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An
Introduction to Irkutsk
Irkutsk
kept the spirit of 19th century Russian city. In the center, there
are blocks of traditional wooden buildings with typical carvings.
Most of this kind of buildings were destroyed in Moscow and other
Russian big cities during Industrializtion in the 20th century.
Irkutsk is also a starting point for expeditions and tours to
Baikal Lake, which is just in 1 hour ride from the city. In Summer,
there are a lot of travellers from all over the world going to
the lake from Irkutsk. If you don’t have time for the lake
but just several hours in the city, we recommend you to visit
the central market with its fabulous fish rows. You can buy any
type of Baikal lake fish there as well as caviar. Irkutsk is a
really nice place to spend several days, or just going to the
trip to Baikal Lake.
If you would like to know where you can go out or walk in Irkutsk,
please, see the Irkutsk / Going Out
section. For more information about traveling out of the city,
visit Irkutsk / Around Irkutsk section.
Location
& Map:
[Click
here to see a big map of Baikal Lake - new window]
Brief
History:
Irkutsk was founded in the 1661 as a fort to colonize Siberia.
It was the main Russian fort behind the Ural mountains, so all
the expeditions to colonize Kamchatka and Alaska have begun there.
For centuries Russian emperors and communists (later) exiled political
prisoners to Irkutsk, so many brainy Russians spent years in the
city and this influenced the average IQ level of inhabitants.
Facts:
The
population is over 600.000 people. Irkutsk is important business
center in Siberia and considered to be important Trans-Siberian
Railway junction. Local phone code is (3952). Local time is GMT+5.
The city is situated on the both banks of Angara river, which
is going out of lake Baikal. Baikal is in 30 km. from Irkutsk.
Emergency phones: Fire department - 01; Police - 02; Ambulance
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WEATHER. (degrees celsius) January -21 | February -18
| March -9 | April +1 | May +9 | June +15
| July +17 | August +15 | September +8 | October 0 | November
-11 | December -19
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