Irbit
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Irbit (Ирби́т) is a town of 45,000 inhabitants in the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. It is located at Template:Coor dm, about 203 km from Yekaterinburg by train or 250 km by car.
Founded in 1631 as Irbeevsk (Ирбеевск?), its name was changed in 1662 to Irbit (Ирбит); it has had official town status since 1775.
In the 19th century the Irbit fair was an important event for the trade in Siberian fur and Chinese tea.
The Irbit State Museum of Fine Arts contains some important works including etchings by famous European artists. At the moment the museum is the only one in Russia specializing in engravings. In its collection there are engravings by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, German, French, English, Spanish, Swiss, Austrian, Polish, Bulgarian, Belgian and American artists. Russian art is represented by the works of A.F. Zubova, I.A. Sokolova, E.P. Chemesova, M.V. Dobuzhinski, A.A. Dejneka and many others of the 20th century. The domestic collection represents the artists of Yekaterinburg and Nizhni Tagil.
There is also a 200-year- old theatre in the town.
Although Irbit no longer attracts as many visitors as it once did, a motorcycle museum is being built in the town with the intention of bringing foreign motorcycle enthusiasts to the IMZ-Ural motorcycle factory. The factory now produces only two thousand motorcycles a year, most of them for export but in the Soviet era, hundreds of thousands were produced. Each summer thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts come to Irbit from around the world to take part in the Irbit bike show.
In Soviet times the town of Irbit had over 50,000 residents, most of whom depended on the motorcycle plant for their livelihood. The town has had several other factories producing specialty mirrors, glass and pharmaceuticals.
External links
- www.irbit.ru (Russian)
- Irbit — the people and the city (http://sentinel.phpwebhosting.com/irbit_page_4.htm) (photos)
- A set of postcards with views of the town Irbit (with Russian text) (http://www.1723.ru/read/region/irbit.htm)de:Irbit