Kazan: A City of Harmonious Contrasts

11 points4 km1 hour

Get to know Kazan, where an ancient kremlin sits beside modern rebuilds, a mosque beside an Orthodox cathedral, and city legends beside real historical events. The route starts in the heart of the city, the Kazan Kremlin, and leads along touristy Bauman Street to the quiet Black Lake park, Freedom Square and the National Library, ending on the Kremlin Embankment with views of “The Bowl” and the Ferris wheel.

Route author

Alina Rakhmanova

Things to do

👀 Watch city life
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras
📸 Take photos

Route points (11)

Freedom Square in Kazan

Point on route “Kazan: A City of Harmonious Contrasts”

Point 9

Freedom Square

⛲ Square • 🎭 Theater

Historical Background

Freedom Square is one of Kazan's most central and important squares, located in the Vakhitovsky District next to key administrative, cultural and historic buildings. It is the heart of the city's administrative, cultural and public life: not just an architectural ensemble but a citywide space where past and present meet every day. The square matters not only for its many architectural and historic landmarks but also for the institutions located here, which play a major role in the life of the whole republic. In Soviet times the square hosted the city's May Day and October Revolution demonstrations, as well as other parades and rallies.

About the Name

It used to be called Theater Square. In the early 19th century the square lay outside the city limits. In 1802 the landowner Pavel Esipov built a serf theater here, hence the first name, long before the Musa Jalil Opera and Ballet Theater that stands on the square today. The current name, Freedom Square, was adopted in 1924.

What's Nearby

Today the square is home to such important buildings as the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Tatarstan Ministry of Culture, the S. Saidashev State Grand Concert Hall, the N. G. Zhiganov Kazan State Conservatory, Kazan City Hall, the World Congress of Tatars, the A. N. Tupolev Kazan National Research Technical University, the First Kazan Chess Club and a monument to Vladimir Lenin with viewing stands. By the way, the Kazan City Hall building (formerly the Assembly of the Nobility) was built in 1845–1853. Before the revolution it hosted balls; afterward it became the Peasant's House, the Red Army House and the Officers' House. A very Kazan story of a building changing its meaning along with the times.