Murmansk.

History

The city was founded in 1916 as Romanov-on-Murman, an ice-free port at the end of the Murmansk railway, and became Murmansk in 1917. During the Second World War, Arctic convoys brought Allied supplies here, and the city endured 792 Luftwaffe air raids, with destruction compared only to Leningrad and Stalingrad. In 1985 Murmansk was named a Hero City. Today it is one of the country's main Arctic ports and a fishing centre.

Culture & traditions

The city's star exhibit is the nuclear icebreaker Lenin, now a museum. Above the Kola Bay rises Alyosha, a 35.5-metre statue of a Second World War soldier and the second-tallest statue in Russia. The city has regional history and art museums, an aquarium, a regional drama theatre opened in 1939 and a puppet theatre founded in 1933. The city's churches include the Church of the Saviour on the Waters, and Murmansk runs the world's northernmost trolleybus system.

Sport

Since 1934 Murmansk has hosted the Festival of the North, an annual winter games with competitors from northern countries. The city loves bandy, with the men's club Murman and the women's team Arktika. The Stroitel stadium holds 5,000 spectators. Well-known people from Murmansk include the ice hockey players Vladimir Konstantinov and Alexei Semenov and the chess grandmaster Valentina Gunina.

Food & drink

Murmansk is a fishing capital of the North: Russia's largest trawler fleet is based here, and the region supplies about 16% of the country's fish. Fresh sea fish is the first thing to try in the city.

Practical information

Murmansk Airport lies 24 km from the centre near the town of Murmashi and has flights to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The railway runs south to Saint Petersburg and beyond. The city is on Moscow time. The climate is subarctic with long cold winters; the midnight sun lasts from 22 May to 23 July and the polar night from 2 December to 10 January. The best time to visit is summer, under the midnight sun.

What to see

• Nuclear icebreaker Lenin — a nuclear-powered ship turned museum
• Alyosha memorial — a 35-metre soldier overlooking the Kola Bay
• Kola Bay — an ice-free Arctic harbour
• Aquarium — marine life of the North
• Church of the Saviour on the Waters — one of the city's churches