Tver

Tver ({{lang-ru|?????}}) is a city in Russia, an administrative center of Tver Oblast. Formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and the model provinical town of Imperial Russia, it has a population of 453,000 (as of 2003). Tver is located at {{coor dm|56|52|N|35|55|E|region:RU_type:city(453,000)}}, at the confluence of Volga and Tvertsa rivers. The city was known as Kalinin (???????) from 1931 to 1990.

Later history

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.

Related Topics:
September 12 - 1485 - Ivan the Great - Oprichnina - Simeon Bekbulatovich - Kasimov - Tent-like church - Village of Kushalino

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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.

Related Topics:
St. Petersburg - Royalty

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Under Catherine the Great, the downtown was thoroughly reconstructed. Crumbling medieval edifices were razed and replaced with imposing Neoclassical structures. The most important of these are the Travel Palace of the Empress (designed by the celebrated Matvey Kazakov), and the Ascension church (designed by Prince Lvov and consecrated in 1813).

Related Topics:
Catherine the Great - Neoclassical - Matvey Kazakov - 1813

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In 1931, the city was renamed Kalinin, after a notable Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin. A last vestige of pre-Petrine epoch, the Saviour Cathedral, was blown up in 1936. The Wehrmacht occupied Kalinin for two months in 1941, leaving the city in ashes. The historic name of Tver was restored in 1990.

Related Topics:
1931 - Mikhail Kalinin - 1936 - Wehrmacht - 1941

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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 industry is a railroad cars plant, opened in 1898.

Related Topics:
1564 - Railroad car - 1898

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