Abakan was constructed in 1675 as the Abakan Prison, and the exiled started the foundation of the Minusinsk hollow. Until now there is no common opinion on the origin of the word «Abakan». One of the versions is that it means «the oldest khan», «the khan father». In the centre of Abakan there is a historic development with wooden houses. One of the main sights of Abakan are the caves, where spelaean tours are arranged. Among cultural sights we should mark the Khakas Republican Museum, well-known for its historic and archaeological exposition (copies of petroglyphic drawings, funeral masks, written monuments, habitacle), which is as rich as the Hermitage and Moscow Museum of the Peoples of the East collections. There is also an open air archaeological monument in the city — Hun town, built in the I-st century BC.
