Alexin

According to legends, Aleksin was founded at the end of the XIII century by the first Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich, the younger son of Alexander Nevsky, but the official date of birth of Aleksin is considered 1348, by which it was first mentioned in the Nikonov Chronicle.

There are also documents confirming the "purchase" of Alexin by Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia Peter. The date of the "purchase" is not specified, but it could not have happened later than 1326 (the year of Metropolitan Peter's death) - this date has also long been used as a starting point for the history of Aleksin. The founding date of 1236 is found in some sources. caused by a typo in the date "1326" in one of the encyclopedias of the early twentieth century and does not find confirmation in the sources.

From the moment of purchase by Metropolitan Peter (not later than 1326) to the beginning of the nineties of the XIV century Aleksin was the fiefdom of the Metropolitans of Kiev and All Russia.

In 1472, Akhmat Khan of the Great Horde entered the Russian land with considerable forces. Moscow did not know precisely the direction of Akhmat's movement and therefore took the usual precautions. Because of this, on July 29 of 1472 the enemy was able to approach the wooden fortress - the town of Aleksin - almost unhindered. Aleksin citizens selflessly began to fight the enemy. Chroniclers, who described the battle for Aleksin, noted the heroism and courage of the townspeople:

"...the citizens bravely defended themselves and beat many Tatars. Soon, however, there was nothing left to defend, no arrow or spear," writes the historian S. M. Solovyov.

On July 30 the Tatars set fire to the fortress, but the townspeople bravely defended themselves; it is to Aleksin's credit that it was they who held back the superior forces of the enemy for two days. During the time when the battle of Alexin was going on, Ivan III had time to send troops to defend Moscow.

Aleksin heroic defense of the Golden Horde army of Khan Akhmat in 1472 dedicated to the historical novel by the St. Petersburg writer and military historian I.N. Loschilov "Forerunner." (1987).

After the events of 1472 Aleksin throughout XV-XVI centuries remains an important outpost of "Berega" - a defensive system, created along the Oka river from Kolomna to Kaluga to repel Tatar raids. During formation and strengthening of the united centralized Russian state Aleksin was the place of deployment of the Great Prince's "right hand regiment". In 1566 it was attributed to the personal possessions of Ivan the Terrible, which made it the only town on the right bank of the Oka river included in the oprichnina.

During the Troubles of the early 17th century Aleksin took part in the events related to the rebellion of Ivan Bolotnikov in 1605-1606, and then was subjected to a new devastation by the Polish-Lithuanian interventionists.

By the beginning of the fifties of the XVII century only about 450 people lived in Aleksin. In 1728, near Alexin on the Myshega River, the Mosolov brothers built the first ironworks, which are now called Tyazhpromarmatura.

In 1777 Alexin received the official status of the district town of Alexin County. Tula Viceroyalty (from 1796 - Tula province).

The city begins to develop actively in the XIX-XX centuries, when it becomes a center of sawmill, metallurgical industry, as well as after the construction of the railroad Kaluga - Tula in the middle of the XIX century. In 1873 the Mysheg factory in compensation for the losses incurred by the city built a water pipeline.

А. P. Chekhov in 1891 rested in Aleksin, where his brother worked as a tax inspector, at one of the "Kovrigin dachas," from where he went to visit Leo Tolstoy, and L. Mizinova and I. Levitan came to visit him. In May of the same year, he moved to the estate in the village of Bogimovo, west of Aleksin.

18 (31) of January 1918 in Aleksin and Aleksin County was established Soviet power.

In 1924 during the zoning of the Tula province in Aleksin district was formed 4 districts (enlarged volosts): Aleksinsky, Nenashevsky, Popovsky, and Serpukhovsky; with Aleksin becoming the center of the Aleksinsky district (later districts were enlarged). On the 1st of December, 1924 the Aleksin district was abolished and the Aleksin district became a part of province subordination. In 1929 the Tula province was transformed to the Tula district of the newly-formed Central-Industrial (since June 3 - Moscow) region; however on August 21, 1930 the Tula district was liquidated and Alexinsky district became directly subordinated to the Moscow region. At last, on September, 26th, 1937 by the decision of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR the Tula area was separated from Moscow area and Aleksin and Aleksinski area passed to it..

In 1933 the government decided to build a chemical plant (Combine 100) in the Moscow region, which included Aleksin. On March 27, 1941 the first CHPP was put into operation, and at the end of May - shop No.3 of Combine 100.

During the Great Patriotic War Aleksin played an important strategic role. On October 14, 1941, after the German troops occupied Kaluga, the 238th Infantry Division was moved to the area of Aleksin for his defense and to prevent a breakthrough on the road Moscow - Tula. German troops managed to take the city for a time, but it was liberated on December 17, 1941.

During the war, 7,662 Aleksinites died the death of the brave. Ten people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union:

Among the awarded Aleksin citizens are two full knights of the Order of Glory: I.K. Lepikhov and S.D. Petrov. D. Petrov.

On July 12, 1958 by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Aleksin town was included in the category of towns of regional subordination, and the urban line included workers' villages Vysokoye, Myshega and Petrovsky.

The peak of the city's prosperity was in the 1970s, when the Chemical Combine reached its peak as the largest producer of gunpowder. It was then that the Bor microdistrict was built up and the "Zhalka" park was opened in the Gorushki microdistrict, which was rightly considered the most beautiful park in the city, combining both slender pine trees and remarkable artistic design. At the same time, the Myshega plant is reoriented to the production of shut-off valves for the oil and gas industry.

On January 11, 2011 the old bridge across the Oka was opened after reconstruction. There are now two bridge spans in Aleksin, with vehicular traffic.