KASAN, the capital of the above government, is situated on an elevated tongue of land formed by the Kasanka, and its tributary the Bulak, about 5 miles above the mouth of the former, in the Volga. It consists of three parts, the kremlin, the middle town, and the lower town. The kremlin is situated close to the steepest part of the bank, and is surrounded by a high stone wall built by the Tartars. It contains the governor's and archbishop's palaces, barracks, prisons and workhouses for criminals, and the highly venerated cathedral of the Kasan "Mother of God." In the part of the middle town which adjoins the fortress, the great size of the bazaar, and the grand appearance of some of the private houses near it, attest the rank which Kasan held at an early period. In the bazaar are seen immense piles of furs, vegetables and fruits both fresh and dried, fish, &c. The market-place is surrounded by lofty buildings for the most part of stone, and has recently been much improved in appearance by the planting of rows of trees. Many of the old churches here display elaborate execution, and some of them, perhaps, excel in this respect even those of Moscow. The lower town contains several rows of elegant houses, separated from one another by gardens, and inhabited chiefly by opulent merchants. The chief building here, however, is the university, an elegant structure of white hewn stone, having its principal fronts adorned with Corinthian columns. It contains a library of 30,000 vols., a fine collection of Russian and Tartar coins, scientific apparatus and collections, observatory, botanical garden, &c., and had, in 1854, 91 professors, and 366 students. The study of history and of the Eastern languages receive special attention here. The Tartars dwell apart from the Russians, having a settlement on the eminences which surround Lake Kaban in the vicinity. Kasan is the seat of various manufactures, as woollens, cottons, leather, soap, cutlery, &c., and carries on
Kaschan
Kasmark.
an extensive transit trade between Siberia, Bokhara, and European Russia. The town has frequently suffered from fire—three times within a century after it came into the hands of the Russians; in 1552; and, more recently, in 1774, when the ancient archives were destroyed; in 1815, when the government powder stores exploded; and in 1842, when more than one-half of the city was destroyed. Pop. (1851) 45,049.