During the reign of Tsar Feodor Ivanovich several settlements were built in order to fortify the state borders. During the summer of 1586 the fortress of Samara was founded. In 1589, the fortress of Tsaritsyn (later called Stalingrad and now called Volgograd) was built in the region where the Volga and the Don come closest to each other. Saratov was built in 1590 midway between Samara and Tsaritsyn at the instigation of count Grigory Zasekin. Buildings for the town were constructed of wood in the upper reaches of the Volga one year prior to the foundation in situ of the city. In spring the constructions were disassembled, every log marked, and all the town was delivered to the pre-defined place. Such a method allowed the town to be built in its entirety within several weeks.

Saratov became an important shipping port in the 1800s.

Saratov was also the home of the Volga Germans. Until 1941, Pokrovsk, known today as Engels, Russia, and located just across the Volga from Saratov, was the capital of a separate German republic. The Volga Germans numbered 800,000 in the early 20th century.

The Volga Germans included industrialists, scientists, musicians and architects, including those who built Saratov's universities and conservatories. At the outbreak of World War II, half of the Volga Germans were exiled to Siberia and Kazakhstan, and few ever returned to the region. Beginning in the 1980s, many emigrated to Germany, but the Roman Catholic St. Klementy Cathedral on Nemetskaya Street is a reminder of Saratov's German past, though it was converted in the 1960s into a movie theatre.

The Saratov region is rich not only in natural and industrial resources. The region is also famous for being one of the largest cultural and scientific centers in Russia. In Saratov there are six institutes affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences, 21 research institutes, 19 project institutes, Saratov State University, Saratov State Socio-Economic University and many scientific and technological laboratories attached to the largest industrial enterprises.

One of the city's most prominent landmarks is the 19th century neo-Gothic Conservatory. When it was built in 1912, the Conservatory was Russia's third such institution (after Moscow and St. Petersburg). At the time (1912), Saratov, with a population of 240,000, was the third-largest city in present-day Russia.

The dramatic theatre in Saratov was founded in 1802 and is one of Russia's oldest. It is one of Russia's national theatres. In Soviet times, it used to be named after Karl Marx, but now it carries the name of Ivan Slonov (1882-1945), an actor, theatre director and teacher, who was born in the city. The full name in Russian is Саратовский государственный академический театр драмы имени И. А. Слонова (I.A.Slonov Saratov State Academic Theatre).

Saratov is also famous for its Radischev Art Museum, named after Alexander Radishchev. It contains more than 20,000 exhibits, including old Russian icons, as well as works by some of the finest Russian painters (e.g. Aleksandra Ekster, Pavel Kuznetsov, Aristarkh Lentulov, Robert Falk, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Martiros Saryan, Fyodor Rokotov).
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saratov)