Russlandia Poliarnie Zori Hotel

Best town north from Artic Circle

by AriRusila

Wehn I go to Murmansk I do not go to the best western style hotels, because I prefer a little bit original nostalgic atmosphere of Soviet style colossal Arktika -hotel. Located in city center it is easy to make walking looking older part of town from there.

Normally if one wants relax it is better to go summer time if one likes extreme tourism then the Jan-Feb could be right selection. Can not tell in familypages.

Murmansk winter view. This...

by o00o

Murmansk winter view.
This picture ws taken at 13.30 noon. The sun doesn't turns up from late November till late February.

My next plan is to visit Murmansk again in Summer to explore the other part of her faces...

Thinsulate, thinsulate and more thinsulate!

by livfaith

It's cold and dark in winter, even for those who live in Russia and think -10 is not all that bad! It was quite humid when I went and the wind didn't help, as well as wandering around outside, visiting Alyosha for example, so bring as much thermal stuff as possible. 3 pairs of normal socks just do not cut it (believe me, I tried!) Lip balm - chapped and split lips due to the cold are not pleasant or beautiful! A tripod - it is dark most of the time so you will need to expose your photos for quite a while - most of mine ended up blurry as I could hold the camera still enough. Make sure that you have a lot of change - most places are reluctant to take anything higher than a 100 rouble note so any thousands you have will be pretty much useless.

Festival of The North

by lukeduke

Every year in april in Murmansk there is held the Festival of The North (in 2004 it will be the 70th issue).
During 2 weeks there are different competions in all kinds of winter sports.
Without any doubt for spectators the most interesting competitions are ice swimming (a big whole is cutted into the ice on Semyonovskoye lake) and the reindeer races (at the dolina uyuta sports centre).
Everybody can participate at the Big Ski Marathon, which attracts a lot of sportsmen even from western europe.

Polar City

by Aardvark

"About Murmansk"

Murmansk (Russian: Му́рманск; Finnish: Muurmanni (archaic); Northern Sami: Murmanska; Skolt Sami: Muurman) is a city in the extreme northwest part of Russia with a seaport on the Kola Bay, 12 km from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland. Population: 320,900 (2005 est.); 336,137 (2002 Census); 468,039 (1989 Census). The city is an important navy base for the Russian Navy.

Murmansk is the administrative centre of Murmansk Oblast. The port remains ice-free year round due to the warm North Atlantic drift ocean current. It is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle.

Murmansk's evening newspaper is Vecherniy Murmansk, published since 1991.

"History"

The city, known initially as Romanov-on-Murman (Рома́нов-на-Му́рмане), was founded on October 4, 1916 and named after the Russian royal dynasty of the Romanovs. The city, an only ice-free port in the Russian Arctic, was built as a terminus of the railroad line to Kola designed to open the North Atlantic supply route to Russia in support of Eastern Front during the First World War. The city was renamed to Murmansk after the October Revolution in 1917.

From 1918 to 1920, the city was occupied by the Western powers who had been allied in the First World War and "White" forces during the Civil War in Russia.

During World War II, Murmansk was a link with the Western world for Russia, and a vast commerce with the Allies, in items important to the respective military efforts passed through it: primarily manufactured and raw materials goods into the Soviet Union. These supplies were brought to the city in the Arctic Convoys.

German forces launched an offensive against the city in 1941. Murmansk suffered profound destruction, second only to Stalingrad of all the Soviet cities. However, fierce Soviet resistance prevented Germans from capturing the city and from cutting off the vital Karelian railway line. This resistance was eventually recognized in 1985 by the Soviet Union with the formal designation of Murmansk as a Hero City on May 6, 1985.

In commemoration of this event, the massive statue Alyosha, depicting a Russian soldier of World War II, was erected overlooking the city harbour. For the rest of the war, it served as a transit point for weapons and other supplies entering the Soviet Union from other Allied nations.

During the Cold War it was a centre of Soviet submarine activity, and since the breakup of the USSR, it remains the headquarters of the Russian Northern Fleet as well as its Nuclear powered icebreaker fleet.

To commemorate the 85th anniversary of the city's foundation, the snow-white church of the Saviour-on-Waters was modeled after the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal and built on the shore for sailors of Murmansk.