I want to talk about such sights of my city as the Kazan Cat - the hero of numerous historical legends and folklore and popular prints:
Images on vintage splints
The old popular prints that walked throughout Russia from the 17th to the 19th centuries will bring to the present day information about the furry inhabitants of Tatarstan.
Especially common were two versions of pictures. On one of them the cats were depicted in close-up. The second splint “How the cat was buried with mice” was a kind of comic: it consisted of several pictures with short texts.
Socialist evidence that in the modern capital of Tatarstan once lived a special breed of cats, characterized by large size, luxurious learnings, bright expressive eyes. These animals had a remarkable mind and were considered excellent micelles.
The miraculous salvation of Kazan Khan
Perhaps the cats depicted on splints are related to the siege of the city by the troops of Ivan the Terrible. According to the legend, the Mari kings began to attack by an underground passage, hoping to take them by surprise, to seize it and give it to the Russians. Whatever it was, woke the host. Family and family holiday loved one left the besieged city.
Cats guard capital treasures
In the XVIII century in St. Petersburg happened our natural mice. Some of the courtiers told the Empress Elizabeth that cats living in Kazan perfectly catch mice. State order for the delivery of 30 large fluffy cats. They made a profit and fully proved the fame of the mouse-catchers, although Elizaveta Petrovna ordered to feed them lamb and grouse.
The Cats Guard guarding the Winter Palace was replenished by Catherine the Great. Although she is well aware that it is harmful to inflict on mice the collection of her paintings. During a trip to Kazan, the empress ordered the delivery of 30 furry hunters to her, who were released on arrival at the Hermitage. It is believed that their descendants are still under the protection of a large museum of Russia from malicious rodents.