Vyksa is an administrative center of the Vyksa District.

The Vyksa District is located in the southwest of the Nizhni Novgorod in the basin of the Oka River. It borders on the Ryazan Region in the south and the Vladimir Region in the west. In the north and northeast, the Vyksa District borders on the Navashino District and the Kulebaki District, and in the east and southeast on the Ardatov District and the Voznesensk District.

The Vyksa District is situated in the Oka Lowland and is part the Oka Southwestern Lowland Forest Territory. Area: 184.3 thsd ha; population: 93.8 thsd; population density: 50 persons per sq km.

The driving distance from Vyksa to Nizhni Novgorod (regional center): 186 km. The closest railroad station: Navashino Station, 28 km away from the regional center.

The Vyksa District comprises 46 population centers.

Historical Background

Before the 10th-11th centuries, the territory of the Vyksa District was inhabited by Ugro-Finnic tribes. From the 12th century, the Slavs started to settle in the area. The second colonization wave began in the 16th century, after Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan. In the same period, the population of Rudnya Village (in the area of Doschatoye Settlement) started an artisan production of cast iron by using local iron ore.

In the 1760s, Ivan and Andrey Batashev laid the basis of the Vyksa District's metallurgy and metalworking industry. In 1765, the Vyksa Iron Ore Works was launched. By early 19th century, the Batashev brothers owned 15 metallurgical and metalworking works and a vast area of 300 thousand dessiatinas (1 dessiatina: approx. 2 3/4 acres) rich in ore and forests, with the population of 25 thousand artisans and workers «attached» to the works.

By the 1830s, the Oka Metallurgical District (of the Nizhni Novgorod Ural Region), which center was Vyksa with the neighboring areas, accounted for 30% of total cast iron production of the European part of Russia. The works emerged in the period when Russia was involved in wars with Turkey, France, and Prussia. At the same time the Black Sea Fleet was established. Due to that fact, the works received production orders on a regular basis. The complex of Vyksa works manufactured cast iron, cannons, cannon balls, textile machines, various sorts of iron, steel axes, scythes, sickles, cauldrons, etc.

The works' successful operation during the 18-19th centuries was based on the progressive experience of the metallurgical industry and important technical improvements. For example, in 1815, artisans Lukin and Yastrebov built a steam engine and introduced it in production. Then they started producing steam engines for metallurgical purposes. In 1823, Russia built its first steamship run on engines produced by the works. In the late 19th century, Vyksa works were the first to master the second smelting process, which laid the basis for establishing foundry productions independent from blast-furnace works.

During the Soviet period, the industrial specialization of the Vyksa District was determined and it became one of the metallurgical bases in Russia. The decisive role was played by the historical particularities of the establishment of the district's metallurgical and metalworking industries, its labor traditions, local natural conditions, and favorable geographic location.

In the 19th century, the population centers located in the area of the Vyksa District were first part of the Arzamas County and then the Ardatov County. In 1921, the Vyksa County was established. In 1929, it was divided in the Vyksa District and Kulebaki District. In 1934, Vyksa become a city status. The name of the city is connected with the Vyksunka River (Vyksa) on which banks a settlement was built. «Vyksa» is the Ugro-Finnic for «stream» or «current».

At present, Vyksa is not only the administrative center of the Vyksa District but also a large industrial city in the Nizhni Novgorod Region. Most of the industrial enterprises of the Region are located in Vyksa.

For more information about the city, please visit the Vyksa International and Entertainment Portal