Nizhny Tagil

Nizhny Tagil (Russian: Нижний Тагил, IPA: [ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj tɐˈgʲil]) is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located 25 kilometers (16 mi) east of the boundary between Asia and Europe.

The history of Nizhny Tagil dates back to the mid-16th century, when the Stroganovs received the right to possess land by the Kama and Chusovaya basins. In 1579 they founded the first settlement, the Utkin sloboda, by the river Utka, the mouth of Chusoya. Fateyevo, the first Russian village in the Tagil region, was founded in 1665.

In 1696, by the order of Tsar Peter the Great, the Vysokogorsky iron ore quarry was opened. Voevode Dmitry Protasyev was elected to search for iron and magnetic ores. The deposits were particularly rich, and included lodes of pure magnetic iron. The surrounding landscape provided everything needed for a successful and productive mining and smelting operation — rivers for transport, forests for fuel, and suitable climate. Several years later, the Tsar introduced in Russia a special administration on mining.

Over the following decades, the city developed as one of the early centers of Russian industrialization, and it has been a major producer of cast iron and steel. The town of Nizhny Tagil, home of the factory Uralvagonzavod, is also known for its production of Soviet tanks, including the famous T-34; nearly every other T-34 was manufactured in Nizhny Tagil.

The first Russian steam locomotive was constructed there in 1833, and the father-and-son engineers who developed it, Yefim and Miron Cherepanov (Черепанов), were in 1956 commemorated by an 8-meter (26 ft) bronze statue (executed by sculptor A. S. Kondratyev and architect A. V. Sotnikov) which stands in the center of the Theatrical Square in the heart of downtown.

According to some sources, the copper for the skin of the Statue of Liberty was mined and refined in Nizhny Tagil. However, research by Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, USA, suggests that the Visnes mine in Norway is the most likely source.

Rivers and ponds take up one third of the city's territory. Nizhny Tagil spans 22 kilometers (14 mi) from north to south and 21 kilometers (13 mi) from east to west. The altitude of the city varies from 170 to 380 meters (560 to 1,250 ft).

The city is built around the extinct volcano Lis'ya Mountain. This mountain with a watchtower on its top is a symbol of the city. Another hill, Medved-Kamen [ru], is located in the northern part of the city at an altitude of 288 meters (945 ft).