Irkutsk city appearance on boards of Angara river – one of the most spectacular rivers in Eastern Siberia - is a peculiar event which went along the life of the river itself. It can be said that Irkutsk started from one particular fortress (or so called Ostrog) which Jacob Pokhabov and his companions built on the right river bank. Jacob Pokhabov was a Cossack from Yenisei.
Irkutsk was growing as if in accordance with the whimsical bends of the river. Nowadays one can have some really spectacular panoramic views of Gagarin boulevard from the left river bank. This panorama shows golden churches spires which stand along side with old wooden houses, ancient buildings and modern skyscrapers. One can say that even the changes in Siberian weather decorate well the embankment: blooming trees and shrubbery during summer and fall and snow lace – during winter.
The embankment is one of the favorite places for strolls of the city dwellers. Streets which meet in the center of the city start from the embankment. These are Kozhova, Krasnova Vosstania, Gorky, Sverdlova, Rossiaskaia streets. When you walked through the Glaskovo bridge across Angara, you'll bump into this very embankment which is called Lower Embankment and another one called Central Electrician System Embankment. These two embankments are the starting point of such streets as Pyataya Armia, Gavrilov, Chudotvorskaya, Marata, Lenin, Sukhe-Batora, Dekabrskih Sobitiy. If you start your journey from Unost Island, you may be walking along the river for two hours. It'll be 8 kilometers.
