While Finno-Ugric tribes settled the region around Perm in the early Middle Ages, the city itself was founded in 1723. The city is the biggest river port in the Urals and became a major industrial city in the 1930’s, with particularly strong aviation, shipbuilding and chemical industries. More than 80% of the city’s one million residents work in manufacturing. Perm has three universities, about 40 colleges, a medical academy, a philharmonic hall, an art gallery, several theatres, and nine museums. The American Corner was opened in February 2003.