Penza
Penza is a city in
Russia, the administrative center of
Penza Oblast in the
Volga Federal District. It stands on the
Sura River, 625 km south-east of
Moscow, at . Population: 518,025 .
Encyclopedia
Penza is a city in
Russia, the administrative center of
Penza Oblast in the
Volga Federal District. It stands on the
Sura River, 625 km south-east of
Moscow, at . Population: 518,025 .
History
Penza was founded in 1663 as a frontier outpost on the then southeastern border of Russia. The town bears the name of the river that it was originally built upon. As it was originally a frontier city, most houses were built of wood and the town developed without any master plan. During the
18th century Penza became an important trade center.
In 1774, Penza was taken by the insurgent army led by
Yemelyan Pugachev, because citizens of the town welcomed the rebellious
Cossacks into the city. First stone houses started to appear after 1801 and by 1809 Penza's population grew to more than 13,000 people.
During the
Russian Civil War, the Czechoslovak Legions raised an anti-Bolshevik uprising in Penza. During the Soviet period the city developed as a regional industrial center.
Natives of Penza include
Vsevolod Meyerhold, Andreď Makine, Nikolai Ishutin,
Aristarkh Lentulov, and
Ivan Mozzhukhin. The poet
Mikhail Lermontov grew up near Penza in the manor of Tarkhany, which belonged to his grandmother.
It is home to the Penza State Technical University.
Modern city
Currently, the city of Penza is seen as a regional center for higher education. It has six universities , 13 colleges and 77 public schools. Besides this, Penza is home to three theatres, four museums, and three art galleries.
In a topographical sense, Penza greatly differs from the cities around it because of its rolling hills and dense surrounding forests.
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