The excavated monuments of Bolghar, the medieval capital of Volga Bulgaria, are within easy reach from the town. The modern town of Spassk was formed from the village of Spassk on the bank of Bezdna River in 1781. It was renamed Spassk-Tatarsky, in honor of Valerian Kuybyshev, in 1935, before getting its present name in 1991. It served as a district administrative center since 1930. In 1957, due the construction of Kuybyshev Reservoir and flooding of the original Spassk, the town was moved from the place of its foundation closer to historical Bolgar. In 1991, the town changed its name to Bolgar in honor of the remains of the medieval city of Bolghar located nearby. Since 2010, on the initiative and the supervision of the first president of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev, the complex programme 'Cultural Heritage - Island-Town of Sviyazhsk and Ancient Bolgar' has been implemented in Bolgar. The programme involves the conservation of architectural and archaeological heritage of Bolgar and the development of its touristic infrastructure. The programme has the following results:
Ket architectural monuments as Small Minaret, Cathedral Mosque, Khan's Shrine, Eastern Mausoleum, Northern Mausoleum, Eastern Chamber, Assumption Church were conserved;
Key archaeological ruins as Khan's Palace, Bath No2, Pottery Kilns were conserved;
Tourism and research infrastructure, including a River Station with the Museum of Bulgarian Civilization, Memorial Sign in honor of the adoption of Islam in the Volga Bulgaria, White Mosque, Healer's House and Crafts Workshops, International Centre for Archaeological Research, International Archaeological School, Museum of Bread, were constructed;
New museum expositions, including an Open-Air Museum on Turkic-Tatar Writing and Medieval Crafts of the City of Bolgar Ground were created;
Several houses on Nazarovykh and Mukhamedyara Streets were conserved, which are currently re-used as a cafe and museums;
Volga Riverside from the River station to the Saint Abraham's Well was improved and enhanced with interactive education facilities on Bolgar heritage.
As of 1997, the town's industrial enterprises included a meat factory, a bakery, a brewery, a clothing factory, and a forestry farm. The nearest railway station is Cherdakly on the Ulyanovsk–Ufa line, south of Bolgar. Since 2010, the tourism flow to Bolgar has increased about 20 times: in 2010 Bolgar was visited by 50 000 tourists, in 2018 the annual visitation number has reached 541 000. In 2016, Bolgar became the most popular touristic towns of Russia.
Demographics
As of 1989, the population was ethnically mostly Russian, Tatar, and Chuvash. As of 2018, the town is on the 989 place from 1113 cities and towns of the Russian Federation in terms of the number of its inhabitants.
Attractions
The town is bordering the Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex World Heritage site. The property was inscribed to the World Heritage List in 2014 in accordance with criteria and. Its architectural and archaeological heritage is considered evidence of the medieval city of Bolgar, which existed in the 7-15th centuries as a key political centre of the Volga Bulgaria and the first capital of the Golden Horde. The property also has a significant religious value as a symbolic place of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria in 922 and serves as a pilgrimage place for Tatar Muslims. The following historic monuments are located in the :
The Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex is managed by the Bolgar State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, which museums are located inside of the property:
