Welcome to Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia

Welcome to Naberezhnye Chelny

Histroical overview

Naberezhnye Chelny is a city of a rich historical past. Archeological excavations showed that tribes in the middle of the III millennium established the first settlement before our era in the epoch of bronze.

The chronicles of the Bulgarian poet Bakhshi Iman written in 1680 tell us about the settlement called Yar Chally, which was established in 1172. It was ruled by mullah Mirhadzhi Nakkara who was a father of a poet Mohammed Kul Gali – an author of the legend about Iusufe. He described the transformation of a small settlement into the largest Bulgarian city, which became a center of the Yarskoy (“coast”) region of the Bulgarian reign in XIV-XV centuries.

Two brothers Francesco and Domenico Picigano who were Italian merchants (1367) marked the city of Naberezhnye Chelny as Zhar (in the Kazan dialect of the Bulgarian language the word Yar (“steep bank”) was pronounced as Zhar). Also, this town was marked on Catalan atlas (1375). The territory of Naberezhnye Chelny and Tukaevsky region was a part of the State called Volga-Kama Bulgaria. During archeological excavations in 1992 numerous remainders of Bulgarian ceramics of the second half of the XIV were found on the territory of the Mill mountain. It was a prosperous trading and cultural center of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria.

For the first time a settlement Naberezhnye Chelny was mentioned in Russian chronicles in 1626. In 1626 not far away from Naberezhnye Chelny in Yelabuga a new peasant community was formed, headed by Fedor Popov. In the same year he and his large family moved along the bank of the river Kama. They finally settled and called that place Chelninsky Pochinok. Later it was renamed as Beregovye (a coast settlement) and finally as Naberezhnye Chelny (Canoes on a bank). However some scientists agreed that a Bulgarian word Chal had a meaning of “a stone”.

Kama-Volga region was rich of meadows, rivers and lakes. Hunting and fishing were Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia primary occupation of ancient settlers. At present time the majority of lakes were flooded by Nizhnekamsk reservoir or filled up with soil. An enormous wealth of that area was comprised by forests. 4-5 centuries ago both shores of the Kama River were continuously covered with thick forests. The special value had pine forests – Large and Small Bohrs near town Yelabuga and also so-called the “ship-groves” pine trees. In the beginning of the XX century Chelny was a large and wealthy commercial town. Dvoryanskaya Street (our days Tsentralnaya Street) was marked on city plans as an important trading center. It had a large functional meaning; it was used as a post mail circuit from Yelabuga to Menzelinsk. The houses on that street had 2 floors. On the ground floors the merchants held their stores while on the second floor they lived with their families. Offices of the largest steam navigations of Volga-Kama river pools and the most influential grain and bread production merchant’s offices were opened there. The largest pier on the river Kama, Nokolskaya Church, a mill and 18 merchant shops were built. The population in 1847 was 1726 people – Russians and Tatars. The town conducted active trade with bread and grain.

The largest river mill in Russia was built which became a symbol of the city. It was built under the management of foreign firms and specialists with the help of the State Bank of Russia in 1914-1917. At present time the river mill is a monument of history and architecture. In the second half of the XIX century Naberezhnye Chelny gradually grew into the commercial and business center of the Lower Kama region.

During revolution in 1917 the Soviet regime established peacefully. In 1930 a village Naberezhnye Chelny got the status of the town. The population of the town was 9300 people. During World War II the Chelninsky region was located in the rear of the country. About 14000 men and women left to the front, 8500 people didn’t return from the war. In 1960 a construction of the concrete plant, lower Kama hydro electro station and a brick plant had begun. In 1964 Kamgesenergostroy union was created to control construction of the city. The population in 1969 composed 35, 5 thousand people. The region remained agricultural. On July 14 1969 the State commission arrived to assert the final version of the plant Kamaz construction. On December 13 1969 a construction of the truck plant Kamaz had begun. In 1970 with the building of the Kamaz plant it was decided to start a construction of the city Naberezhnye Chelny.