Kostanay' s Historical chronicle

City name

The name originates from Kos Tanay tract, which in Kazakh meant: «kos» - yurt, «tanay» -clan, tribe. This is according to M.K. Kozybaev viewpoint. Other sources state that «Kostanay» originated from words «kos» - hut and «ay» - moon. The legend reads that this gentle name «Kostanay» was given to a girl - daughter of a poor man who used to work in the place and was employed by rich men Balgozha and Nurgozhae
 

Historical chronicle

Kostanay city was founded in 1879. In the beginning of the 20th century the city was a large commercial center and one of important stations of the highway between Asia and Russia. At that time Kostanay represented a large trade-fair with two-storey timber houses, dusty air and streets covered with sand. Nevertheless, a Swiss person has built a brewery, the largest one in South Ural region and on the territory of present-day Kazakhstan, which bottled beer to specially manufactured firm bottles uncommon for those days. In 1950-s the population of the city and oblast significantly grew as result of development of virgin lands. Since postwar period and till nowadays the territory of Kostanay oblast keeps on producing immense cereal crops. At the eastern entry of the city, from the side of Tobol river there was mounted a placard with 5-meter numbers stating: ««385 thousand tons of grain», with the number being updated every week.

Climate

The climate is continental. Average temperature in January is -19°C, in July +21°C. The coldest weather is from November till March, average temperature is 15-25°C below zero. The hottest weather is from May till September, average temperature is 15-25°C.
 

Population

Population of Kostanay city amounts to 210 564. Representatives of over 100 nationalities reside in Kostanay
 

Local time

Local time is three hours ahead of Moscow and coincides with Astana time. Kostanay is in the sixth time zone. In summer the difference of local time to GMT is + 06.00.
Geographical values of Kostanay city: latitude 53°10'N, longitude 63°35'E