| Tver (English) Тверь (Russian) |
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Afanasy Nikitin Embankment |
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Location of Tver Oblast in Russia |
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Tver
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Tver Oblast |
| Administrative center of | Tver Oblast[1] |
| Municipal status | |
| Urban okrug | Tver Urban Okrug |
| Mayor | Vladimir Babichev[2] |
| Representative body | City Duma |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 152 km2 (59 sq mi) |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
403,726 inhabitants[3] |
| - Rank in 2010 | 46th |
| Population (2002 Census) | 408,903 inhabitants[4] |
| - Rank in 2002 | 45th |
| Density | 2,656 /km2 (6,880 /sq mi)[5] |
| Time zone | MSD (UTC+04:00)[6] |
| Founded | 1135 |
| Previous names | Tver (until 1931), Kalinin (until 1991) |
| Postal code(s) | 170000-170043[1] |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 4822[1] |
| Official website | |
Tver (Russian: Тверь) is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 (2010 Census preliminary results);[3] 408,903 (2002 Census);[4] 450,941 (1989 Census).[7]
Tver, which is north of Moscow, was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian Empire, with a population of 60,000 on January 14, 1913. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa Rivers. The city was known as Kalinin (Кали́нин) from 1931 to 1990.
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The first written record of Tver is dated 1135. Originally a minor settlement of Novgorodian traders, it passed to the Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1209. In 1246, Alexander Nevsky granted it to his younger brother Yaroslav Yaroslavich (d. 1271), from whom a dynasty of local princes descended. Four of them were killed by the Golden Horde and were proclaimed saints by the Russian Orthodox church.
Formerly a land of woods and bogs, the Tver principality was quickly transformed into one of the richest and most populous Russian states. As the area was hardly accessible for Tatar raids, there was a great influx of population from the recently devastated South. By the end of the century, it was ready to vie with Moscow for supremacy in Russia. Both Tver and Moscow were young cities, so the outcome of their rivalry was far from being certain.
Mikhail of Tver, who ascended the throne of Vladimir in 1305, was one of the most beloved of medieval Russian rulers. His policy of open conflict with the Golden Horde led to his assassination there in 1318. His son Dmitry "the Terrible Eyes" succeeded him, and, concluding an alliance with the mighty Grand Duchy of Lithuania, managed to raise Tver's prestige even higher.
Exasperated by Dmitry's influence, Prince Ivan Kalita of Moscow engineered his murder by the Mongols in 1326. On hearing the news of this crime, the city revolted against the Horde. The Horde joined its forces with Muscovites and brutally repressed the rebellion. Many citizens were killed, enslaved, or deported. This was the fatal blow to Tver's pretensions for supremacy in Russia.
In the second half of the 14th century, Tver was further weakened by dynastic struggles between its princes. Two senior branches of the ruling house, those of Kashin and Kholmsky, asserted their claims to the grand ducal throne. The claimants were backed up by Moscow and eventually settled at the Moscow Kremlin court.
During the Great Feudal War in Muscovy, Tver once again rose to prominence and concluded defensive alliances with Lithuania, Novgorod, Byzantium, and the Golden Horde. Grand Prince Boris of Tver sent one of his men, Afanasiy Nikitin, to search for gold and diamonds as far as India. Nikitin's travelogue, describing his journey from 1466 to 1472, is probably the first ever firsthand account of India by a European. A monument to Nikitin was opened on the Volga embankment in 1955.
At last, on September 12, 1485, the forces of Ivan the Great seized the city. The principality was given as an appanage to Ivan's grandson, only to be abolished several decades later. Last scions of the ruling dynasty were executed by Ivan the Terrible during the Oprichnina. At that turbulent time, Tver was ruled by Simeon Bekbulatovich, a former khan of Kasimov. The only remnant of his ephemeral reign is a graceful tent-like church in the village of Kushalino, 28 km north-east of Tver.
The city's decline was not irrevocable, however. With the foundation of St. Petersburg, Tver gained importance as a principal station on the highway (and later railway) from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It was much visited by Russian royalty and nobility travelling from the old capital to the new one and back.
Following a great fire of 1763, the city was rebuilt in Neoclassical style. Under Catherine the Great, the downtown was thoroughly reconstructed. Crumbling medieval buildings were razed and replaced with imposing Neoclassical buildings. The most important of these are the Travel Palace of the Empress (designed by the celebrated Matvei Kazakov), and the Ascension church (designed by Prince Lvov and consecrated in 1813).
In 1931, the city was renamed Kalinin, after a notable Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin who had been born nearby. A last vestige of the pre-Petrine epoch, the Saviour Cathedral, was blown up in 1936. In 1940 the NKVD executed more than 6,200 Polish policemen and prisoners of war from Ostashkov camp.
The Wehrmacht occupied Kalinin for two months in 1941, leaving the city in ashes. A large-scale resistance movement in the city and the region resulted in over 30,000 German soldiers and officers being killed during the occupation of the city. Kalinin was the first major city in Europe to be liberated from the Wehrmacht.
During the Cold War Kalinin was home to the air base Kryuchkovo, which is no longer in service. The historic name of Tver was restored in 1990.
Apart from the suburban White Trinity Church (1564), there are no ancient monuments left in Tver. The downtown is graced with Catharinian and Soviet edifices, bridges and embankments. Tver's most notable industries are a railroad car plant, opened in 1898, an excavator factory, and a glass making factory. Tver is home to Migalovo, which is one of Russia's biggest military airlift facilities.
Tver has got a humid continental climat, which is typical for Central Russia. Winters are long, snowy and cold, but extremely severe frosts (below -35°С) are rare. Summer is warm and humid, temperature is often higher than +30°C.
| Climate data for Tver | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.0 (48.2) |
10.0 (50.0) |
17.5 (63.5) |
27.0 (80.6) |
33.7 (92.7) |
34.3 (93.7) |
37.3 (99.1) |
38.8 (101.8) |
30.8 (87.4) |
24.7 (76.5) |
13.2 (55.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
38.8 (101.8) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −5.1 (22.8) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
1.5 (34.7) |
10.2 (50.4) |
17.3 (63.1) |
21.4 (70.5) |
22.7 (72.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
14.4 (57.9) |
7.4 (45.3) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−4 (25) |
8.5 (47.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −8.2 (17.2) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
5.4 (41.7) |
12.0 (53.6) |
16.3 (61.3) |
17.7 (63.9) |
15.8 (60.4) |
10.0 (50.0) |
4.2 (39.6) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
4.6 (40.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −11.2 (11.8) |
−10.8 (12.6) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
1.3 (34.3) |
6.5 (43.7) |
11.1 (52.0) |
12.9 (55.2) |
11.4 (52.5) |
6.1 (43.0) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
−8.9 (16.0) |
0.8 (33.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −38.8 (−37.8) |
−37.1 (−34.8) |
−34.5 (−30.1) |
−21 (−6) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−1 (30) |
2.3 (36.1) |
−2 (28) |
−7 (19) |
−15 (5) |
−27.4 (−17.3) |
−44.2 (−47.6) |
−44.2 (−47.6) |
| Source: [8] | |||||||||||||
Tver is home to Tver State University, the most highly rated university of the region. It is also home to the Tver State technical university, medical, and agricultural academies and more than 20 colleges and lyceums, branch campuses of some Moscow higher educational institutions and more than 50 high schools.
The Tver State Medical Academy is a medical school located in Tver, one of the largest and most reputable in Russia.
Tver also houses the Zhukov Air and Space Defence Academy the main college of the Voiska PVO
Tver also has around 50 secondary schools, a private school (lycee) and a Suvorov military school
Tver has four functioning Russian Orthodox cathedrals, fifteen Orthodox churches, a Catholic church, a mosque, and a synagogue.
The Oktyabrskaya Railway linking Moscow and St Peterburg is crossing the city. The primary Tver' Railway Station has a locomotive and car shed, allowing it to service both passenger and cargo trains. In plus to the Tver' Station, there are three minor stations within the city perimeter: Lazurnaya, Proletarskaya and Doroshikha. The suburban railway service links Tver to Moscow, Bologoe, Torzhok and Vasilevsky Mokh (via separate line). Most trains passing from Moscow to the north-west regions make a short stop in Tver'.
The newly designed high-speed railway line between Moscow and St Peterburg is expected to have "New Tver'" station several kilometers southwards of city border.[9]
The major M10 motorway linking Moscow and St Peterburg is also crossing the city. This motorway is a part of Pan-European corridors system. The roads to Rzhev (A112), Vesyegonsk (P84) and Volokolamsk (P90), along with many smaller regional roads, originate in the city. The new highway between Moscow and St Peterburg, that is designed at the present time, will pass closely to the northern border of Tver'. Tver' is notable by a pretty high relative number of private cars: there are 288 cars per thousand residents, which is well above average among other regions of Russia.[10]
There is also a local bus station that interconnects Tver' with minor towns of the home region, neighbouring regions, and Moscow.
Local public transport consists of trolleybuses, trams, buses, and fixed-run taxis known as "Marshrutka". The latter two take priority during recent years.
There are two airfields within the city: Migalovo military air base and Zmeevo airport.
The riverside station is located on the left bank of Volga river, closely upstream the outfall of Tvertsa. There is also a small cargo port in the lower part of the Volga. During the summertime, the cruisers are acting up and down the Volga, having their base in the City Park.
Tver is home to:
The city association football team, FC Volga Tver, plays in the Russian Second Division.
Tver is twinned with:
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