Shilka (town)

Shilka (Russian Шилка ) is a city in the region, the Trans-Baikal (Russia) with 13,947 inhabitants (as of October 14, 2010 ).

Geography

The city is north of Borschtschowotschnygebirges in Transbaikalia, about 250 km southeast of the regional capital of Chita, the river Shilka, the left source of the river Amur.

The city is the administrative center of the Shilka Rajons same name.

Shilka is the station opened on this section 1897 Trans-Siberian Railway ( Route 6445 km from Moscow).

History

Shilka built in the first half of the 18th century as a Cossack settlement. The appointment was made after the river (of Evenki schilki for dell, which is the case in particular for the underflow). 1951 Shilka received city rights.

Demographics

Note: Census data

Culture, Education and sights

In Rajon, about 40 kilometers west of the city, the spa is balneotherapy ski Wanda ( Шиванда ), which is used since 1899.

In Shilka there are four secondary schools and one vocational school.

Furthermore, there is in the city a Russian Orthodox church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, which was built in 1908. 1929, the church was closed by the Soviet regime and used as a prison for priests and members of the opposition. Later the church was converted into a sports hall and a museum. Since the 1990s, the building is used as a church again. In 2002, the church bells were restored.

Economy

The city is located in an agricultural area, so there are various companies in the food industry; next to the construction industry and railway workshops. In Rajon various mineral resources are promoted and treated, as in the settlement Pervomaisky fluorite, beryllium, lithium, tantalum, gold, and zeolites.