General information about Murmansk

Murmansk is a unique city. See if you can find it on the globe. It is on the top of Europe.

For centuries it was believed that it would be impossible to live here because of the severe climate. But it took a mere 80 years for the biggest city on the planet situated North to the Arctic Circle to be built on the shore of the Kola bay.

Murmansk is the largest port on the shores of the Arctic Ocean and the only port to remain ice-free all year round.The Arctic seaway stretching along the northern and eastern coast of Russia up to the Pacific Ocean takes its start from the port of Murmansk.

The climate here is fairly moderate due to the warm Atlantic Gulf Stream( In winter the average temperature is -10 C) Murmansk is a city of contrasts. From the 1st of December and till the 13th of January we have the so called "polar night" The hours of darkness grow longer and longer until the longest night which is on December 22 nd.

Day and night electric lights are shining instead of the Sun During this period you may witness the unusual natural phenomenon of the Northern Lights. And in summer comes"polar day" when the sun doesn't set at all. It lasts from the 23 -rd of May till the 22 -nd of July There is never any need to switch on a light between May and August.

Murmansk was founded during the reign of the Nicholas II Romanov , on October 4th, 1916 and was originally called Romanov-on-Murman The foundation of the town is connected with WW I.Russia was isolated from allies in this war , therefore it was decided to built a sea port and connect this port with the Russian capital Petrograd by the rail.

In 1917 the town was renamed Murmansk. The development of the city began in this century.Before that the Kola Penincula was inhabited only by the Saami people and few Russian settlers . Old Russian settlements have preserved until now.The Saamy have their own culture , the centre is Lovozero

The hardest time for Murmansk was during World War II. The city was heavily bombed day and night for 40 months and was ruined completely but it still lived , worked, handled allied convoys and the Nazis could not capture Murmansk. Many places of interest of Murmansk are connected with its war history

After the war Murmansk has been restored and rebuild almost anew.

The population is 310,000.

Murmansk is a maritime town. All large enterprises are connected with the sea.

Murmansk has a well developed infrastructure and excellent restaurants and hotels.

As a visitor to the city you will never be bored. Even on a short trip you will have time to visit museums, to see various exhibitions, to go to the theatre , to the Philharmonic.

Well worth visiting are Oceanarium and Puppet theatre.