Saransk - the main city of the Republic of Mordovia . Recently, no one saw the sense of going to Saransk by tourists . But today it is a beautiful and green regional center, which in recent years has been actively developing and becoming more beautiful . One of the reasons has become, like this no strangely, football: until 2012 . Saransk was a candidate for the World Cup hosts in 2018 . Already this alone gave a powerful impetus to the development of the city: here there was a sports infrastructure, old buildings and monuments restored, unsuitable for restoration, to build in their place that-t o new . I must say, in terms of sport, the city has never lagged behind . And now there are quite a few "highly cultured" and leisure institutions here . Saransk modern building often integrates elements of the national style, which looks very nice .

In general, today Saransk is a rarity among those so remote from the capital and not so large cities of Russia. Bringing it to the "divine appearance" did not start with the best conditions, but today it is nice, neat, clean and tidied up.

A bit of history

Saransk was founded in 1641 . Originally it was a wooden fortress on the edge of the country, on the line between Belgorod and Simbirskiy . In 1670 g . it was captured by Stenka Razin, and in 1774 . Emel has visited here Pugachev . By the beginning of the 18th century the military role of the city was almost lost: the wooden fortress turned into ruins and required thorough repairs . The city gradually became commercial: it was conveniently located at the intersection of major roads . Under Catherine II a new plan of "civilized" urban development, and in the 19th century in Saransk, three major fires occurred, which destroyed a significant part of the old wooden houses . However, they remained in Saransk most already until the middle of the 20th century . Capital Mordovi and Saransk became in 1934 .

How to get there

The city is located about 650 km along the highway from Moscow, and the highway is quite decent. Also, you can get to Saransk by train from Moscow (about 16 hours) and St. Petersburg (about one and a half days, taking into account the stops). By plane to Saransk from the capital for less than an hour to fly.

Weather in Saransk

March 1, Sunday Cloudy 0 ° С a day - 5 ° С night ° ° water	March 2, Monday Cloudyly - 1 ° С afternoon -9 ° С at night ° С water	March 3, Tuesday Clearly - 1 ° С in the afternoon - 5 ° С night ° C water
Weather forecast in Saransk for 10 days

Entertainment, excursions and sights of Saransk

According to official data, there are about 300 streets, eight squares and three parks in the city. The main city square is Sovetskaya, where everything that is supposed to be on the square with this name (including the monument to Lenin), plus the monument to F. Ushakov. The latter has to Saransk, which has no naval history due to the absence of the sea, an indirect attitude: in the last years of his life he remained on the estate of Alekseevka, which belongs territorially to the present Mordovia.

But still, more than Ushakov, in Saransk, the sculptor Stepan Erzya (Nefedov- Erzya), the master of wooden sculpture and, by virtue of this, almost the national hero of Mordovia. In Saransk, almost every counter-cross knows its name, which is facilitated by the presence of an appropriate monument and a rich collection of works by the sculptor in the art museum.

One of the city's main attractions, of course, can be called a cathedral consecrated in honor of F. Ushakov. This beautiful church the city acquired only in the 21st century, and it can compete with the best cathedrals of St. Petersburg and Moscow with its majestic and magnificent beauty. Equally remarkable, though quite differently, is the Church of St. John the Theologian with characteristic black headlands. This is the oldest church in the city and, in principle, the oldest building of the republic.

There are several theaters in the city . In the musical theater . Yakushev put on operas, ballets and musical comedies, concerts . The theater is also interesting with its architecture: in 2011 . the former cultural center was thoroughly restored and turned into a real four-storey palace, very beautiful and with excellent acoustics .The drama theater on Sovetskaya Street occupies a strict building in the classical style that distinguishes a triangular portico with eight columns . And in another drama theater, the Mordovian national that is also located on Sovetskaya Street, plays mostly plays by Mordovian playwrights (the performances are in the original language with simultaneous translation) .

Several museums of the city will be interested first of all those who are curious about the history of the region. Particularly interesting in this sense is the Art Museum. Erzya, where the world's largest collection of works by this sculptor is collected.

Also in Saransk there are a lot of monuments worthy of attention . Among them there are quite classical ones (Pugachev on Volgogradskaya Street ., Patriarch Nikon on the Soviet, an arch monument to the Eternal Glory, a monument to the founding of the fortress, a monument to poet Polezhaev on the same square) . But there are also curious by their originality: for example, it is a monument to the family cast from bronze, set in 2008 ., it is a dynamic th sculptural group of two walking adults and three children . Even more dynamic monument to the heroes of fire-fighters saturated red color, installed in memory of the dead firefighters . A monument to the heroes of the stratoon on the station square recalls the crew of the stratosphere who died near the city "Osoaviakhim-1" .

Souvenirs

One of the recognized Saransk souvenirs is ... candy. The Saransk confectionery factory at one time was famous for the entire district, and today, except in the Republic of Mordovia, its products are almost impossible to buy. Many varieties are still vintage decorated retrofantikami, which is very pleased. Also, among the souvenirs can be mentioned mini-sculptures of Erzi and woven products with national embroidery.

Photo of Saransk (10)