Salekhard is the capital of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the only city in the world located on the Arctic Circle.
Unlike other cities in the district, Noyabrsk and Novy Urengoy, Salekhard does not have a clear oil and gas specialization. Fishing, dairy and forestry industries are equally developing in Salekhard.
Historical facts of the city:
- 1595 - foundation of the Obdorsk fortress by the Cossacks.
- 1807 - the abolition of the fortress, the appearance of the first Russian settlers and the formation of the village of Obdorsk.
- 1933 - Obdorsk was transformed into the village of Salekhard (translated from Nenets as “village on the cape”).
- 1938 - the village receives city status.
The population of Salekhard is 49 thousand people.
Salekhard on the map of Russia: geography, nature and climate
Salekhard on the map of Russia is located in the western part of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug as part of the Tyumen region, on the right bank of the Ob, at the confluence of the Poluy River. Distance to Moscow – 2436 km. Salekhard is located in the zone of swampy tundra and forest-tundra with their characteristic vegetation - mosses, lichens, dwarf birches and willows.
The city stands on the Poluyskaya Upland of the West Siberian Plain, Salekhard's topography is flat - the average height of the city is 50 meters.
Salekhard is classified as a region of the Far North with a harsh climate. The city is located on the border of temperate and subarctic climate zones. Winters in the city are cold and long (up to 7 months), and summers are short and cool. Spring and autumn are very short. The average temperature in January is -23, and in July + 15 degrees Celsius. The average annual temperature is -6 degrees Celsius. Approximately 450 mm of precipitation falls annually, 44% of which occurs in the summer.
Salekhard is located directly on the Arctic Circle, so in the summer there is a polar day here from June 7 to July 7, but there is no polar night in the city.
It is the center of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
2. The peculiarity of the geographical location of Salekhard is such that the city is located at the 66th parallel of the northern hemisphere, right on the Arctic Circle of our planet.
STELE “ARCIC CIRCLE” IN SALEKHARD
3. By the way, Salekhard is the only city in the whole world located not beyond the Arctic Circle, but right on it. In honor of this, a special monument was erected here.
4. The city is surrounded on all sides by endless tundra and forest-tundra, which amazes tourists with its untouched nature.
5. Salekhard is connected by ferry across the Ob River (in summer) and ice crossing (in winter) with the Labytnangi railway station.
6. Salekhard was founded by the Cossacks more than 400 years ago. Initially, there was the Obdorsk fortress, which played the role of the northernmost fort.
SHEMANOVSKY MUSEUM
7. Once upon a time, in the place where Salekhard is located today, there was a mammoth camp. The remains of one of them are still kept in the Shemanovsky Museum. You can also see a stuffed musk ox there.
8. Salekhard is an interesting but harsh place. The northern climate, coupled with the wildlife that surrounds it, makes life here challenging.
9. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Salekhard was -53.7 degrees, and the highest was +32.9.
10. There is snow here for up to 200 days a year, which makes Salekhard’s climate one of the harshest among all Russian cities.
11. There is no polar night in Salekhard, but the polar day, when the Sun does not fall below the horizon, lasts about 31 days.
12. Until 1933, the city of Salekhard was called Obdorsk.
13. Salekhard is the capital of Yamal. This is despite the fact that there are much larger cities in the district, for example, Novy Urengoy or Noyabrsk.
14. In winter in Salekhard you can see the amazingly beautiful northern lights.
15. The main event of spring is a bright ethnographic holiday of indigenous peoples (Khanty, Nenets, Selkup, Zyryans) - Reindeer Herder's Day.
16. In the summer in Salekhard there is a polar day, the tundra abounds in berries and mushrooms,
ICE SCULPTURE AT THE POLAR RHAPSODY FESTIVAL
17.And in the fall, the Obdorsk Fair and the Polar Rhapsody ice sculpture festival are held here.
18. Professional revolutionary, 25-year-old Bogdan Knunyants, exiled to Salekhard (Obdorsk) in 1907, writes about his first impressions of the city: “Obdorsk pleasantly struck us at first sight. We did not expect that in such a distant North there could be such a beautiful and rich village. From a distance, 2 churches and a number of large, beautiful, purely urban buildings caught my eye. It would not be an exaggeration to say that there are houses there that would do honor to any provincial city in European Russia.”
19. Today one of the streets of Salekhard bears the name of Bogdan Knunyants.
A COPY OF THE OBDORSK FORTRESS IN SALEKHARD
20. Here you can see the Obdorsk Fortress. But this fortress is still a remake, and it has only been recreated in recent years. It's quite small.
21. In 1949-1953, Salekhard was one of the base points for the construction of the Transpolar Railway (mainly an inactive railway line to Novy Urengoy, also passing through Nadym).
22. Many memorial signs here are installed not in the city, but on its bypass road.
23Also located on the Salekhard bypass monument to the 501st construction site in the form of a steam locomotive with a semaphore. The locomotive, by the way, just participated in the construction of this highway.
CAL MAMMOTH LYUBA IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF YNAO
24. A local attraction is the National Museum of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It is well made and renovated. There are stands here about the history of the region, about its fauna, and there is a small exhibition dedicated to the 501st construction site.
25. Here they will tell a story about the mammoth Lyuba. Baby mammoth Lyuba went to the river, fell off a cliff and died as a child. Her body was carried away by the river, then the river froze, and so the frozen body, trapped in permafrost, has survived to this day almost without loss. It is a unique fact that the carcass of a real prehistoric animal was found in such good condition.
TEMPLE OF SAINT PETER AND PAUL
26. And within the boundaries of Salekhard itself there is the Church of St. Peter and Paul.
27. Despite the fact that the city has a long history, and has been the district capital for several decades, until recently its architecture was a rather dull and faded sight: the city was almost entirely built up with two- and one-story wooden barracks.
28. The global restructuring of Salekhard began only at the beginning of the 21st century.
29. Since the 2000s, massive demolition of old and dilapidated houses began, and modern, bright buildings began to be erected in their place - the appearance of the oil and gas capital should correspond to its status.
30. Today Salekhard boasts many modern new buildings. And fifty years ago, instead of glass in the windows, you could see stretched fish skin.
31. Salekhard is associated with such a famous historical figure as Grigory Rasputin. It was here that his son Dmitry died in 1933, working on the construction of a fish canning plant.
32. In a couple of hours from Salekhard you can reach the Polar Urals, where its harsh ridges lie. There you can go skiing, climb to glaciers and waterfalls.
33. There are no musk oxen in Salekhard. But not far from Salekhard, in the “Polar-Ural” natural park, about 120 of these amazing animals live.
34.Perhaps in the future a safari park will be opened here, where musk oxen can be seen in the wild. Today you can only appreciate the size of this beast in the Shemanovsky Museum - there is a stuffed adult musk ox here.
35. The action of Eduard Topol’s novel called “Red Gas” takes place in Salekhard.
NORTH FISH STROGANINA
36. In Salekhard you can try completely authentic dishes: stroganina and malosol from muksun. They taste in no way inferior to Japanese sushi.
37. The most popular shoes here are handmade burkas or beers.
38. The children of the nomadic peoples of Yamal have toys and rattles for children. Only they are made not from bright plastic, but from deer hooves. Such rattles are suspended over the baby's cradle and, when rocked, produce a dull, soothing sound.
39. One of the northernmost beaches in the world is located in Salekhard. It cannot be found in the lists of record holders, because it is not officially registered, but in the short and often hot summers, many townspeople relax on it.
40. In 1990, the capital of Yamal was included in the list of historical cities of Russia. This happened largely due to the fact that on the territory of the city there is an archaeological monument of world significance - the Ust-Poluy Settlement.
41. Of course, those coming to Salekhard need to be shown the national flavor. Small peoples, reindeer, plague, and so on Of course, it’s a long and far journey to get to real camps (or rather, you have to fly there by helicopter), and in the summer, reindeer herders generally go somewhere in the tundra, and can be anywhere. Therefore, there are several points around Salekhard where these deer with plagues are shown.
42. Until recently, to enter Salekhard, which is considered a border zone, a special pass was required. But now citizens of the Russian Federation do not require any documents other than a passport. Foreigners need a passport and a Russian visa.
43. Due to harsh conditions, nature in urban areas still remains largely untouched. For lovers of domestic tourism, this city is definitely worth adding to the list to visit.
44. Despite the harsh climate, Salekhard attracts many tourists with its unique attractions and picturesque nature.
45. Hotels in Salekhard are ready to open their doors to guests throughout the year.
photo from open sources
Routes on the map of Salekhard. Transport infrastructure
Currently, construction of the Nadym-Salekhard highway is underway, which should be launched in 2022. So far there is no way to get to Salekhard by road.
There is no railway station in the city; trains arrive at the Labytnangi station, located on the opposite bank of the Ob. Train directions: Moscow – Labytnangi, Vorkuta – Labytnangi, Anapa – Labytnangi (seasonal).
You can get from Labytnanga to Salekhard by winter road (in winter), by ferry or by motor ship (in summer), or by hovercraft (in the off-season).
As part of the construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway, until 2022 it is planned to build a railway line Obskaya - Salekhard - Nadym - Pangody - Novy Urengoy - Korotchaevo, which will connect the city with other parts of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, as well as the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug and the Tyumen Region.
On a satellite map of Salekhard, the airport is located 7 km north of the city and receives flights from Yekaterinburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tyumen, Novy Urengoy, Nadym and Noyabrsk. Its annual passenger traffic is 300 thousand people.
During the period of river navigation, ships from Omsk, Tobolsk, Berezovo, Katravozh, Yar-Sale, Kazym-Mys and other settlements go to Salekhard. The river station is located at 15, Poluysky Ave.
Public transport in Salekhard is represented by 5 bus routes and 3 minibus routes. There are also 2 suburban minibuses in the direction Salekhard - Labytnangi, Salekhard - Aksarka (62 km). The city's bus fleet is in good condition, most of the buses are new. The fare for them is 25 rubles.
The Siberian region is a harsh region.
The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is part of the Tyumen region, which is located in the north of our country. You ask which region, the answer is simple - this is the Tyumen region. The Siberian region is part of the Ural Federal District. A distant and at the same time very harsh region. In this part of the country, many indigenous inhabitants of this harsh region of Russia have survived. The territory is rich in mineral resources: hydrocarbons, especially natural gas and oil. This fact is associated with ancient peat deposits.
The main fields are: Urengoyskoye gas, Yuzhno-Russkoye oil and gas, Nakhodkinskoye gas, Yamburgskoye oil and gas condensate, Yety-Purovskoye oil. On the territory of this district there are 140 fields, which account for 15% of all oil reserves of the Russian Federation. All deposits are developed using new technologies, which allows us to preserve the environment and at the same time obtain maximum production of oil and gas resources.
In this area you can still find virgin corners of nature. Yamal has always attracted tourists, scientists and travelers with its mystery, beauty and virginity. It combines the stinginess of the sun and the diversity of nature, the severity of the weather and the hospitality of the local population, the unsurpassed colors of autumn and the silent, snowy winter. Scientists like the region because it is culturally rich and has a unique nature. You should definitely come to the Yamalo-Nenets Okrug (capital Salekhard) to enjoy the clean air and see with your own eyes the beauty of a remote corner of our country.
Sights of the city of Salekhard
The hallmark of Salekhard is the 66th Parallel Stela , symbolizing the city’s location on the Arctic Circle. It is made in the form of two pyramids intersecting in a semicircle (two parts of the city, separated by the Arctic Circle). Their height is 20 and 22 meters, and the diameter of the semicircle is 24 meters. The stela is located on the Airport Highway, across the Shaitanka River.
Other city attractions:
- Cable-stayed bridge "Torch" , made according to an unusual design, with one inclined pylon 100 meters high. At the top there is an upscale restaurant and an expansive view of the city. The bridge connects the central part of the city with neighborhoods.
- Obdorsky town, where the history of the city began in 1595. Notable is the absence of a single nail. Attraction address: st. Republic, 1.
- Monument to the mammoth , located at the entrance to the city from the river crossing from Labytnangi. Location: Salekhard-Labytnangi-Kharp street, 1.
Main streets of Salekhard
- St. Bogdan Knunyantsa is the main street in the northern part of Salekhard. It starts from the new Torch Bridge, passing through the private sector and multi-apartment residential buildings. In its vicinity are the administration of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, an oil depot and the microdistrict of the same name.
- St. The bypass is the second most important highway in the northern part of the city (after Bogdan Knunyants Street), starting from the bridge and ending in the village of Angalsky Mys. It passes through the industrial zone of Salekhard, Victory Park and low-rise residential buildings. It houses school No. 6 and the Brusnichka kindergarten.
- St. Mayakovsky is a long street starting from the right bank of the Shaitanka River. On the map of Salekhard with streets and houses you can see that it contains mainly old residential buildings. Its name in the address includes the “Solnyshko” kindergarten, the “Grill House” restaurant, the Employment Center and the clothing market.
- St. Brodneva is one of the longest streets in the central district of Salekhard, starting from a road junction in the Yamalsky microdistrict. It houses a fire department, a hospital campus, the Department of Housing Policy, and the museum-apartment of L.V. Laptsui.
