Engels is a Russian town standing on the Volga River (The Volgograd reservoir), opposite of Saratov to which it is connected by a road bridge. It is a river port, a highway junction and the Petrovsk-Privolzhsky railway station. The town with the overall area of 121 sq km has the population of 202 419 people (as of 2010).

History of Engels

The Pokrovskaya Sloboda Settlement (aka Pokrovsk town, Pokrovka) on the place of the modern Engels was known from 1747. Here the Elton Road, on which salt was transported from Lake Elton was finishing. The settlement was named after the Protection of the Holy Mary Church (“Pokrov” as “Holy Protection” in Russian). In the mid 19th century the settlement was named Kazakshtadt, probably, due to the fact that Ukrainians were its first dwellers, whereas the surrounding population was German-speaking.

After completion of construction of the railroad Pokrovsk - Uralsk the settlement began to grow as a center of trade in bread and cattle.

It became Pokrovsk town in 1914. In 1931 it was renamed into Engels in honor of the communism theorist Friedrich Engels (1820-95). In 1922-41 Engels town was the capital of the Republic of Germans of the Volga Region.

Culture

The town has the Engels Museum of Local Lore, Lev Kassil Museum and a Picture Gallery.

The town is spreading over wide bank terraces of Volga River. The bench is protected with a 20-kilometer dam protecting the town’s low part from floods. The dam is adjoined with a park.

At the distance of 27 km to the south of Engels, near Smelovka Village there is an architectural complex Gagarin’s Field - the place where the first astronaut Yury Gagarin landed on April 12.