Walking through the Central Park of Culture and Recreation in Volgograd, not every tourist knows that it is located on the site of the former Nobel Town. There were several such towns in Russia, but the largest one was in Volgograd, which was then called Tsaritsyn. Its emergence can be considered a result of a fortunate coincidence.

In the summer of 1871, Robert Nobel came to the Caucasus on business and heard many stories about oil production in Baku. He quickly realized that the future belonged to kerosene and wrote to his brother, the renowned scientist Alfred Nobel, asking him to start a business in Russia. Thus, they established their company in our country. The main problem was the transportation and storage of oil. By 1878, the Nobels built the first oil pipeline in Russia. Wooden barrels of kerosene were replaced with large metal tanks holding hundreds of thousands of poods. These tanks were located in the Nobel Towns and serviced the company’s fleet of tankers on the Volga.

Tsaritsyn became the main center, and its Nobel Town became a model of urban development for the entire Volga region. The area was built according to a plan and divided into industrial and residential zones. Separate cottages, shops, a hospital, a billiard room, a library, and parks were built for the workers. In 1884, electricity was brought here, which was only available in St. Petersburg at the time. Soon, telephone communication and running water appeared, making life here quite comfortable.

Moreover, good salaries were paid here. By the early 20th century, the capital of the Nobel Oil Partnership reached 15 million rubles. A significant portion of the profits came from the Tsaritsyn factories producing various oils from oil. After the October Revolution of 1917, the Nobel Town came completely under the control of the Soviet authorities and continued to function until 1942. During the war, it was almost completely destroyed, and later a Culture and Recreation Park was created in its place.