Elabuga History

Yelabuga ( Tat. Alabuga ) is a city (since 1780) in the Republic of Tatarstan of Russia . The administrative center of the Elabuga region forms the urban settlement of the city of Elabuga .

It is part of the Naberezhnye Chelny agglomeration and the Nizhnekamsk territorial production complex (TPC).

One of the oldest settlements in Tatarstan. The city celebrated its millennium in 2007.

The former name of the city was Alabuga. Its history dates back to the 10th century, when a Volga Bulgarborder castle, the so-called Alamir-Sultan castle was built by Bulgar Khan Ibrahim in 985 CE. The castle was built on the place of the legendary tomb of Alamir-Sultan (Alexander the Great “Macedonian”).

The name ‘Alabuga’ originally referred to the tower of the castle, later the whole city was named Alabuga. The castle was later abandoned, and its remains are now known as Shaytan kalasy (Shaytan’s castle). In the second half of the 16th century, a Russian village was founded on the same spot.