Saratov
Saratov (Russian: Сара́тов; IPA: [sɐˈratəf]) is a city and the administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River located upstream (north) of Volgograd. Population: 837,900 (2010 Census); 873,055 (2002 Census); 904,643 (1989 Census).
Etymology
The name Saratov may derive from the Turkic words Saryk Atov, which mean "hawks' island". Another version of the name origin is Sary Tau (Сары Тау), meaning "yellow mountain" in the Tatar language.
History
Uvek, a city of the Golden Horde, stood near the site of the modern city of Saratov from the mid-13th century until its destruction by Tamerlane in 1395. While the exact date of the foundation of modern Saratov is unknown, all plausible theories date it to ca. 1590, during the reign (1584-1598) of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, who constructed several settlements along the Volga River in order to secure the southeastern boundary of his state. Town status was granted to it in 1708.
By the 1800s, Saratov had grown to become an important shipping port on the Volga. The Ryazan-Ural Railroad reached Saratov in 1870. In 1896 (26 years later), the line crossed the Volga and continued its eastward expansion. A unique train-ferry, owned by the Ryazan-Ural railroad, provided the connection across the river between the two parts of the railroad for 39 years, before the construction of a railway bridge in 1935.
Saratov (disambiguation)
Saratov is a major city in southern Russia.
Saratov may also refer to:
