Fox Mountain

Fox Mountain is located near the Tagil pond . At the top of the mountain is a watchtower . Near the mountain there is a plant-museum of the history of mining and industrial equipment (an old metallurgical plant built in the 18th century under Akinfy Demidov ), complementing the surroundings, a monument to metallurgists is installed directly at the foot of the mountain. Two large streets of the city intersect near the mountain: Beregovaya-Udarnaya and Chelyuskintsev . The mountain can be seen from all the surrounding areas of the city.

There is no exact information why Fox Mountain got its name. According to one version, earlier foxes were found here in abundance, on the other - the mountain got its name from fox-like smoke tails of the Demidov Metallurgical Plant located nearby. Another name for the mountain is Lysaya, due to the fact that it was once covered by forest, now completely disappeared.

Fox Mountain with a turret at the top is the main recognizable symbol of the city of Nizhny Tagil . As in the old days, Lisya Gora is a popular place for celebrations of citizens and the main symbol of the city of Nizhny Tagil . From the mountain offers a picturesque panorama of the city. Fox Mountain adorns the center of Nizhny Tagil, giving it a peculiar look and surroundings.

Currently, the museum operates in the Lisiegorsk tower, which was recognized as the smallest museum in Russia . Fox Mountain with a turret is part of the Nizhny Tagil Museum Association Museum-Reserve " Gornozavodskoy Ural "; The watchtower has the status of a monument of architecture and is an object of cultural heritage of the Urals and Russia.

The Fox Mountain Description was given by the geographer and cartographer I. Ya. Krivoshchekov . In 1910, in the Dictionary of Verkhotursk Uezd, he wrote that Fox Mountain has a height of 132 sazhens (289 m), is the top of a volcano that was extinct 340–360 million years ago and is composed of augite and diabase - porphyrite . Modern researchers confirm that the mountain consists of igneous rocks.

The watchtower made of wood on the top of the Fox Mountain appeared in the 18th century, and at the beginning of the 19th century. she was replaced by stone. According to one of the implausible versions, it was intended to protect against nomads, but a more realistic version of its appointment as a fire tower. There are also versions that it was used as an observatory and was even something of a beacon. The history of the tower’s project author has not been preserved, but on the cast-iron plate that holds one of the corners of the tower, the embossed date of construction was preserved - 1818 As such, the tower served as a fire tower: during a fire in the tower, they beat a bronze bell and hung red lanterns from large leather bubbles. In the mid 1830s To observe Halley's comet (it was visible from Earth in 1835–36), an observatory was erected next to the watchtower, which was a pavilion on a rotating platform. Now only the massive cast-iron stand walled up in stone is preserved from it. From October 3, 1943 , the watchtower, by order of the city authorities, received the status of an architectural monument to be preserved and periodically repaired without the right of any reorganizations.

From the 1990s to the 2000s, the watchtower had a neglected appearance. The tower was painted several times and put in order, but the interior was in decline. In order to avoid vandalism, the windows and doors of the tower were closed with iron sheets. On March 30, 2015, large-scale restoration work began on Fox Mountain to create a large tourist site as part of the Ural Gemstone Project. The restoration project included the complete ennobling of the entire recreation area on Fox Mountain, the overhaul of the watchtower and the construction of a viewing platform around it.

On August 8, 2015, Fox Mountain was completely renovated, the entire adjacent territory and all the objects on it were put in order, the object was handed over on a turnkey basis to the museum association Gornozavodskoy Ural . A footpath was paved from the foot of the mountain from the car park to a viewing tower on the top with branches to the viewing platforms, along which several stone benches were installed. At the top of the mountain, an observation deck was also paved around the watchtower. On the tower itself, the dome with a spire was replaced with a copper one of the same form, the entire roof of the tower was also covered with copper, and a vane of Tagil sculptor Alexander Ivanov in the form of a flying archangel Michael was installed on the spire. A portico in the Empire style was built at the entrance to the tower. The tower was completely repainted, the columns were whitewashed, upon reaching the roof of the tower, on the second tier of the building and on the belfry (third tier) a cast-iron fence appeared, identical to the old Kaslinsky , which was originally there when it was built in the 18th century. Also the door to the tower was made of cast iron in the old Russian style. Old lanterns were attached to the wall on either side of the entrance. A small old cast-iron cannon from the 16th century was set up on a platform near a tower on a small, stepped dais. The interior of the watchtower was also restored. Inside the tower was placed a small museum exhibition with an area of ​​just 13 m², dedicated to the history of the city and the tower itself, in particular, you can see bells, high reliefs , personal belongings of tower workers from different eras and the layout of the Tagil watchtower in the 18th century in the windows. In addition, the old cast-iron spiral staircase leading to the roof and belfry was repaired ^[1] .

The main symbol of the city was solemnly opened by the mayor of Nizhny Tagil S.K. Nosov in the presence of regional officials, the Nizhny Tagil Orthodox bishop Innokenty and ordinary residents of the city ^[2] . From August 8, 2015, Fox Mountain is considered to be one of the tourist sites of the Ural Gemstone Ring route.

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  Watchtower on Fox Mountain (1990s)

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  Watchtower on Fox Mountain (2013)

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  Tower on Fox Mountain (2015)

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  Tower on Fox Mountain (2019)

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  Fox Mountain, view from the blast furnaces of the plant-museum

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  Grotto in the rocks on the slope of the Fox Mountains

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  Monument to Metallurgists at the Foot of the Fox Mountain (2019)

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  View from the mountainside to the city and pond

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  View from the top of the mountain to the city and pond

• The symbol of the city on Fox Mountain (Rus.) . The history of Nizhny Tagil from the foundation to the present day. The appeal date is March 30, 2015.
• Mount Fox (rus.) . City Guide. Nizhny Tagil. The appeal date is March 30, 2015.
• Danil Svechkov. When will the volcano under the Fox Mountain awake in Nizhny Tagil? (Rus.) Komsomolskaya Pravda (December 3, 2013). The appeal date is March 30, 2015.
• Fox Mountain is renovated and open (rus.) . Official site of Nizhny Tagil (August 8, 2015). The appeal date is August 17, 2015.