanism, clothing and household items of ancient Russians.
There are other interesting places that Abakan is famous for. The sights of the city are magnificent temple buildings.
Transfiguration Cathedral
This temple is quite young. Its construction began in 1994. The temple was built according to the design of Alexander Derigin, an architect from Barnaul. Due to the lack of sufficient funding, the construction of the temple was suspended. In 1999, construction was resumed, and in May the first stone of the cathedral was laid and consecrated by Bishop Vincent.
On the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord in August 2001, the lower temple was consecrated. In December of the same year - the upper temple. Already in August 2006, the cathedral was completely consecrated.
Outside, it is a seven-domed building. The upper temple consists of two aisles and a traditional five-tier iconostasis. In the lower temple, the sacrament of baptism is performed.
Shrines
The cathedral houses valuable relics, such as icons with images of the saints of Siberia and particles of their relics. There is also a stone from the place of the Transfiguration of Christ - Mount Tabor.
In the cathedral are two powerful icons of the Mother of God, which were consecrated in the prototypes in Greece on Mount Athos.
Temple of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helena
More recently, the place where the temple now stands was completely inconspicuous. Today it is one of the most beautiful places in Khakassia. The city of Abakan, its attractions are admired by tourists. Therefore, it is worth visiting this cozy town at least once.
Transfiguration Cathedral and Grado-Abakan temple are the holy sights of Abakan. The description of these places cannot fully convey all the beauty and energy emanating from them.
During the construction of the Temple of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Elena, the traditions of Old Russian architecture were taken as a basis. This is a magnificent building, bearing the greatest sacred meaning.
Outside, the temple is decorated with embossed acrylic painting. This method allows you to emphasize even the smallest details. A special asset of the temple's architecture are mosaic icons. Outside, there are also 8 more amazing icons.
Inside the temple is a real masterpiece of art - a five-tiered altar framed in gold leaf.
Despite the fact that many consider Abakan, its sights are insignificant, uninteresting, it can still amaze not only with its hospitality, but also with amazing places.