Öskemen

Öskemen Өскемен ( kas. ) | Усть-Каменогорск ( Russian )
coat of arms flag
Basic data
State :	Kazakhstan
Territory :	East Kazakhstan
Founded :	1720
Coordinates :	49 ° 59 '  N , 82 ° 37'  E Coordinates: 49 ° 59 '0 "  N , 82 ° 37' 0"  E
Height :	298  m
Area :	540  km²
Residents :	333.113 (Jan 1, 2020)
Population density :	617 inhabitants per km²
Time zone :	EKST ( UTC + 6 )
Telephone code :	(+7) 7232
Postal code :	070001-070019
License plate :	16 (old: F, U)
Äkim ( Mayor ) :	Schaqsylyq Omar
Website :	oskemen.vko.gov.kz
Location in Kazakhstan

The St. Andrew's Cathedral is the cathedral of the city

The city's playhouse

Öskemen ( Kazakh Өскемен ; Russian Усть-Каменогорск / Ust-Kamenogorsk ) is a city in eastern Kazakhstan and the capital of the Eastern Kazakhstan region .

The new bridge over the Ulba River with the Altai Mountains in the background

Geographical location

The city is located in the western part of the Altai Mountains at the mouth of the Ulba River in the Irtysh at the dam of the Buchtarma reservoir . It is located almost 100 km south of the border with Russia and 280 km west of the border with China .

population

Öskemen has 333,113 inhabitants (2020). The Russians make up the majority of the population. Just under 58 percent of the city's population is of Russian descent. The Germans are the third largest ethnic group in the city after the Kazakhs .

history

The city was founded on August 20, 1720 as a Russian military and post office and was granted city rights in 1868. In 1939 it became the administrative center of East Kazakhstan Oblast and developed into a center of mining and metallurgy during the times of the USSR . Until 1993 it was called Ust-Kamenogorsk , which in Russian means something like Steinberg at the mouth. The current name Öskemen is a Kazakh version of this name. In Öskemen there was a POW camp 45 , Ust-Kamenogorsk , for German prisoners of war of the Second World War .

Cold War

Between 1949 and 1989 around 500 nuclear tests were carried out on the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan - often with dramatic consequences for the population living there.

In August 1956, an atomic bomb exploded and the radioactive wave then hit the industrial city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. 638 people had to be brought to hospital with radiation sickness, numerous people are said to have died. The whole region was radioactively contaminated, the consequences of which are still visible today. The public was not informed about the disaster, however, the Soviet regime kept all information about it secret.

Attractions

One of the most important sights is the Russian Orthodox St. Andrew's Cathedral in the city center. To the northeast of the center is the Zinoviev Church . The new mosque, built in 2003, is also located in the center of Öskemen. Around them is the large "Ethno Park", which includes a zoo, replicas of traditional houses from various ethnic groups and military installations and vehicles from the Cold War .

traffic

Airport

Öskemen Airport is 11 kilometers away .

railroad

The city lies at the end of the Turksib junction Schar -Ust-Kamenogorsk and is the starting point for further railway lines to Shemonaicha , to Ridder and to Syryanovsk .

Trunk roads

Europastraße 40 runs through the city . The A3 , which began in the former Kazakh capital of Almaty, ends in Öskemen . The A9 and A10 , which lead north to the Russian border, begin in the city .

economy

The metal industry in particular has settled in Öskemen. The Ulba metallurgical plant was opened in the city as early as 1947 . The Ust-Kamenogorsk Titan-Magnesium Combine was founded in 1965. Another large employer in Öskemen is the Kazzinc company .

Sports

The Vostok football club plays in the highest Kazakh football league . After a scandal about a "pushed" game against Shakhtar Karagandy , he was expelled for the 2008 season.

In addition to the Kazakh Championship, the Torpedo ice hockey team takes part in the Vysschaya Hockey League , the second highest Russian league.

Town twinning

• Gangneung , South Korea, since 2011
• Bursa , Turkey, since 2011
• Jokne'am , Israel, since 2012
• Barnaul , Russia, since 2012

sons and daughters of the town

Öskemen is the birthplace of numerous ice hockey players and prominent personalities.

→ Main article : List of sons and daughters of the city of Öskemen

See also

• List of cities in Kazakhstan

Web links

Commons : Öskemen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the city of Öskemen (Kazakh and Russian)
• German-language information about Öskemen on the Pushkin library website
• Website of the area administration on the ecology of the region (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Численность населения Республики Казахстан по полу в разрезе областей и столицы, столицы, столицы, анколицы, столицы, городоав, областей и столицы, анкония, горойцы, коники, городоав,. ( Excel ; 96 KB) stat.gov.kz, accessed on July 19, 2020 (Russian). 
2. ↑ http://www.stat.gov.kz/getImg?id=ESTAT081783
3. ↑ Maschke, Erich (Ed.): On the history of the German prisoners of war of the Second World War. Verlag Ernst and Werner Gieseking, Bielefeld 1962–1977.