Karaganda, Kazakhstan

The name of the city is translated as “bloody place”; isn’t it very creepy? The reason to such strange name is that the city has a lot of hard coal that look like blood. Karaganda is the fourth most populated city in the country, located in southeastern part of it. Today it’s large center of culture, science, and industry. 

 Karaganda is a young city that was established in 19^th century. There weren’t any ancient settlements of fortresses before. In the beginning the city was populated by the Germans. They were relocated from Siberia to Karaganda city because of Stalin’s order. Until 1950, majority of the Germans were sent to labor camps because of their ethnicity. The story says that a shepherd made a fire and didn’t have to use firewood; he was very much surprised. The fire kept burning because of unknown stones. Almost every city in Central Asia has legends that surround its establishment, but this story was backed up by archaeological finds and documents. The name of the shepherd was Appak Baizhanov. He was the first to find hard coal of “black gold”. However, found deposits were fully taken advantage of in the end of 19^th century by the Russians. Everything in Karaganda city is connected to coal, all street names, monuments, and sightseeing places; coal attracted people and established this city.

Landscapes that surround the city are diverse and beautiful; you will see mountains with forests, meadows, deserts, and lakes. There’re four rivers running through Karaganda city and a reservoir to swim and sunbath. Major part of places of interest are connected to mining. There’re a few cathedral; each of them is beautiful on its own way. Karaganda can boast the only ecological museum in CIS! You’ll hear about historical ecological catastrophes and many more interesting things. Other options for leisure are parks, theaters, and aqua park.