On 18 June 2024, an employee of the Bolgar Museum-Reserve Hramov D.P. held an informative event on “Cities of Volga Bulgaria” for 14 students attending the school camp of Bolgar secondary school No. 1.
Volga Bulgaria can rightfully be considered a country of cities: Suvar, Bilyar, Juketau, Oshel, Elabuga, Bolgar, Kazan, Murom town. Their archaeological study is different because of the unevenness of excavations. According to archeologists, Bilyar can be referred to the largest city in Europe. The area of the city was 800 hectares. Bilyar had internal and external city. In the inner city lived the tsar, Muslim clergy and rich merchants. A stone cathedral mosque was also located there. Another city, Suvar, had similar features. The other towns, Juketau and Oshel were smaller. In the northern part of Bulgaria, the population was sparse, and the fortresses of Kazan and Elabuga were small in size at that time and did not play a significant role in either economic or political life. The time of prosperity of the city of Bolgar is attributed to the Golden Horde stage, to the end of XIII – the beginning of XV century. The archaeological layer of the pre-Mongol times is rather weak and does not allow us to talk about the large population.
The participants of the event became acquainted with the history of the ancient cities of Volga Bulgaria in the form of an interactive excursion around the territory of the Bolgar ancient settlement. The children were immersed in history and heard detailed information about the architectural monuments of Bolgar, built in XIII-XIV centuries.

Share on social networks