The name Solikamsk comes from the Russian word for salt ‘sol’ and the named of the local river - the Kama. As with the similarly named city of Solvychegodsk, members of the Stroganov dynasty of merchants played a major role setting up salt mines in Solikamsk, which led to the development of the city. The city’s fortunes began to decline in the 19th century as it was eclipsed by Perm which found itself on the Trans-Siberian Railway.  However for tourists today this all means that this rather off-the-beaten-track city still has many beautiful churches from the period of its glory days.