- Balakhna
Balakhna ( _ru. Балахна) is a town in
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast ,Russia . It is located on the right bank of theVolga River , 32 km north ofNizhny Novgorod . Population: 57,338 (2002 Census); 32,133 (1989 Census); 33,500 (1968).Balakhna was founded in 1474 as Sol-na-Gorodtse. After the Khan of Kazan razed it to the ground in 1536, a wooden fort was constructed to protect the settlement against further Tatar incursions. For the following three centuries, Balakhna prospered as a center of
saltworks andgrain trade. By theTime of Troubles , it was the 12th largest city in Russia.Adam Olearius visited and described the town in 1636. That year several shipwrights fromHolstein built the first Russian ships here, thus establishing Balakhna as a foremost centre of national river shipbuilding. The people of Balakhna were also reputed for their skills in knitting and making coloured tiles, which were used for decoration of the Saviour Church (1668) and other local temples. Balakhna is one of the few Russian cities shown on the (labeled "Balaghna").The oldest structure in the city (and in the whole region) is the tentlike church of St Nicholas (1552). Of all the tentlike churches built in brick, this is the nearest approach to their wooden prototypes. Another handsome church, dating from the 17th century, houses a municipal museum. The Nativity church (1675) represents an archaic monumental type of monastery cathedral. Nearby is a statue of
Kuzma Minin , who was born in Balakhna.The northwestern part of Balakhna is known as Pravdinsk, and it used to be a separate
urban-type settlement before it was annexed to Balakhna.External links
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* [http://balaxna.narod.ru History and monuments of Balakhna]
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