(Source: http://gov.cap.ru)

This town is a place of cathedrals and churches, over 15 of them are located there. Due to this fact the town is rightly considered the centre of the Volga region and the centre of the Russian culture in Chuvashia. The town has a wonderful geographical position - it located at an equal distance from Saransk, Cheboksary and Ulyanovsk.

The city has had special powers since ancient times - in fact, until the XX century it was the centre of intersection of cultures of Mordovia, Chuvashia, Nizhny Novgorod and Ulyanovsk regions.

Today it is a quiet district town, attractive namely thanks to its soothing provincialism.

Alatyr was built on the banks of the Sura River by the order of Ivan the Terrible to protect Kazan against the Tatars in 1552. The fortress was built on the site of the Bulgarian Senbera town, so many locals still call the city Chemper – on Chuvash Language. Until XVIII century the city had been an important stronghold on the south of Russia, after that it became a major trading centre.

History

The observation jail on the site of modern Ardatov was founded in XVI century to protect the Russian borders after Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan. In 1780 the settlement received a town status.

The residents of the town took part in the rebellion led by Pugachev. The rebels entered the detachment of Pugachev whose path after the siege of Kazan went through Ardatov.

By the beginning of XX century Alatyr has been superior to the current level of development of the republic capital - Cheboksary. According to one version, the name of the town is connected with the legendary Alatyr Stone that is considered the centre of the world in Slavic mythology. According to a legend, the stone is lost somewhere in marine waters on the island of Buyan, and the throne of the world reign stands on it. It is believed that Alatyr Stone has magical properties - all the rivers with healing waters flow out from under it.