Very little. And no one, by and large, seriously engaged in the study of this problem, with the exception of only a few local historians. In the article we will try to tell in as much detail as possible about the deserted towns and villages of this region.

So, where are the abandoned villages in the Chelyabinsk region? And how many of them are there? Let's figure it out.

Sad stories of the Ural villages

Cities are growing, villages are disappearing. This sad process in the scientific community is called urbanization. A brutal, predatory word... In some states, these processes are less active, in others - more intensively. Russia is one of the world leaders in the rate of rural extinction. Just think: every year the country loses three of its villages!

If a couple of centuries ago, villages disappeared as a result of floods, fires and epidemics, but today purely economic aspects come to the fore. Lack of jobs, minimal infrastructure and uncomfortable living environment - all this drives people to nearby cities. And first of all the youth. As a result, only the elderly and people with limited mobility remain in the villages.

Fortunately, it is not yet among the leading regions in terms of the number of villages left by man. There really aren't many of those around here. But they still exist. According to Chelyabinsk ethnographer Vladimir Teplov, over the past hundred years, the total number of villages in the region has almost halved. At the same time, Troitsky, Oktyabrsky, Uvelsky, Sosnovsky and Krasnoarmeisky districts suffered the most.

There are more and more abandoned villages in the Chelyabinsk region every year. Solving this extremely acute problem requires significant efforts by both local authorities and higher-ranking officials.

Abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region: list and map

The most reliable data on the demographic situation in a particular region is provided by population censuses. IN Russian Federation the last such census was conducted in 2010. She counted 22 completely empty villages in the Chelyabinsk region. Interestingly, 20 of them were empty between 2001 and 2010. What is their total number today, it is impossible to say exactly.

Below is a list of the most interesting non-residential settlements in the Chelyabinsk region (abandoned villages, deserted villages and former settlements, including):

• Korolevo (Kasli district).
• Capes (Sosnovsky district).
• Anfalovo (Krasnoarmeisky district).
• Adishchevo (Krasnoarmeisky district).
• Malyshevo (Sosnovsky district).
• Selki (Verkhneufaleisky urban district).
• Svoboda (Kasli district).
• Old Muslyumovo (Kunashaksky district).
• Hardware platform (Magnitogorsk).
• Shevchenko (Troitsky district).

Below on the map you can see the location of all the abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region (you will find photos and descriptions of the most famous of them later in our article). Curiously, most of them are concentrated in the northern part of the region.

hardware platform

Where to start reviewing the abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region? Metiznaya platform - a village that is very popular with all the "stalkers" of the region. It is located in the vicinity of Magnitogorsk, right in the middle of the old industrial area.

The village appeared in the first half of the 1940s simultaneously with the hardware and calibration production, which, in turn, arose on the basis of equipment evacuated from the western regions of the USSR. However, later it turned out that such a close proximity of the plant and residential areas is not the best idea. Plus, the village ended up in the sanitary zone located near the metallurgical plant. In the late 1980s, residents of the Metiznaya site began to be relocated to other settlements. In just a few years, the population of the village was reduced from 3,500 to zero.

Today, the Metiznaya platform looks extremely deplorable. Most of the buildings have already lost their floors and roofs. The highlight of the abandoned village is the Palace of Culture of Stalin's times with still preserved columns and sculptures at the main entrance.

Malyshevo

The village of Malyshevo is located in the Sosnovsky district. This is an ancient village, which was founded in the middle of the 18th century by Cossacks and peasants. Named after one of the first settlers. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 200 inhabitants, there were Primary School. After the war, a branch of the Mitrofanovsky state farm was organized in the village. Malyshevo was completely deserted in the early 2000s. Near the village, only an array of garden plots, owned mainly by residents of Chelyabinsk, has been preserved.

capes

Another abandoned village in the Sosnovsky district has a colorful and unusual name - Capes (emphasis on the first syllable). Like Malyshevo, it was also founded in the 18th century as a Cossack farm. The maximum population here was recorded in 1926 (580 inhabitants). The village was officially removed from the list of existing settlements in 1995.

Selkie

The almost extinct village of Selki is located in the northern part of the region, just a few kilometers from Lake Itkul and ten kilometers from the city of Upper Ufaley. It grew out of a small guard post founded in 1774. IN early XIX century, the development of one of the local mines began here. IN Soviet times wood was harvested in Selki.

The village consists of only three small streets. Today it is a series of dilapidated wooden huts. According to the results of the 2010 census, only 9 people lived in Selki - six men and three women.

freedom

Another abandoned village is located in the Kaslinsky district, in the north of the Chelyabinsk region. Her name is pathetic and loud - Freedom. Indeed, today this locality free from residents.

The village was deserted after the so-called Kyshtym catastrophe of 1957 - radiation emissions at the Mayak chemical plant. Like most other neighboring villages, it was completely evicted and destroyed. Only one building survived - the stone temple of Simeon Verkhotursky. The church, according to archival data, was founded in the middle of the century before last. Today, the shrine stands alone in the middle of a field, overgrown with trees and shrubs.

Abandoned villages of the Chelyabinsk region: where can you live?

Many people today tend to move from big and noisy cities to small villages with clean air, lack of traffic jams and fresh products. There are even originals among them who want to hide in an abandoned village. There are plenty of such places in the Chelyabinsk region. For example, Korolevo near the village of Bagaryak, Kasli district. It has everything you need for a full-fledged hermit life: a forest, a river with picturesque rocks on the shore and a complete absence of people.

Of course, before moving into such a wilderness, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons of such a step. After all, you have to put up with such unpleasant moments as:

• Lack of electricity, gas supply, mobile communications.
• Lack of grocery stores, hospitals and police stations nearby.
• Possible lack of a normal access road to your place of residence.
• Neighborhood, as well as possible meetings with wild and dangerous animals - bears, wolves, foxes, lynxes.
• Difficult weather and climatic conditions (in summer in the Chelyabinsk region the air temperature can rise to +30 degrees, and in winter it can drop to 30-40 degrees, but already with a minus sign).

If all of the above does not scare you, then it remains to expand a large-scale map of the region and select a suitable settlement.

Those people who are not yet ready for complete isolation and loneliness can choose for themselves a village that is not yet completely empty. There are many such settlements in the region. For example, in the village of Bolshiye Teregusty, near Kyshtym, only about fifty people live. The nature in the vicinity is incredibly beautiful: river, mountains, wild taiga. Another great option is the village of Ilek, Ashinsky district, with a population of about a hundred people. There are many empty and solid houses here.

Finally…

The extinction of the village is one of the most acute problems modern Russia. And it needs to be addressed immediately. After all, abandoned villages are not only devastation and depressiveness. It is also beautiful virgin nature, fertile land, lush green meadows, silence and peace.

The number of abandoned villages in the Chelyabinsk region is not yet catastrophic. But every year, several empty and abandoned villages appear on the map of the region. Bringing people back to the village requires a comprehensive and well thought out Government program and the infusion of significant financial resources.

Chelyabinsk region one of the richest anomalous phenomena in our country, and probably not without reason, the famous meteorite fell on its territory in 2013. Let's try to put together the main Chelyabinsk mysticism from urban legends to evidence of UFO sightings and Bigfoot.

Almost every city has its own symbol representing mysticism, secrets and urban legends. As a rule, this is an abandoned building with a rich history and extremely atypical architecture. There is a similar facility in Chelyabinsk - a dilapidated building that was once an elevator of the state bank.

The building, which is almost a century old, is located in the most inconspicuous corner of the city center, far from "fashionable new buildings" and mirror business centers, a forgotten giant, involuntarily attracts the glances of casually wandering passers-by and tourists.

Lovers of mysticism, paranormal phenomena, "roofers", "diggers" and other adventurers are trying to get inside an abandoned building, sometimes risking their own lives, in order to find a mythical treasure guarded by a ghost.

They say that the King Rat, a huge rodent, lives in the dungeons of the elevator. Also, eyewitnesses claim that there is an inscription in Latin on the wall, associated with something diabolical.

Monument to Lenin on Revolution Square

In the center of Chelyabinsk there is a monument to Lenin, but no one thought about what was under it. The fact is that under the city there is a whole network of underground tunnels and bunkers.

Ural diggers have already tried to examine them, but each time something stopped them. Some suspect that these are spirits or demons, which for some reason do not allow to pass further.

It was installed in 1959 and immediately became the hero of a local legend. It says that the monument was erected a month before the expected opening date, so that the residents of the city got used to the new look of the square. A few days after the installation of the monument, the local branch received a statement from the Yuzhny Ural Hotel, located not far from the monument: in one of its luxury rooms, several guests died in a row, and one went crazy.

The case was transferred to the KGB, because at that time in elite rooms simple people didn't stop. In order to find the cause of the strange deaths, secret service employees were ordered to be on duty in the mysterious room.

And one night they saw a hand reaching out of the darkness. The vision looked very realistic, but then it turned out that it was just a shadow from the hand of a monument standing outside the window. So that the bronze Lenin would not frighten anyone else, the monument was hastily redone, but not without incidents - the new monument turned out to have two caps at once: on the head and in the hand. The oversight was soon corrected.

Opera and Ballet Theatre

The Opera and Ballet Theater in Chelyabinsk is believed to be built on bones. There is an opinion that the historical building was erected on the site of an old cemetery. Residents were buried there when Chelyabinsk was still a fortress city.

Some of the remains were reburied, and some were left lying in the ground. And now the disturbed dead haunt the living. The builders themselves said that at night or in the early morning they noticed silhouettes or heard voices.

When the theater was completely rebuilt, the employees of the institution allegedly began to complain about voices, visions and strange sounds. However, archaeologists claim that the theater building was not built on the cemetery itself, but hundreds of meters from it, closer to the tram tracks at the intersection of Zwilling and Labor streets.

“In 1996, workers were laying a fire conduit to the Picture Gallery across the square in front of the Opera House,” said historian Gayaz Samigulov, who took part in the excavations of the cemetery. - When they were leading a trench from Labor Street, the excavator hooked on the coffin. This is how the cemetery was found, founded probably about three years after the appearance of the fortress.

This mass grave was located near the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which stood at the current intersection of Labor and Zwilling streets near the Opera House. This case at one time had a wide resonance - quite a lot of publications in the press, a lively discussion of the question of the possible date of the necropolis. Then more than 100 burials of children and adults were found. The bones were reburied at the Mitrofanovsky cemetery.

Park of Culture and Leisure named after Gagarin

On the territory of the Gagarin Park of Culture and Leisure in Chelyabinsk, according to one of the legends, it is quite possible to meet the ghost of a cat, dog or even a turtle. It is said that ghosts of animals roam the park alleys, because once upon a time it was here that their owners buried them.

Regional Legislative Assembly building

On the site where the ZSO building is now located, there was a transit prison before the revolution. Over time, the black aura of the underworld did not dissipate. They say that at night near the parliament you can hear the ringing of shackles, hoarse laughter and muffled abuse.

The house on Zwilling Street, where the registry office of the Soviet District is now located, was built on the site of the destroyed Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. There is a legend in Chelyabinsk that those who marry in this particular registry office will live happily ever after.

Ghost of Samuel Zwilling

The leader revolutionary movement Samuil Moiseevich Zwilling. According to legend, the famous communist himself hacked to death with an ax the local police chief in this house.

Local old-timers say that they have seen the ghost of the hacked police chief more than once. Eyewitnesses claim that he walked silently near the house, and then disappeared into the fog. Now he is doomed to wander forever for raising his hand against Comrade Zwilling.

Residents of a new microdistrict at ChTZ are frightened by ghosts from the cemetery

On the site of new buildings in the ChTZ area, there used to be a cemetery, which for half a century frightened the inhabitants of the harsh area. When construction began, the graves were dug up, the ashes of the dead prisoners of war and Red Army soldiers were reburied at the Pokrovsky cemetery.

However, the local residents had an “unpleasant aftertaste” left. They say that after the reburial they see luminous silhouettes in the darkness of the night.

Haunted house on Krasnoarmeyskaya street 100

In another old mansion in Chelyabinsk, according to legend, a ghost lives. The house, which is also called "Larintsev's Mansion", is located along Krasnoarmeiskaya Street, 100. Many tried to settle there: business companies, bailiffs, communal apartments and even a military registration and enlistment office.

But no one could stay there for long. Everyone was disturbed by constant howls and rustles, allegedly the merchant Larintsev himself walks here at night. There is a version that the owner of the house was killed by his servant.

It is known that the fleeing employees of the military registration and enlistment office even forgot the safe with the files of conscripts, so this cast helped someone a lot.

woman in white

In America, there is a legend about a woman in white. A ghost who arranges fatal accidents. Similar cases were recorded in Chelyabinsk.

Fatal accidents have repeatedly occurred at the intersection of Shahumyan and Dovator streets. It is known that there used to be an ancient cemetery there. But despite this, the developers put up residential buildings and built roads over the graves.

People believe that this area is full of negative energy, and this is what causes terrible accidents at the intersection of these streets. Recall that terrible accidents have happened here many times. The traffic police called this intersection one of the most dangerous in the city.

Loch Ness Monster in Smolino Lake

Lake Smolino is a fragment of the ancient sea, it even has marine-type water. Among the many fishermen there is a legend that a certain giant carp lives in the lake, nicknamed "Karp Karpych".

There is also a second legend that the lake has a "double bottom". In another reservoir of the city, there is also a legend. Allegedly, monsters live in the city river, there are even rumors that these are cubs of a mermaid.

Fishermen began to catch strange creatures of rather large sizes more often. The shield was filmed on videotape - one of the most ancient animals on the planet. Usually it does not exceed 7 centimeters, however, in the area of ​​​​the village of Churilov, a 60-centimeter "monster" was caught. Most likely, the animal underwent a mutation, but as a result of which the transformations occurred, remains a mystery.

Witch's Hole on Pushkin Street

That was the name of one of the houses, located near the Pushkin cinema. According to legend, it is there that the door to the other world is located. One of the reasons for such a belief is that one of the entrances is unoccupied.

People either move out after a while, or start getting sick. Of course, all this may be a coincidence, however, it is known that the Kazan-Bogoroditsky cemetery used to be there. Some claim to hear voices in the apartment and see the shadows of people.

Bigfoot in Satka district

Residents of the village of Suleya in the Satka district admit that they often see Bigfoot near the swamp. This place is notorious: strange creatures have been seen there more than once. It is believed that getting caught in their eyes is a bad sign.

On July 29, 1990, the expedition of N. Avdeev arrived in Satka to look for Bigfoot. The researchers went to the Satka forests and mountains. On the same evening, upon arrival in one of the indicated areas, they met a small "Leshon", whose legs were like stilts. Then the meetings with the "goblin" were repeated. V. B. Sapunov writes about this in his book “Bigfoot: is the solution of the mystery close?”

It is also described that once a Bigfoot threw stones at researchers. We saw him at close range. It is noticed that the face is clean, dark, the nostrils are large, the eyes are large, the ears are not visible - they are overgrown with thick hair. His height was at least three meters.

Quite often, members of the expedition found beds where goblin rested, large prints of bare feet, wool came across, even droppings, unusually curved birch trees, with which, according to N. Avdeev, goblin marked their territory.

Lake Shaitanka

Lake Shaitanka, located in the Ashinsky district of the Chelyabinsk region, has acquired a huge number of legends. First of all, this is a common idea among local residents about the extremely large depth of the lake, reaching 200 meters, and its connection with groundwater.

There are also stories about a coastal village that was flooded when the lake overflowed its banks. In addition, in the nineties, one of the local newspapers published evidence that fishermen allegedly observed an underwater monster (ichthyosaur) that emerged from the depths of the lake.

There are also reports of increased paranormal activity in the vicinity of the lake. The media reported that from the village of Uk, located next to the lake, evidence of UFO sightings comes more often than from many other settlements. There is evidence of the appearance near the lake or above it of some "ghosts", as well as "mermaids".

Taganay National Park

The Taganay National Park is also famous for its fantastic phenomena. And in the last 15 years, the properties of the anomalous zone have been attributed to the Taganay ridge massif.

Meetings in this area with a Bigfoot are constantly mentioned, frequent flights and landings of UFOs, contacts with the Higher Mind, local chronomirages, the appearance of ghosts, changes in the physical course of time, and also inexplicable feelings of fear and anxiety.

Someone says that in some places the usual flow of time disappears, others claim that they personally met with the “Kialim grandmother”.

For example, once in the winter on Dalniy Taganay, even the director of the weather station saw her near the lower well. Seeing the director, the "grandmother" rushed headlong deep into the taiga. She was barefoot and lightly dressed, although the bitter cold was fierce.

Faith Island

An island on Lake Turgoyak, located near its western shore. It is notable for the megalithic structures located on it. The area of ​​the island is 6.5 hectares. A small island - only 800 meters at its widest point - keeps an incredible amount of secrets.

After a thorough examination, many discoveries were made that amazed archaeologists. The oldest historical monument on the island is the Neanderthal site, which is about 60 thousand years old! But the main finds were megaliths. Megaliths are prehistoric structures of large blocks of stone, connected without the use of cement or lime mortar.

The megaliths found on the island of Vera are classified as dolmens. Dolmens are called megaliths, which in ancient times were burial and places of worship. The megaliths located on the island, according to scientists, were supposedly built about 6000 years ago, in the 4th millennium BC. e. It is assumed that approximately 5-8 thousand years ago an earthquake occurred on the island and the water that rose sharply flooded the ancient dwelling, and then left.

The megaliths of Vera Island are a mysterious unique complex of megaliths discovered by archaeologists in 2004. The megaliths were presumably built about 6,000 years ago, in the 4th millennium BC. uh

The largest structure on the island is megalith No. 1 - a stone structure 19x6 m in size, cut into the rocky ground and covered with massive stone slabs.

The walls of the structure are made by dry laying of massive stone blocks. The megalith consists of three chambers and corridors connecting them. Rectangular pits carved into the rock were found in two chambers of the megalith. The connection of the building with the main astronomical directions was fixed. Inside the megalith, two sculptures were found - a bull and a wolf. The building is preliminarily interpreted as a temple complex.

Cross on the island of Faith - According to esotericists, the island of Faith is an energy source of strength. The cult site "Island of Vera 9" is an artificially leveled site with a system of menhirs (menhirs are vertically placed oblong stone slabs). The central object on the site is a menhir surrounded by several large stones.

The height of the menhir is about 1 m, a natural quartz vein gives its upper part a beak-like shape, at the base of the menhir an image of a fish is engraved with a picket.

At some distance to the west of this central menhir, another stood in antiquity. Their axial line sets the direction "west-east", at sunrise on the day of the equinox. The system of landmarks in ancient times was made up of another menhir, which together with the central one formed the direction "northwest - southeast", towards sunrise on the day of the winter solstice.

St. Simeon Monastery

The abandoned St. Simeon Monastery, located in the Kasli district, is considered to be a real anomalous zone.

They say that 6 evil spirits live there: nuns who were shot for their faith. Near this place, tourists assure, the compass and other devices do not work.

Geophysicists with their instruments, coupled with dowsers with their frames, walked around the contours of the cathedral and received signals about the presence of underground galleries. Detailed studies were carried out on the site in front of the apse.

It turned out that two underground passages come out from under the altar hall of the temple at an angle to each other. Their general direction is deep into the once densely built-up monastic territory. This direction is consistent with the location of some dry wells, as if they, these wells, are either ventilation devices or exits from the dungeons.

Devil's settlement

One of the most mysterious places in the Chelyabinsk region is Chertovo Gorodishche - rocky ridges up to 20 meters high. Almost all of them remind impressionable tourists either human figures or bizarre animals turned into stone.

There are legends among the locals that sacrifices and mysterious rites were once performed there. When approaching the Devil's Settlement, tourists stop their watches and run out of full camera batteries.

Lake Itkul

Lake Itkul is translated from Bashkir as "meat". The so-called "Shaitan stone" rises there. There is a legend that in ancient times, human sacrifices were made on this stone for the sake of the harvest and good weather.

It is noteworthy that after centuries, people's lives continue to end here. A lot of swimmers drowned, and those who survived describe their unpleasant sensations, as if an energy cord passes through them.

Damn swamp

A small lake overgrown with grass and bushes. Locals often talk about anomalies in the swamp area. Distance from Miass - 50 km.

Although the lake is small, it is impossible to approach it. Whoever tries, everyone is overcome by some inexplicable fear. Residents of nearby villages tell visiting ufologists that they often see subtle balls in the sky hovering over this swamp. Only a few days pass after such “reconnaissance”, and at night a mysterious glow appears here.

And at least once every six months, the sky above the reservoir seems to be illuminated by a huge powerful searchlight. On such nights, the village dogs hide in their kennels with their tails between their legs. Horses, pigs, cows, on the contrary, rush about in barns and try to break free. Such mystical nights affect not only animals, but also modern electronic equipment.

Televisions in the houses of neighboring residents usually do not work well: they receive two or three channels, and even that image is like sand in a kinescope. But as soon as the light turns on over the swamp, the TVs in the houses are transformed, and then it seems that the Ostankino tower is in the middle of the village.

Someone even saw how ghostly silhouettes rolled glowing balls on the field. The old people say that devilry. Even the atmosphere near and on the field itself was sharply different from the usual state. People were seized by an inexplicable fear, and the horses stopped listening and always wanted to turn in the direction opposite to the field. They say that animals sense danger.

Until now, the swamp is characterized as something strange, incomprehensible and inexplicable. But it is impossible to deny the fact that these "damn" places have a high energy. Perhaps this affects the surrounding nature, the appearance of glare, lights and glows, the strange behavior of animals, the feelings of people, their condition and time, which flows, sometimes faster, sometimes slower ... changing our lives.

Ignatievskaya cave

Ignatievskaya Cave is often visited by ghost hunters. It is located in the Katav-Ivanovsky district, near the village of Serpievka, on the right bank of the mountain river Sim.

According to legend, the spirit of St. Ignatius comes out to the edge of the cave at night and looks at the moon.

As tourists note, strange voices and steps are heard here at night. Batteries run out quickly in the cave itself and near it, flashlights burn out, camera flashes refuse to work, and people seem to feel someone's invisible presence.

And in one of the halls it is very difficult to get high-quality photographs - a “white transparent veil” appears on them all the time.

Sikiyaz-Tamak

This ancient underground complex on the banks of the Ai River was discovered in 1995 by speleologists. The complex includes 43 karst cavities: caves and grottoes, rocky canopies, karst arches and bridges, buried and semi-buried caves.

This unique monument covers an area of ​​425 square meters. In the caves found traces of the presence of a person of all historical eras. Also, according to legend, a snowman lives here, which the locals call "shurale" ("goblin").

Sikiyaz-Tamak is in second place after Arkaim as a natural and historical monument of the Chelyabinsk region.

City - the mystery of Arkaim

Perhaps the most anomalous zone in the Southern Urals is Arkaim. This is an ancient settlement located in the south of the region in a foothill valley near the eastern slopes. Ural mountains. In legends, this place is called the main spiritual center of ancient Siberia and the Urals.

Following the scientists, psychics, prophets, members of various religious sects, and just people eager for healing and enlightenment reached Arkaim. All of them unanimously declare the power of the local energy. In Arkaim, in fact, various energy phenomena are not uncommon.

By the way, they have not only a fantastic, but also a completely scientific geophysical explanation: Arkaim stands on the site of a once active paleovolcano. The ancient city has a ring structure and is clearly oriented by the stars. It is curious that many legends associated with Arkaim speak of mental disorders of people who got there.

One of them tells about a girl, a student who arrived here for excavations. In the midst of work, she heard a voice that called her to the center ancient city. When she returned, the girl said that she had met ghosts. The frightened student eventually needed the help of a psychiatrist.

The Chelyabinsk region is unique in its own way geographic location: the Ural Range, the border between Asia and Europe, passes through its territory. About 30 memorial signs have been installed in the region, indicating the place of division of parts of the world.

The Chelyabinsk Region is also interesting for its historical heritage: in the XVIII-XVI centuries. in these places, the proto-God civilization already existed, after which the territory was developed in the 1st century BC. Turkic and Finno-Ugric tribes, then in the Middle Ages Kazakhs and Bashkirs, Russians came to the Urals in the 18th century.

The Chelyabinsk region attracts tourists with its beautiful nature, on its territory there are many charming places untouched by civilization - about 3000 lakes, 320 caves, 360 rivers. About 60 species of mammals live in the forests and steppes of the region, including rare species - lynx, mink, raccoon dog, jerboa, and more than 232 species of birds.

Ilmensky Reserve

One of the most beautiful places in the Chelyabinsk region, by all accounts, is the Ilmensky Reserve, the most famous natural and historical complex in the Southern Urals. Natural scientists have been studying the nature of Ilmen for more than 200 years. More than 30 cleanest lakes, several dozen beautiful streams and rivers, dense forests and untouched steppes are located on its territory.

Another object of legitimate pride of the Ilmensky Reserve is the rock museum, which has collected more than 300 types of various minerals and some specimens are the only ones of their kind in the world.

Lake Zyuratkul

Lake Zyuratkul and its surroundings national park in the Chelyabinsk region - very beautiful places. In translation, Zyuratkul means “Lake-Heart” and its view from a height really resembles a heart in outline. According to an ancient beautiful legend, it was formed from a fragment of a magic mirror, presented by the hero Semigor to his beloved and broken by the capricious beauty-bride Yurma. The fragment fell far in the mountains (the height of the lake is 724 m above sea level) and turned into a crystal clear lake, transparent as a girl's tears.

Even in ancient times, the beautiful lake was a popular place with our ancestors - in the Stone Age, 12 fishermen and hunters camped on its shores - archaeologists found the remains of ancient dwellings, household items, fragments of ornamented vessels, jasper and flint crafts.

Arkaim

The most famous archaeological complex-reserve of the Chelyabinsk region is Arkaim, an ancient settlement of the Aryans, which is 1000 years older than Troy. This place is located on the southern slopes of the Ural Mountains and dates back to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. uniqueness ancient settlement in its single layer and excellent preservation to this day, using this place as an example, one can fully trace the existence of a settlement within the framework of one culture and a relatively short period of time.

The archaeological reserve was founded in 1991 and is part of the Ilmensky reserve in the Chelyabinsk region. Arkaim consists of two rings of defensive structures inscribed in each other with dwellings attached to them (about 60), a free area in the center, a sewerage and irrigation system. During the research of this ancient site, evidence of developed bronze metallurgy, remains and fragments of ceramic vessels, covered with systems of complex geometric symbols, were found.

According to archaeologists, the Aryans are the progenitors of all world religions, so Arkaim today attracts not only scientists, but also followers of various spiritual practices and esotericists.

Ignatievskaya cave

The Ignatiyevskaya Cave in the Chelyabinsk Region is a place world-famous for the rock carvings of ancient people, their age dates back to about 14 thousand years. These are stylized, but quite recognizable images of bulls, mammoths, various signs and geometric figures drawn with red and black paint.

According to the found animal bones and the remains of flint tools, scientists concluded that the Ignatievskaya cave was one of the most ancient sanctuaries of the Urals.

Sikiyaz-Tamak

The cave city of Sikiyaz-Tamak in the Ai river valley in the Chelyabinsk region is the only monument of its kind in Russia. This unique place consists of 43 caves and a grotto with traces of people from all historical epochs staying here - from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages.

Of all the caves in the Urals, only here is the largest collection of beautiful jewelry, tools and ceramics. Its discovery in 1995 is equated in importance with the excavations of the legendary Troy.

Mausoleum of Kesene

The most beautiful and mysterious monument of the Chelyabinsk region is the Kesene mausoleum, dated to the 14th century. and with a still not established exact origin. During the research of the monument at the end of the XIX century. a burial of a young woman of a noble family was discovered, which is confirmed by the presence of gold jewelry (signet ring with arabesques, pendants and earrings) and the remains of a silk scarf around her neck.

There are several versions of the origin of the mausoleum. According to one of the beautiful legends, the daughter of Tamerlane is buried here, who ran away with her beloved - simple warrior from his father's army. Angry Tamerlane ordered to catch up and kill the lovers. After realizing his guilt and irreparable loss, the great commander ordered the construction of a beautiful mausoleum at the site of the death of Kesene. The second version says that this is the burial of a young wife or daughter of one of the noble leaders of the nomadic tribes of the ancient Kazakhs.

The village of Popovka is located in a picturesque corner of the Chebarkulsky district - in the middle of Varlamovsky forest, by the way, a difficult forest area, and a regional natural monument classified as a forest reserve. It was here that in the early 70s an industrial facility of national importance was built - shop No. 11 for the extraction and enrichment of uranium concentrate. The manufacturing enterprise was part of the mining association -...

The ruins of the Sinaro-Uralsky distillery The plant is an L-shaped building, consisting of a three-story administrative (in the corner part) and two-story production parts (in the wings). Before the revolution, he produced alcoholic products, including Yerofeich and Spotykach liqueurs. The drinks were High Quality, in beautiful bottles covered with a complex pattern, the stickers were of high printing quality. Snow lovers...

The facility is a huge warehouse for sorting and storing grain with many underground and aboveground conveyors. Everything is intact and in working order down to the usual light bulbs. A branch of railway tracks enters the territory, although, judging by the rails, it has not been used for a long time. Also on the territory there is a whole fleet of abandoned agricultural machinery, drilling rigs, etc. We did not encounter security, but traces of presence ...

Troitsk diesel plant is a huge complex of buildings. The aluminum alloy casting workshop is located in three separate buildings with a total area of ​​4500 sq. m. The plant is surrounded by a two-meter fence around the perimeter, which is very easy to climb, because metal bars stick out of it in places. Throughout the factory and inside the buildings there is a pile of iron. The fact that the so-called "throwers" have not yet reached him ...

The fat plant, located in the city of Troitsk, during its lifetime produced mayonnaise, vegetable food fats, glycerin soap, household soap, soap for laundries. Completely abandoned presumably in 2009. On the territory there are about ten buildings of different preservation. There are buildings built a very long time ago, for example, an electrical substation, and other workshops are modern. There are two small cooling towers. There are almost no “fillings” of shops left. About...

Former cement plant thresher. Located outside the city. Approximately 1940s built. Previously, it was a whole district, there were houses - the workers of the plant lived in them. Now there are only ruins. Walls and some ceilings remained in all buildings. The threshing machine had 3 floors, but it will no longer be possible to get there. There were 2 workshops and a warehouse on the territory. There were also 2 bunkers for storing finished cement. There were 2 capital 2-storey apartment buildings and ...

The plant in Zlatoust, which is now called Bulat. On its territory, the dismantling of everything that is sold is actively underway. The territory of the plant is huge - there is a large boiler room, impressive workshops, warehouses. In the largest workshop, all the machines were taken out, only bare walls remained. In the boiler room, everything is in its place, but they will soon get to it. There is a warehouse across the river, the doors of which are sealed. From protection - only dogs.

An abandoned workshop near an operating enterprise in the city of Kyshtym. Small in area, consists of a production facility and several rooms. There was no equipment left inside, only some furniture in the administrative part. There are remnants of Soviet posters on the walls. It is located in close proximity to the fence of an operating enterprise, so there is a risk of being barked by dogs.

It makes no sense to hide the fact that abandoned villages and other settlements are the object of study for many people who are passionate about treasure hunting (and not only). There is also a place for lovers of attic search to roam, and “ring out” the basements of abandoned houses, explore wells, and more. etc. Of course, the likelihood that your colleagues or local residents have visited this locality before you is very high, but, nevertheless, there are no “knocked out places”.

Causes that lead to the depopulation of villages

Before starting the enumeration of the reasons, I would like to dwell on the terminology in more detail. There are two concepts - abandoned settlements and disappeared settlements.

Disappeared settlements - geographical objects, today, completely ceased to exist due to military actions, man-made and natural disasters, time. In the place of such points, one can now observe a forest, a field, a pond, anything, but not standing abandoned houses. This category of objects is also interesting for treasure hunters, but now we are not talking about them.

Abandoned villages just belong to the category of abandoned settlements, i.e. settlements, villages, farms, etc., abandoned by the inhabitants. Unlike the disappeared settlements, the abandoned ones for the most part retain their architectural appearance, buildings and infrastructure, i.e. are in a state close to the time when the settlement was abandoned. So people left, why? The decline in economic activity that we can see now, when people from the villages tend to move to the city; wars; disasters of a different nature (Chernobyl and its environs); other conditions that make living in this region inconvenient, unprofitable.

How to find abandoned villages?

Naturally, before heading headlong to the search site, it is necessary to prepare a theoretical base, saying in simple words, calculate these very supposed places. A number of specific sources and tools will help us with this.

To date, one of the most accessible and sufficiently informative sources is Internet:

The second fairly popular and accessible source- it's normal topographic maps. It would seem, how can they be useful? Yes, very simple. Firstly, both tracts and non-residential villages have already been marked on the fairly well-known maps of the General Staff. It is important to understand one thing here, that the tract is not only an abandoned settlement, but simply any part of the area that is different from the rest of the surrounding area. And yet, there may not be any village on the site of the tract for a long time, well, nothing, walk around with a metal detector among the pits, collect metal debris, and then you look and get lucky. With non-residential villages, too, not everything is simple. They may turn out to be not entirely uninhabited, but used, say, as dachas or may be inhabited illegally. In this case, I see no reason to do anything, no one needs problems with the law, and the local population can be quite aggressive.

If you compare the same map of the General Staff and a more modern atlas, you can notice some differences. For example, there was a village in the forest at the General Staff, a road led to it and suddenly the road to more modern map disappeared, most likely, the inhabitants left the village and began to bother with the repair of roads, etc.

The third source is local newspapers, local population, local museums. Communicate more with natives, interesting topics there are always people to talk to, and in the meantime, you can ask about the historical past of the region. What can the locals say? Yes, a lot of things, the location of the estate, the manor's pond, where there are abandoned houses or even abandoned villages, etc.

Local media is also a fairly informative source. Especially now even the most provincial newspapers are trying / trying to get their own website, where they diligently post individual notes or even entire archives. Journalists go to many places on their business, interview, including old-timers, who like to mention various interesting facts in the course of their stories.

Do not hesitate to go to provincial local history museums. Not only are their expositions often interesting, but a museum employee or guide can also tell you a lot of interesting things.