In , it had an estimated population of 1,, Yekaterinburg has been dubbed the "third capital of Russia", as it is ranked third by the size of economy, culture, transportation and tourism. The region was settled and developed by Novgorodians already in the 11th century. The city served as the mining capital of the Russian Empire as well as a strategic connection between Europe and Asia at the time.
In , Catherine the Great gave Yekaterinburg the status of a district town of Perm Province , and built the main road of the Empire, the Siberian Route , through the city. Yekaterinburg became a key city to Siberia , which had rich resources, and was known as the "window to Asia", a reference to Saint Petersburg as a "window to Europe". In the late 19th century, Yekaterinburg became one of the centres of revolutionary movements in the Urals. During the Soviet era, Sverdlovsk was turned into an industrial and administrative powerhouse.
In , after the fall of the Soviet Union , the city returned to its historical name. Yekaterinburg is one of the most important economic centres in Russia, and the city had experienced economic and population growth recently.
Some of the tallest buildings in Russia are located in the city. In the land now occupied by Yekaterinburg, there have been settlements of people since ancient times. According to the analysis of artefacts, the inhabitants of the settlement used over 50 different rocks and minerals to make tools, which indicates a good knowledge of the population of that time of the region's natural resources.
On the peninsula Gamayun left bank of the Upper Iset Pond , there are archaeological monuments dating back to the Chalcolithic Period : in the upper part there were found workshops for the production of stone tools, in the lower part β a settlement of two dwellings belonging to the Ayat people.
