Khvalynsk ( rus, Хвалы́нск, p=xvɐˈlɨnsk) is a

river port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast (russian: Сара́товская о́бласть, ''Saratovskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, located by the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

. Population: 16,000 (1974). It is located on the right bank of the Volga, at the foot of the

Khvalynsk Mountains Khvalynsk Hills (russian: Хвалынские горы) is a hilly region in Saratov Oblast and Penza Oblast, Russia. A sector of the hills is a protected area under the name Khvalynsky National Park, which was established in 1994. Geography ...

, northeast of

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

and southwest of

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

. The place name stems from the old Russian name of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

: Хвалынское море, or "Khvalyn Sea". The latter is derived from the name "Khwalis" for the inhabitants of Khwarezm. The town is the namesake of the

Khvalynsk Hills Khvalynsk Hills (russian: Хвалынские горы) is a hilly region in Saratov Oblast and Penza Oblast, Russia. A sector of the hills is a protected area under the name Khvalynsky National Park, which was established in 1994. Geography ...

and

Khvalynsk culture The Khvalynsk culture was a Middle Copper Age ("Eneolithic") culture (c. 4900 – 3500 BC) of the middle Volga region. It takes its name from Khvalynsk in Saratov Oblast. The Khvalynsk culture extended from the Samara Bend in the north (the loca ...

History

It was founded in 1556 as a Russian outpost on the Sosnovy Island on the Volga. In 1606, the whole settlement was relocated to the spot of today's Khvalynsk and came to be known as Sosnovy Ostrov (, lit. ''pine island''). In 1780, the settlement was granted

uyezd town An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

status and renamed Khvalynsk. In the 18th–19th centuries, Khvalynsk was known as a local center for trading bread and

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

produce. It was also one of the centers of the Old Believers. Some scholars believe that Khvalynsk was used by

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

as a setting for his play ''

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the pl ...

''.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Khvalynsk serves as the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Khvalynsky District Khvalynsky District (russian: Хвалынский райо́н) is an administrativeCharter of Saratov Oblast and municipalLaw #78-ZSO district (raion), one of the thirty-eight in Saratov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the north of the oblast. ...

, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with four rural localities, incorporated separately as Khvalynsk Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. As a municipal division, Khvalynsk Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction, together with two rural localities in Khvalynsky District, is incorporated within Khvalynsky Municipal District as Khvalynsk Urban Settlement.Law #112-ZSO

Notable people and culture

Khvalynsk is the birthplace of the artist

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin, (; November 5, Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._24_October.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O._S._24_October">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Old_Styl ...

, whose museum was established in the town in 1995.

References

;Notes ;Other sources * * *

External links

Official website of Khvalynsk
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Saratov Oblast Khvalynsky Uyezd Populated places on the Volga Populated places established in 1556 1556 establishments in Russia