The Obelisk on the Border Between Europe and Asia
The Obelisk on the Border Between Europe and Asia
The Obelisk on the Border Between Europe and Asia
4.5
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4.5
44 reviews
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Vacation50024
7 contributions
Dec 2022 • Couples
An amazing part of the world to visit. Freezing cold in December, snow and ice everywhere!but a great albeit short time had with plenty of photographic memories.
Written 6 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
saronic
Zurich, Switzerland26,240 contributions
Aug 2019
There is more than one Europe-Asia border marker in the Urals, also near Yekaterinburg. The historically most interesting is the one 2km before the town of Pervouralsk, since it had been visited in 1837 by crown prince, later czar Alexander II, famously drinking one glass of wine in Europe and one in Asia.
The closest to Yekaterinburg, in a distance of just 17km by the highway to Perm, dates from 2004. It is the place I saw, when I came by taxi, since I had it combined with a visit to Ganina Yama and Chertovo Gorodische, all in all a 5 hours tour.
From the car park with some souvenir stalls it is a walk of about 200m to the rather small monument. It is in a wooded area with mainly conifers. Some rocks had been brought here from other parts of the world, like a serpentine from the Valtellina in the Raetian Alps of Italy. There are also several decorative leftovers from weddings that had taken place here. Tourists love to stand in front of the border marker with one foot in Europe, one foot in Asia for a good photo.
It is only since the beginning of the 18th century that the Urals, an about 2500km long mountain range, which never gets higher than 1895m asl, are considered as the boundary between Europe and Asia. It had been first proposed in a book by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg, a Swedish army officer of German origin, who as a Russian prisoner of war spent more than 10 years in Western Siberia, having enough time and freedom though to study Russian geography. The founder of Yekaterinburg, Vasily Tatishchev, later declared that the notion of the Ural as continental border had originally been his idea.
Russia is thus together with Turkey the only country on two continents. Since Yekaterinburg and surroundings are in the Central Ural, the lowest part of the mountain range, the border marker looks as if in a rather flat, not very exiting spot and one wonders, why this monument had just been erected here.
The closest to Yekaterinburg, in a distance of just 17km by the highway to Perm, dates from 2004. It is the place I saw, when I came by taxi, since I had it combined with a visit to Ganina Yama and Chertovo Gorodische, all in all a 5 hours tour.
From the car park with some souvenir stalls it is a walk of about 200m to the rather small monument. It is in a wooded area with mainly conifers. Some rocks had been brought here from other parts of the world, like a serpentine from the Valtellina in the Raetian Alps of Italy. There are also several decorative leftovers from weddings that had taken place here. Tourists love to stand in front of the border marker with one foot in Europe, one foot in Asia for a good photo.
It is only since the beginning of the 18th century that the Urals, an about 2500km long mountain range, which never gets higher than 1895m asl, are considered as the boundary between Europe and Asia. It had been first proposed in a book by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg, a Swedish army officer of German origin, who as a Russian prisoner of war spent more than 10 years in Western Siberia, having enough time and freedom though to study Russian geography. The founder of Yekaterinburg, Vasily Tatishchev, later declared that the notion of the Ural as continental border had originally been his idea.
Russia is thus together with Turkey the only country on two continents. Since Yekaterinburg and surroundings are in the Central Ural, the lowest part of the mountain range, the border marker looks as if in a rather flat, not very exiting spot and one wonders, why this monument had just been erected here.
Written 1 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John B
Las Vegas, NV8 contributions
Aug 2019
very beautiful setting. A lot of greenery to mark this spot. Ribbons have been tied around trees by newly weds to mark their special wishes.A nice resting spot when traveling on the busy highway.
Written 7 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alex J
Melbourne, Australia2,209 contributions
Sep 2018
There are several "border markers" in the Ural mountains, and Ekaterinburg itself has three or four. This is the closest to the city, just 17km away. If you only want bragging rights for having visited (and straddled) the Europe-Asia border, and take a few photos as evidence, this one is good enough! We were on a conducted tour, (on the Trans-Siberian, we got off the train to spend two days in Ekaterinburg), so we had an English speaking guide who organised certificates for each of us, to attest that we had visited this spot, she also organised champagne for us to drink and celebrate our "achievement"! I suggest you go with a guide, or with some sort of conducted tour, because then you can see the gulag monument on the way. (the gulag monument is far more important than the Europe-Asia border!). Trying to see all this on your own is a near-impossibility, unless you are fluent in Russian! Don't miss the wall built with empty champagne bottles. You can ceremonially add your champagne bottle to the wall, after you have emptied it. Also, don't miss the numerous ribbons tied to trees and fences for good luck.
Written 7 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Randall K
Canberra, Australia1,252 contributions
Mar 2019 • Friends
We visited this site as part of a private tour. It certainly was an interesting place to visit and stand between the borders of Asia and Europe. You need to have a guide to explain the significance to better appreciate this site. It is more than just a border, there are so many other stories associated with this site.
Written 4 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew M
7,262 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
We visited this border marker as part of a city tour. We had intended to visit three of the four Europe Asia border markers near to Yekaterinburg. This location is a bit far from the city and off the main bus routes. The main options that you will have are a taxi or to arrange a tour. of which there are many. At the entrance to the complex, the first thing that you will notice are the multi coloured ribbons which are tied to different areas for luck. This reminded us of Mongolian traditions. There is a small gift shop which is a great photo op, as it has a chicken on it's roof to the left representing Europe,and a dragon to the right representing Asia. We understood the dragon reference, but a chicken for Europe?
There is a short path that leads to the obelisk that has many monuments. The monuments include; V N Tatischev stone, which is dedicated to the 320th anniversary of the founders birth, Serpentine rock from Val Telline, Italy, wooden signpost with distances to cities, may peace prevail on earth sign post provided by Japan and a silver flower sculpture from Guangzhou, China which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the sister city relationship with Yekaterinburg. This border obelisk is principally a photo op for tourists who do not want to travel to Pervouralsk, where the historical border is recognised by locals. There are usually many persons here, so you may have to wait for a chance to take a picture. A rare photo, is from the opposite side of the monument, where the dividing line leads to the road.
In the great review by Kirbyk below, a description of the Obelisk at the train station and the "czar"obelisk in Pervouralsk are described in detail. For persons who enjoy adventure, there is actually another obelisk a short walk through the woods opposite the czar obelisk. This obelisk is the least visited and known by locals as the "true" obelisk.
There is a short path that leads to the obelisk that has many monuments. The monuments include; V N Tatischev stone, which is dedicated to the 320th anniversary of the founders birth, Serpentine rock from Val Telline, Italy, wooden signpost with distances to cities, may peace prevail on earth sign post provided by Japan and a silver flower sculpture from Guangzhou, China which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the sister city relationship with Yekaterinburg. This border obelisk is principally a photo op for tourists who do not want to travel to Pervouralsk, where the historical border is recognised by locals. There are usually many persons here, so you may have to wait for a chance to take a picture. A rare photo, is from the opposite side of the monument, where the dividing line leads to the road.
In the great review by Kirbyk below, a description of the Obelisk at the train station and the "czar"obelisk in Pervouralsk are described in detail. For persons who enjoy adventure, there is actually another obelisk a short walk through the woods opposite the czar obelisk. This obelisk is the least visited and known by locals as the "true" obelisk.
Written 23 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lawm
Calgary, Canada196 contributions
Sep 2018 • Friends
This a fun stop and great photo op 17 km from Yekaterinburg just off the highway. Luckily the funds for building a huge complex and theme park didn't come through as it is pleasant as is. There are hundreds of ribbons tied by newlyweds on nearby trees giving the area a festive feel. Do stop at the nearby memorial to the victims of political repression built in 1996 honoring more than 18,000 victims of the 1960's who were buried in a mass grave at that location.
Written 19 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CorvettePete
Belconnen, Australia1,252 contributions
Sep 2018 • Friends
The obelisk which marks one point on the border is an important marker from a geographical point of view. It is apparently popular with newlyweds who come here to tie a ribbon for good luck. Unfortunately, there were none there when we were. We did get lots of photos of us straddling the border of two continents which was fun. We also had a champagne to celebrate the event and put our bottle in the correct location after we had finished it. The obelisk itself is impressive and there are plans to make this area much more developed which will certainly change the character of the place. Well worth the short trip our from town for this. (Make sure that you stop at the Victims of Political Repression memorial about 1km before this on the highway.)
Written 13 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter G
Tarporley, UK663 contributions
Sep 2018 • Friends
Having never stood astride two continents before, really enjoyed this experience. At the time we were here one of the many weddings that gather here was taking place. Worth a detour to do this
Written 22 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew E
White Bear Lake, MN723 contributions
Oct 2017 • Solo
A pleasant stop to document one's journey from Europe to Asia. The Obelisk is fun for a quick photo, but what I really enjoyed were the prayer ribbons tied on the trees nearby - primarily by young couples about to be married. A lot of happiness and hope for the future.
Written 22 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Claim your listingTHE OBELISK ON THE BORDER BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about The Obelisk on the Border Between Europe and Asia
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