Yeniseysk is named after the mighty Siberian river running past the city, the Yenisey - the largest river to flow into the Arctic Ocean. The city was founded by Cossacks in 1616 as a stockade - part of Russia’s conquest of Siberia. Due to its location on the Yeniseysk, and thereby an important Siberian trade route, Yeniseysk quickly became an important centre of Eastern Siberia. It remained such until the 19th century when it was eclipsed by Krasnoyarsk, mainly because of Krasnoyarsk’s location on the newly-constructed Trans-Siberian Railway. However, the city being overlooked by railway planners has meant that today many of its historical buildings and its original town-planning have been preserved, leading it to being named a Historical City of Russia.