Magnitogorsk is a city in the Chelyabinsk Region of Russia, one of the largest world centers of ferrous metallurgy. The population of the city makes 410.4 thousand people.

The city is located in the eastern slope of Southern Ural Mountains, on River Ural, 260 km to the southwest of Chelyabinsk. Magnitogorsk city takes the area of 393 sq. km.

History of Magnitogorsk

Deposits of iron ores of Magnetic Mountain were discovered in the 1740s, and ore extraction was conducted incidentally from then onwards. About 10 thousand dwellers lived in Magnitnaya Village of Orenburg Province in 1897.

In 1929 first builders arrived at Magnetic Mountain and started constructing Magnitogorsk metallurgical industrial complex.

By 1941 the metallurgical industrial complex became the largest one in Europe.

During the Great Patriotic War 1941-45 Magnitogorsk provided metal to the machine-building factories of Southern Urals, especially Chelyabinsk Tractor Factory that produced tanks.

Presently the Magnitogorsk deposit has been mostly depleted, and Magnitnaya Mountain is no more there.