Magnitogorsk is the second-largest city in the Chelyabinsk Region. Life in the city is clustered around the smelters and blast furnaces of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. Apart from the industry, the legendary city of Magnitogorsk is also a place to take a pleasant stroll, get in a good workout and soak up some cultural entertainment.

The city is divided into two parts by the Ural River. One part holds historical neighbourhoods and bedroom communities while the other fills the sky with factory chimneys.

The best spot to start your tour of Magnitogorsk is the Square of Folk Celebrations. Here, you can view the main city chiming clock, a gorgeous dial on a stone pedestal and a 'singing' fountain.

Kuranty

This also a place where the city's main sight, the massive Monument to the Rear-Front, is located. The memorial is a part of a triptych, also consisting of The Motherland Calls in Volgograd and The Warrior Liberator in Berlin. As conceived by the authors, this sword, forged in the Urals, was raised by the Motherland in Stalingrad and finally dropped to the ground in Berlin by The Warrior Liberator. Notably, the worker is oriented to the east, towards the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works while the warrior faces the west from whence the enemy emerged.

The Home Front to Battlefront Monument

In Magnitogorsk, you can get a selfie next to the Europe–Asia road sign, as this is the place where Europe and Asia meet. So here you can travel between the two continents with just a few steps. You should definitely visit the local sight which is popularly referred to as 'The Frying Pan'. It is a round square at the intersection of Oktyabrskaya Street and Leningradskaya Street. It is surrounded by two Stalin-era buildings both in the shape of a crescent.

Skovorodka square

On the right bank of the Ural River, is a monument to the earliest builders of the city, The First Tent. Next to it, there is the memorial house of poet Boris Ruchyov who is considered 'the poet of Magnitostroy' (the construction project of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works).

The First Tent, a monument to the earliest builders of the city

One of the city's major highlights is the Church of the Ascension of Christ. The construction of the church was launched in the 1980s and finished in the 2000s.

And, of course, the tour of the city would be incomplete without visiting the ice Arena Metallurg. If you arrive in Magnitogorsk at the height of the Russian ice hockey season, you should see the local ice hockey team Metallurg play a game: they are one of the best teams in Russia.

Since 2018, tourists have been provided with an opportunity to sneak into the steel heart of Russia, the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. The tour of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works has been rated one of the best in Russia. The tour includes bus rides for children. Adults can visit the blast-furnace and the slitting lines shop view the legendary Stan-5000 hot-rolling plate mill which produces steel plates for the oil industry and shipbuilding facilities.

The Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works

Please note!

You need to apply for a tour of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works a few days before the planned tour date. You will also need to provide your ID details and clothing sizes. Photography and video filming permits must be arranged separately. After the tour, you can buy some souvenirs in a local gift shop.

In the evening, we recommend you to take a walk along the Magnitka Lights pedestrian zone which stretches along Karl Marx Avenue from Zavenyagin Street to Truda Street.

In the city suburbs, there are two ski resorts: Abzakovo and Magnitogorsk Metallurg. Both offer everything necessary for a nice holiday with your family: a hotel, ski and snowboard rentals, a husky centre, steam baths and lots of winter activities.