1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Orel (town)

OREL, a town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name, lies at the confluence of the Oka with the Orlik, on the line of railway to the Crimea, 238 m. S.S.W. from Moscow. Pop. (1875) 45,000. (1900) 70,075. It was founded in 1566, but developed slowly, and, had only a very few houses at the beginning of the 18th century. The cathedral, begun in 1794, was finished only in 1861. The town possesses a military gymnasium (corps of cadets), a public library, and storehouses for grain and timber. The manufactures are rapidly increasing, and include hemp-carding and spinning, rope-making, flour-mills and candle factories. Orel is one of the chief markets of central Russia for corn, hemp, hempseed oil, and tallow, exported; metal wares, tobacco, kaolin, and glass ware are also exported, while salt, groceries and manufactured goods are imported.