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Murmansk is world's largest city north of the Arctic circle. It is situated mainly on the eastern shore of the ice-free Kola bay about 50 km from the Barents sea. Administratively the city is divided in three districts - Leninskiy in the north , Oktyabrskiy in the centre and Pervomayskiy in the south.
The main attraction of the city near the sea is the port. A part of it is accessible to visitors. One can see legendary icebreakers there, and in summer go on a 3-hour trip around Kola Bay up to the Sal'nyy Island passing Roslyakovo and Severomorsk on board the passenger motor ship «Klavdiya Yelanskaya». The length of the trip route is 28 nautical miles (nearly 48 km). Zelyoinyy Mys sub-district took its name from the cape (mys) of the same name on the eastern coast of Kola Bay, 3 km to the north of the pre-war Murmansk. There is a monument to an unknown soldier – the memorial «To the Defenders of the Soviet Polar area during the Great Patriotic War» – by Brodskiy on the «Zelyonyy Mys» hill. The hill where «Alyosha» (nickname for the main figure of the memorial) stands commands a panorama of the city.
Lake Semyonovskoye is a recreation area of Murmansk dwellers. It is situated between two streets – Ulitsa Askol'dovtsev and Ulitsa Geroyev-Severomortsev. Regattas are held on the lake, there is the Palace of children creativity «Laplandiya» and an oceanarium on the lake banks.
A memorial in honor of the 85th anniversary of the city was opened near Lake Semyonovskoye in 2002. The memorial includes a symbolic lighthouse-stele 17.5 m high. There is a Memorial Hall in the basement part of the lighthouse, each wall of the hall is devoted to the memory of fishemen who perished at sea in peacetime, to sea transport workers, to military seamen, and to pilots of shipborne aviation. There is also a Memorial Book containing the names of those who did not return from the sea. The lighthouse is well seen from the water area of Kola Bay.
The Marine orthodox Church of the Savior on Waters («Spas na Vodakh»), built on donations of enterprises and citizens, stands nearby. The grand stairs lead to the Cathedral. The panorama view of Murmansk can be seen from the point near the church. The «Arktika» hotel in the form of a trefoil stands in the square called Pyat' Uglov («Five Corners»). There was the first hotel in Murmansk at this place, the new building was erected in 1985.
The first monument in the city – «To the Victims of Foreign intervention of 1918-1920» – is in Leningradskaya Ulitsa (street). It was built on the money of Murmansk dwellers in 1927. It looks like a stylized captain's bridge and tribune. For a long time the monument was really a tribune for meetings in the central square Ploshchad' Svobody.
There are a lot of memorial places in the city since World War II. These are: the Monument to the Hero of the Soviet Union Anatoliy Bredov, the Monument to the Soldiers of the 6th Heroic Komsomol Battery (both in Prospekt Lenina), the monument to the ships of the Northern convoys perished during World War II (in Ulitsa Chelyuskintsev).
For a long time Murmansk was the city without churches. The first church which stood in Ulitsa Yegorova was closed in 1924. Only after the war a small wooden house on the outskirts of the city in Ulitsa Zelyonaya was converted into a church. The wooden Svyato-Nikol'skaya (St. Nicholas) Church was open for nearly 40 years. Before the millennium anniversary of the Conversion of Russia the Svyato-Nikol'skaya Church got permission for renewal. The walls of a new white stone church were erected around the acting church. Its consecration was on October 1, 1986. The Church of St. Trifon Pechengskiy was built nearby soon, also of white stone (was consecrated on October 19, 1989). Both churches form the complex of the Svyato-Nikol'skiy (St. Nicholas) Cathedral. The International Festival of snow and ice sculptures «Severnaya Fantaziya» («Northern Fantasy») is held annually in Murmansk after the 20th of January (since 1999). The prizes are awarded in two nominations: «Ice Sculpture» and «Snow Sculpture». Dolina Uyuta («Cozy Valley») is a famous resting place of citizens. Being broad and flat and closed by hills from all sides it allows to make ski routes every winter. The main sports event in the Kola Peninsula – the North Festival – is held there. There are the sports complex «Yunost' Rossii», ski depot and ski jumps.
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