Founded in 1631 as Irbeyevskaya Sloboda, its name was changed in 1662 to Irbit. It was granted official town status by Catherine the Great in 1775 for the town's loyalty to the Empress during the Pugachev uprising of 1773–1774. In 1776, she awarded the town its official crest. In the 19th century, the Irbit Fair was an important event for the trade in Siberian fur and Chinesetea.
After World War II, various branches of industry, such as engineering, manufacturing of construction materials, pharmaceutical, light, and food-manufacturing industries developed rapidly. During the war a motorcycle-manufacturing plant was moved here from Moscow. For more than fifty years, over three million motorcycles had been produced here. The factory now produces only two thousand motorcycles a year, most of which are for export. In the Soviet times, however, hundreds of thousands were produced. Today it produces different types of motorcycles and spare parts for them, specializing in heavy motorcycles with sidecars. Irbit dairy plant is the largest milk-processing plant in the Urals. In 2004, it processed 66,000 tons of milk. Irbit bakery plant manufactures different types of breads and batons, cakes, croutons, toasts. Irbit chemico-pharmaceutical plant produces drugs, chemical substances, fluids for chemical industry.
The Irbit State Museum of Fine Art contains some important works including etchings by famous European artists. At the moment the museum is the only one in Russia specializing in engravings. In its collection there are engravings by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, German, French, English, Spanish, Swiss, Austrian, Polish, Bulgarian, Belgian, and North American artists. The collection includes works from Albrecht Dürer to Francisco Goya. Russian art is represented by the works of A. F. Zubova, I. A. Sokolova, E. P. Chemesova, Mikhail Dobuzhinsky, Alexander Deyneka, and many others. The domestic collection represents the artists of Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Tagil. There is also a 200-year-old theater in the town. Although Irbit no longer attracts as many visitors as it once did, the Irbit State Motorcycle Museum is being built in the town with the intention of bringing foreign motorcycle enthusiasts to the IMZ-Ural motorcycle factory. Each summer thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts come to Irbit from around the world to take part in the Irbit bike show and in the Motocross races. A public park is located in the northern part of the town.
Education
There are several educational institutions in Irbit. Affiliates of the Ural State Technical University and the Institute of Commerce and Law provide higher education. Motorcycle training college and Agricultural training college, Medical and Pedagogical training schools are facilities of professional education. There are also ten secondary schools and seventeen pre-school institutions.
