Interesting facts about Moscow and Moscow underground

Do you know that:

1. Moscow - the largest city by population in Europe

2. There are a few the most authentic versions of an origin of the name "Moscow". On one of them, the word "Moscow" occurs from Finno-Ugric group oflanguages, and means «a wet, fenny place». The other version: this word also occurs from Finno-Ugric languages, but it means "midges", underlining a midge abundance in these territories at that times.

3. For the first time Moscow was mentioned in Ipatevsky annals in 1147 when Jury Dolgoruky (Suzdal prince ) met here his ally Svjatoslava Olgovicha (Novgorod-Severskogo prince). Since 1260 Moscow became the princedom centre, since 1460 - the centre of the Moscow Russia. It became the capital of Russia from the middle of XIV century till 1712 and since 1918 till the present time.

4. Moscow territory was populated from immemorial times. Archeological excavations have found out parkings of the people living here 4-6 thousand years ago. One of this ancient parking has been found out on the bank of the Moskva River, near the former village ShChukino.

5. The oldest settlements in territory of Moscow were in areas of the Kremlin and Zaryad'e. Excavations have found out lots of court yards and workshops of handicraftsmen here. In particular smiths and tanners, concerning to the XI century (the first mention of Moscow)

6. Moscow is lying in the centre of the European part of Russia, between the rivers Oka and Volga, on a joint of the Smolensko-Moscow height (in the west), Moskvoretsko-Oksky plain (in the east) and Meshchyorsky lowland (in the southeast). The average height above sea level - 180 m. The city settles down on the both coasts of the Moscow River in its average current.

7. Moscow climate is moderately-continental: strong frosts and scorching heat are rare, but deviations from norm happen often. January is the coldest month of year (its average temperature is -10 degrees), and the warmest is July (average temperature +20 degrees). For a year in Moscow and territories adjoining to it drops out from 582 to 620 mm of an atmospheric precipitation.

8. Moscow is a very large centre of mechanical engineering, including instrument making; black and nonferrous metallurgy (manufacture of aluminium alloys), chemical, light and polygraphic industries.

9. Moscow is one of the most green world capitals - there are such wood and park files like Izmajlovsky park, Timirjazevsky park, Botanicheskiy garden, Neskuchniy garden, the Bittsevsky forest park and etc. There is a part of Natural national park Losinyj island which also runs within a city.

10. During the II World War in 1941 approaching of German armies was stopped near Moscow. It was a turning-point for a whole war. And in 1965 a honorary title "Hero town" was appropriated to Moscow.

next