The mystery of Mangazeya: because of what the richest city of the Russian Empire fell into decay

Founded in the deep Siberian forests of Mangazeya for a long time has become the personification of well-being and prosperity. Merchants, hunters and Cossacks came here from all over the country in the hope of getting rich, and the city itself was called the furry capital of the Russian Empire. But this prosperity was not destined to last forever.

Mangazeya was founded in the middle of taiga impassable forests on the Taz River in 1601 as a strategic stronghold. The untouched riches of Siberia, mainly the abundance of fur-bearing animals, allowed the pioneers to get rich quickly, and the city attracted more and more people every year. The path to Mangazeya, located beyond the Arctic Circle, was not easy, but this did not stop those who wanted to try their luck.

At the beginning of the XVII century, Mangazeya was a well-fortified city with a developed infrastructure. And Dutch merchants and agents even had a map of the city and knew how to get to the shopping center of Siberia. In addition to fur trade, handicraft production was developed here. During archaeological excavations conducted on the site of the city in the 1970s, traces of foundry were discovered. Not far from Mangazeya, the Norilsk deposits are located, from which the townspeople took ore, and scientists found the presence of platinoids in the found local copper products.

In Europe at that time, most of the fur-bearing animals were already exterminated, therefore merchants from England and Holland knew the road to the cities of the Russian north. Russian sable in Europe was worth its weight in gold, and enterprising sailors quickly mastered the path to Mangazeya through the seas of the Arctic Ocean. The city stood 180 km upstream of the Taz River, and the ships of European merchants easily entered there in the warm season.

But the prosperity of one city was sacrificed to the integrity of the state. In 1620, an order was issued banning passage to Mangazeya by sea. The fact is that enterprising Dutch and British are so accustomed to their voyages to the city that they began to cause concern among the Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedrovich Romanov. Siberia in those days was a remote outskirts of the state, and it would be very difficult to restrain foreigners in the event of its capture. Foreigners, meanwhile, were actively looking for new routes to India, and the route through Russia seemed to them quite suitable. Later, historians proved that the king was not too suspicious: documents were found confirming the British plans to make Siberia their colony.

After the ban on visiting Magazy by sea, the fur capital began to decline. And in 1642 there was a fire that destroyed the whole city. The Mangazeya was rebuilt in another place, but it was no longer possible to achieve past prosperity and prosperity: the sun of the richest city of the Russian Empire faded forever.