Ural Rotunda is a unique monument of garden-park architecture of XIX century. It is the only 148-year rotunda in Kazakhstan. It is situated in Uralsk, in Nekrasov square not far from West-Kazakhstan State University.
The history of Rotunda dates from the middle of XIX century. In 1859 by the order of the ataman A. D. Stolypin trees were planted and the boulevard was laid called Stolyinski on the wetland.The boulevard became popular place for townsmen's rest, members of «akutinski circle» - a group of young Ural Cossack intellectuals gathered here. The monument to the first Russian tsar, from Romanov's clan, MihailFedorovich but the Emperor Alexander Second prohibited doing it. The stone Rotunda which was the only building on the boulevard was built in 1860. The author was unknown.
Rotunda became the bright representative of the epoch of Russian classism of XIX century. The monument is a refined building with marble steps and beautiful forged array. The cupola of rotunda is covered with roof steal, the ball from wooden carcass, covered with tin, raised over above the center of the cupola. On September 10, 1867 the bust to the son of Alexander Second Nikolai Alexandrovich was placed in the center of the rotunda; he died at the age of 22 in Nitse, 1865. The author of the sculpture isTonarelli.There is a sign on the monument: "To Sovereign Heir Cesarevitch Great prince Nikolai Alexandrovich.To the Ataman of Cossacks' troops the deceased on April 12, 1865 in Boze from faithful people of Ural ".
In 1919 the bust was demolished in hectic years of revolutions. The boulevard became smaller with time. Pedagogical University was built on a part of its territory. A new monument to the poet N. A. Nekrasov was built instead of a last one in the center of the rotunda and then was also demolished. In 2008 a threat of destruction the square and monument appeared.State university after Mahambet management did not get permission for building and started to cut trees in the square and build a new hostel on their place. However University management was brought to administrative responsibility.
On September 29, 2012 an open work metallic rotunda with mechanical clock with four dial blats was built not far from the regional town hall on the Ural Arbat. Building of the rotunda was timed to the Town Day. Residents of the regional center say smiling they have own "Big Ben". The beautiful rotunda yields to the sightseeing of London , but a weight of the construction is more than four tones and the clock is 5,5 meters high. Rotunda is situated under the local government protection as the monument of history and park architecture.