Irkutsk is over 300 years old and its development mostly relied on its location in the commercial routs of Mongolia and China. It was founded in 1661 when Cossack’s army built a fortress on the right bank of the Angara River. Since the end of the XVII century Irkutsk became a political, economical, and cultural centre of Eastern Siberia. Most brick mansions and public building of different styles were constructed in the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX centuries when commerce of gold, furs, and diamonds was at the rise. Take a look at these charming old buildings richly decorated with wooden figures, the beautiful Russian Orthodox churches of the XVII and XVIII centuries, and Polish Cathedral (the only Gothic building in Siberia). You should also pay a visit to the Decembrists’ House and Irkutsk Ethnography Museum.
