Europe-Asia Stela (Orenburg)

On the left bank of the Ural River, in the city of Orenburg, stands the first marker of the border between Europe and Asia on Russian territory. The obelisk, erected in 1981, is a square column about 15 metres high, topped with a stainless-alloy sphere, designed by the architect Gennady Ivanovich Naumkin.

Since the 17th century, the Ural River has historically been recognised as the border between Europe and Asia. In 1720 the Russian historian and statesman Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev proposed that the border instead ran along the Ural Mountains, and his view was accepted as fact for a long time. He also made a significant contribution to the study of Russia's geography, reflected in the coat of arms of Orenburg Oblast with its Greek-Russian cross and crescent.

In the 20th century, in 1964, Soviet geographers proposed a new border between Europe and Asia, approved by the International Geographical Union in London. Under this border, Orenburg became a European city. As a result, the Europe-Asia obelisk in Orenburg has become more a symbol of culture and history than an actual geographical marker.