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Saratov Saratov History in Dates   The official date of the town’s foundation is the 2d of July, 1590. According to one of the versions the name of the town originates from the combination of the Tatar-Mongolian words “sary” (“yellow”) and “tau” (“mountain”). This could be the name of Sokolovaya Mountain, yellow by colour.

During the history the town was moved from one site to another more than once.The settlement founded on the Volga above the present Saratov was burnt down completely in the winter of 1613-1614. In 1617 Saratov was rebuilt, this time on the left bank of the Volga. It was a fortress surrounded by a wooden wall and encircled by an earth mound.

On 15 August, 1670 Stepan Razin with his army marched in Saratov. He was welcomed by the citizens of the town. From that moment until July 1671 Saratov was one of the centres of the Peasant War in the Lower Volga Region.

In 1674 construction of Saratov on the right bank of the Volga began. Its centre was located in the present Museum Square. Saratov boarders ran alongside the present Oktyabrskaya and Valovaya Streets. At the intersection of the present Moscovskaya and Oktyabrskaya Streets there were the gates at which started the highway leading to Moscow.

On 6^th March, 1700 Peter the Great granted the lands surrounding Saratov to the town.

In 1764 Catherine the Great signed the manifest inviting foreign citizens to live in Russia. After that foreigners (mainly Germans) started arriving to settle in Saratov and its suburbs.

In 1774 the Volga Region was in peasant revolt under the direction of Yemelyan Pougatchev. On 6 October, 1774 the army of 5000 people headed by Pougatchev marched in Saratov. They met little resistance. The majority of Saratov citizens and the garrison effectives swore allegiance to him. Many of them joined his army. Two days later the army marched to Tsaritsyn Town.

On 11 January, 1780 Catherine the Great issued the edict instituting Saratov government. In 1781 Saratov coat of arms was instituted – three starlets on a blue background symbolizing the abundance of this kind of fish in the region.

In 1810 a new layout of the town was approved. After that construction began developing at the site of the present Tchernyshevsky Square. In 1815 the foundations of Alexander-Nevsky Cathedral were laid at the site to commemorate the victory of Russian army over Napoleon’s army. Gradually it was becoming the second centre of the town. There appeared Lipki Park, the construction of Nemetskaya Street began (the present Prospect Kirova). The first residents of Nemetskaya Street were mainly German colonists and French captives. Alexander-Nevsky Cathedral was destroyed in 1938, now there is the Dynamo Stadium in its place.

The end of the 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th century in Saratov were remarkable for its cultural achievements. In 1891 Saratov brothers Nikitins founded the first National Circus in Russia. In 1885 the first public museum in Russia was opened. In 1891 was opened the first public theatre (now there is the Drama Theatre in its place). In 1912 the first provincial conservatoire of music was opened (the 3d one in Russia).

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