Konakovo is a Russian town in the Tver Region. The town stands in the Upper Volga lowland, 82 km to the southwest of Tver. It has a railway station and a river port. The town with the population of 41 434 people (as of 2014) takes the area of 39 sq km.

History of Konakovo

It was known from 1806 as the Settlement of Kuznetsovo. It was named after its owners.

In 1826-28 the landowner Auerbach shifted here a porcelain plant from the village of Domkino. In 1870 the porcelain and faience plant was bought by M. S. Kuznetsov, the owner of several porcelain plants. Thus, the name of the settlement matched the surname of the plant owner. The coincidence can be accounted for by the fact that the surname of Kuznetsov is one of the most widespread in Russia. The plant produced the empire crockery ware with printed pictures and hand painting. By 1890 semi-faience, majolicas, and porcelain production was mastered and became more large-scale.

From the mid 1920s the plant began to involve outstanding artists and their works were promotive of heightening general rise of the artistic side of production.

The settlement of Kuznetsovo was developed around the plant. It became the industrial township in 1925. In 1930 it was renamed into Konakovo after the participant of revolution of 1905-07 P.P. Konakov, a local native. Konakovo became a town in 1937.

Architecture and Sights

The former estate of the Russian artist G.G. Gagarin is located 6 km away from Konakovo, on the right bank of Volga River, in the village of Karacharovo. The estate of the mid 19th century is nowadays a cardiological resort with a vast park layed out in the 1860s.