Orel

Orel (in Russian, Орёль or Орель, marked “Ariol”) is a city of the West of the Russia.

The city was founded like a small fortress in 1566 with the confluence of the rivers of the Oka (river) and Orlik, on the order of the tsar Ivan IV. It was to defend the borders of the south of Russia against the wandering invasions. The fortress was out of wood and burned several times. The origin of the name of Orel has various legends. The builders of the fortress were soldiers and peasants. When they have starts to work, a large eagle flew away top of an ancient oak. This eagle is assembled very high in the sky. According to this history, the city received the name of Orel, which means in Russian " aigle". On the armorial bearings of Orel the eagle and the fortress are represented.

In four centuries of existence, the city saw many historical events. At the 17th century, she saw the army of Ivan Bolotnikov, chief of the country movement. The troops of the Démétrius Forgery were there. In 1615, the Russian troops ordered by Dmitri Pojarski crushed in front of Orel the Polish invaders. During the civil war, the troops of the Denikine general underwent a severe defeat there.

The August 5th 1943, the Soviet army released Orel of the forces hitlériennes. Today, the place where the Orlik river is thrown in the river of Oka is marked by an obelisk where the dates of the four centuries historical events of existence of Orel were engraved.

The oldest church of the city, built in 1640, is called the church of the Epiphany, pointing out the manifestation of the Holy Ghost and the baptism of Jesus-Christ. A small vault beside the church was built in 1998. Inside a source of water brings to people health.

Small fortress which was Orel four centuries ago, the city became a regional center with a developed industry. It occupies a surface of more than 90 km square and account 333.000 inhabitants. Orel has 4 administrative districts. It does not have very old monuments, the ones having been destroyed by time, the others by the Germans between 1941 and 1943. But its inhabitants preserve the dependant places piously has its heroic past.

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