Previously, I was sure that monuments are not the most interesting thing that new cities have: yes, you can study the history of a place from them, guess the faces of familiar figures, but to make it interesting, you need to look at something else. I thought so until I found myself in polar Murmansk, where I realized: monuments are something more. They often create the atmosphere that makes us want to return to a particular city and get to know it better. The Murmansk memorials seemed very sincere and somehow “warm” to me, even though during my trip to the Arctic it was -15 °C outside.
I propose to start the review of city monuments with military ones, especially since they are the most ancient among all. If, of course, this word is appropriate in relation to the city, which celebrated its centenary in the fall of 2016.
Monument to Alyosha
Murmansk has the title of hero city, and the townspeople are very proud of this fact. Of course, only nine cities on the territory of modern Russia deserve this title! Among them are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Tula, Smolensk, Novorossiysk, Kerch, Sevastopol and Murmansk. The largest city in the Arctic was badly damaged during enemy raids, so there are practically no old buildings left here.
The official name of this monument is the memorial “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War,” but Murmansk residents call it affectionately, in a family way: “Alyosha.”
The monument represents a figure of a Soviet soldier, 35 meters high, facing the Kola Bay: it was from there that the enemies came in 1942. At the foot of the monument is an eternal flame, lit in 1975.
The place is very popular among newlyweds: it offers a beautiful view of the entire city, and it is beautiful here at any time of the year or day.
I came here in the winter twilight, and the wild icy wind did not allow me to stand at Alyosha’s for more than 20 minutes. While here, be sure to look to the right along the Kola Bay and imagine that just 50 kilometers away the Arctic Ocean begins.
How to get there
You will have to walk or take a taxi to get to the memorable place:
- if you choose the second option, just tell the driver: “to Alyosha.” A trip from the center will cost 150 rubles.
- if you go on your own, as I did, then first you will need to get to Semenovskoye Lake (from the city center, from Lenin Avenue, trolleybus No. 3 goes here, the stop is called “Gagarin Street”). After passing the lake, go out onto Alexandrova Street and go up. Soon you will see "Alyosha".
They say that it can be seen from anywhere in the city, but this is not entirely true: you will not see the monument from the city center. So it’s definitely worth taking a special walk to the monument to the Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War.
Reason #4: Northern Lights, Polar Days and Nights
You can admire the lights only in late autumn or winter (residents say that the brightest flashes occur in October-November) and only on those nights when the magnetic field is strong enough. The Google forecast will tell you what it will be like.
It is advisable to leave the city to an area not illuminated by lanterns, for example, on the road towards Teriberka. That is, already in the first hour of your stay in Murmansk you can enjoy this natural phenomenon - on the way from the airport to the city.
The top most popular questions about the polar nights, asked by those who are in Murmansk for the first time, include the following: “What, the sun really doesn’t rise in winter? How do people work if it's always dark? You can’t see anything on the street at all, or is it like here in the evening?”
Yes, the sun actually sets below the horizon in December and appears only in January. However, the moon and lanterns illuminate the streets, so it is not pitch black. You gradually get used to living like this, but due to the lack of natural light, you quickly fall into an apathetic state, and your vital energy fades away. Even in summer, when the sun does not set beyond the horizon, most days are cloudy.
The most important thing you need to pay attention to in a hotel if you come to Murmansk in the summer is the presence of curtains that block sunlight.
Without them, it is difficult to fall asleep simply because the brain perceives such a night as day. The luminary, of course, is trying to set, but it doesn’t work out very well: it only descends to the horizon line.
The night is not the scorching sun, as many believe, it shines rather subdued.
In general, you yourself should experience this Murmansk polar exoticism.
Monument to Anatoly Bredov
Another monument in Murmansk, dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, bears the name of Anatoly Bredov. This man, who became a Hero of the Soviet Union after the war, was born in Novgorod. After graduating from school in Murmansk, in 1942 he went to the front.
Anatoly Fedorovich accomplished the feat in the fall of 1944, being a 21-year-old young man. The Soviet regiment was defeated under fascist fire, the cartridges ran out, and only commander Anatoly Bredov and gunner Nikita Ashurkov remained among the fighters. The soldiers threw the penultimate grenade at the Germans with the words: “Russians do not surrender!”, and with the last one they blew themselves up and the machine gun. Then the soldiers of the 155th regiment, inspired by the dedication of the commander and gunner, occupied the Pridorozhnaya height and drove out the enemies. Ashurkov survived, but Anatoly Bredov died and received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.
The monument to Bredov was erected in 1956 on the initiative of cadets of the Higher Naval School. The townspeople collected funds for the construction of the monument by donating waste paper and scrap metal.
Now streets in Murmansk, Veliky Novgorod, Apatity, Nikel and Monchegorsk are named after Bredov.
How to get there
The monument to Bredov is located on the main avenue of Murmansk, Lenin Avenue, near house No. 88. More precisely, the monument is located at the intersection of Lenin Avenue and st. Trade Unions (it's right behind the Azimut Hotel).
The easiest way to get there is on foot: you will probably pass this avenue up and down while walking around Murmansk. And opposite the monument there is the Yunost cafe - a nice place to drink coffee and buy gingerbread with reindeer, for example.
Murmansk
Video: Murmansk
general information
The history, daily life and economy of Murmansk are connected with the sea, and this determines the appearance of the city. At the berths and on the roads of the Kola Bay at any time of the year you can see large and small ships flying the flags of various countries. Fishing fleets depart from the city port to fish in the Barents Sea, and then to the vast expanses of the North Atlantic. The city-forming enterprise of Murmansk is the Murmansk Sea Fishing Port, whose activities include fishing and processing of fish, as well as ship repair and sea transportation. Not only seafood, but also coal and metal are transported from here.
Murmansk is a fairly young city, there are no outstanding historical attractions, but it is impressively original. Tourists, domestic and foreign, often visit Murmansk, because it personifies the Russian North. In the city, located on squat hills, there are several iconic places - monuments, memorials associated with its heroic history. In the well-kept central area, guests are greeted by quite decent hotels and excellent restaurants where you can taste authentic dishes typical of this region.
Outside the city limits, a variety of northern landscapes opens up: tundra, taiga, mountains, fjords. Traveling to the kingdom of wild nature - with a guided tour or on your own - is invariably popular among inquisitive tourists.
The Northern Lights, which everyone dreams of seeing, can be observed in Murmansk not only during the winter polar nights, but also at other times of the year if the day turns out to be cold and clear. The polar night and polar day, which seem exotic to visitors, are commonplace for Murmansk residents, but they celebrate the change of seasons on a grand scale. The arrival of spring is marked by the festival “Hello, Sun”, in the summer the Murmansk Mile festival is held here, and in the winter the Festival of the North is celebrated, or, as it is called here, the Polar Olympics.
History of Murmansk
People began to settle on the Kola Peninsula long before the beginning of the new era. The earliest sites discovered here date back to the 9th-7th millennia BC. e. The indigenous inhabitants of the peninsula - the Sami (or Lapps) - settled here more than a thousand years ago. In the 11th-13th centuries, the Kola Peninsula was actively explored by pioneers from the Novgorod Republic. Initially, the Novgorodians equipped fishing expeditions to these regions, which were engaged in fishing and fur farming. Then settlements began to appear here. Mostly people settled in the lands near the White Sea, which they called the Icy Sea. On the shores of the Barents Sea, where modern Murmansk is located, the Pomors set up seasonal “trapping camps”. In 1478, the Kola Peninsula became part of the Moscow Principality.
At the end of the 19th century, the Russian government began to consider projects for the construction of a port in the Arctic and the construction of a railway leading to the northern borders of the empire, including the Kola Peninsula. The plans remained unrealized for a long time, but with the outbreak of the First World War they began to be rapidly implemented. This was due to the fact that communication across the Baltic Sea with the allies was interrupted, and the Arkhangelsk port, which was frozen for almost half a year, could not fully justify its strategic purpose. The ice-free Kola Bay of the Barents Sea turned out to be a suitable place for building a naval base.
At the end of 1914, it was decided to build a railway from Petrozavodsk to the coast of the Kola Peninsula. In the fall of 1916, shortly before the completion of work, a new Russian port was founded on the shore of an ice-free bay - Romanov-on-Murman. Murman has long been called the coast of the Barents Sea, and then the entire peninsula. The word “Murman,” as most historians believe, comes from “norman,” which translated from Scandinavian languages means “northern man, northerner.” The founding date of the city is considered to be October 4, 1916, when a temple was laid on one of the hills in the name of St. Nicholas, who protects seafarers. The new city was destined to become the last one founded in Tsarist Russia. After the February Revolution, it was renamed Murmansk.
In 1918, after the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, troops from French and British ships that had anchored in the Kola Bay before the February events landed in Murmansk. This was the beginning of the intervention. A year later, the Entente military was replaced by the Kolchakites, but already in February 1920 the Bolsheviks wrested power from them. The northern city developed rapidly, becoming a supply and ship repair base for ships of the Northern Fleet. The Murmansk port grew, from where fish was supplied to all regions of the USSR.
During World War II, Murmansk received convoys of ships from allied countries delivering cargo under Lend-Lease to assist our troops. Until now, every spring, veterans of the allied Polar convoys of World War II, their children, and relatives come to Murmansk to take part in ceremonies dedicated to Victory Day.
German troops persistently, but unsuccessfully, sought to capture the city, attacking it by land and from the air. As a result of the ongoing military operations, Murmansk was practically destroyed. All wooden buildings were burned, only the port structures, reliably guarded by air defense, and the central neighborhoods, built up with stone houses, survived. In 1945, the Soviet government included Murmansk among fifteen priority cities for restoration. By 1950, the task was successfully completed.
During the Soviet era, people from all over the Union came to Murmansk in search of well-paid work. Service in the military and merchant navy was considered prestigious. In the 1990s, Murmansk, like many cities in the country, experienced an economic crisis. The port's cargo turnover dropped sharply, the number of fishing vessels decreased, and an outflow of population began. At the same time, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, trade ties with their Scandinavian neighbors were gradually established. Today, Norwegian and Finnish ships are frequent guests in the city's port. Ships from Murmansk, in turn, regularly visit the harbors of their neighbors. The main item of commerce is fish. Recently, ecotourism has been developing rapidly in the Murmansk region, and the number of foreigners arriving here to discover the virgin corners of nature in the Far North of Russia is growing.
Geography
Murmansk occupies almost 150 km² of the Kola Peninsula, in its northeastern part. The city stretches for almost 20 km along the deep-water, ice-free Kola Bay. The port of Murmansk is separated from the access to the open waters of the Barents Sea by 25 nautical miles.
Murmansk is located almost 300 km north of the Arctic Circle, which runs almost along the border of Karelia and the Murmansk region, which are part of the Northwestern Federal District of the Russian Federation. The Murmansk region itself occupies the entire Kola Peninsula and adjacent areas of the mainland. In the west, it neighbors Norway and Finland, and across the White Sea, which washes the southern coast of the peninsula, with the Arkhangelsk region.
Murmansk is surrounded by low, up to 300 meters, hills covered with open forest, mainly dwarf birch trees and shrubs. Basically, the eastern part of the peninsula, to which Murmansk belongs, is flat, in places very swampy. The west is dominated by gentle hills and valleys. In the central part of the Kola Peninsula lie the majestic Khibiny mountain ranges (height up to 1200 m) and the Lovozero tundra (height up to 1120 m).
The main base of the Russian Northern Fleet is the city of Severomorsk, 16 km northeast of Murmansk. It has the status of a closed administrative-territorial entity (ZATO). Murmansk is separated from Moscow by 1,490 km, and from St. Petersburg by 1,020 km. Local time corresponds to Moscow.
Climate
The climate features of Murmansk are determined by the proximity of the Barents Sea - the marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. Its water area near the Kola Peninsula is influenced by the warm North Atlantic Current, which is a continuation of the Gulf Stream. Thanks to this, the Barents Sea off the coast of the peninsula does not freeze and supplies shelf areas with heat in winter. Floating ice can be seen here only in extremely severe winters. In the entire history of hydrological observations, the Kola Bay itself has been frozen only a few times. This phenomenon was observed in particular in 1999, when frosts were severe in these parts. That winter, shipping here was paralyzed due to freezing. However, these are extremes, but in general Murmansk has the reputation of being the warmest and relatively comfortable city in the Arctic for living.
The weather in Murmansk is unpredictable. In different years, winters can be both very cold and relatively warm, and the amount of snow that falls varies from time to time. In the summer, frosts can hit here; it also happens that it snows in the morning, and in the afternoon it becomes really warm or even hot.
Winter in Murmansk is the longest season; it reigns here for more than six months - from October to April. The coldest months are January and February. The air temperature is not constant. Both during the day and at night it can range from –25 °C to –10 °C. The minimum temperature recorded here: –39.4 °C. Thaws also occur in Murmansk, but strong winds and high humidity even with slight frosts create discomfort.
In Murmansk, as elsewhere in the Far North, the polar night reigns in winter. Murmansk residents do not see the sun at all from December 2 to January 11, that is, a whole 42 days. Then the luminary is shown to people at first for several tens of minutes, but day by day the duration of daylight hours increases.
Spring comes to Murmansk at the end of April, the snow begins to melt. The snow usually completely melts within the city by the end of May, but in the surrounding areas it may not melt until the first half of June. On May 22, the polar day begins - for more than 50 days the sun does not set beyond the horizon, although it does not rise high. From the end of May, thanks to constant illumination, nature quickly begins to come to life.
Murmansk summer, that is, the period when the air temperature exceeds +10 °C, lasts from mid-June to mid-late August. The warmest month is July, at this time the air warms up to +18 °C during the day, and usually about +10 °C at night. The rainiest month is August. In summer there are frosts and even snowfalls. At the same time, periodically hot continental air masses reach Murmansk, and the air temperature here briefly jumps to +25 °C, or even +30 °C.
Autumn in Murmansk is very beautiful. Nature displays a riot of colors, especially after the first frost, when the foliage of plants takes on bright shades. The daytime temperature in September on sunny days is still around +10 °C, but starting in October it gets cold very quickly, and by the end of this month the city is usually already covered in snow.
City districts
Murmansk faces the Kola Bay, almost the entire shore of which is occupied by production and infrastructure facilities of fishing, commercial and passenger ports. Up from the bay, the city rises along the hills in several terraces, with residential areas located on them. Houses built on hills have a variable number of storeys. Murmansk is crossed by a highway leading from north to south through three districts - Leninsky, Oktyabrsky and Pervomaisky. In each of them the road has its own name: Kolsky Avenue, Lenin Avenue, Heroev-Severomortsev Avenue. Small streets diverge from the main highway, many of them leading to the hills. Within the boundaries of Murmansk, the hills are equipped with labyrinths of stairs.
The Leninsky district, which occupies the northern tip of the city, is conventionally divided into two parts - the Rosta district, named after the river flowing nearby, and the Semenovskoye Lake district, a popular holiday destination among Murmansk residents. During the warm season, there are attractions here, including a fountain in the middle of the pond. There is also a boat station where you can rent catamarans and boats. Near the lake there are attractions - the monument to the Unknown Soldier, whom the townspeople call “Alyosha”, the Murmansk Oceanarium.
The Oktyabrsky district stretches south from Leninsky - this is the central part of the city. It is crossed by the busy shopping street of Murmansk - Lenin Avenue. On both sides there are shops, shopping centers, hotels, restaurants, offices of commercial and financial organizations. In the center there are administrative buildings, monuments, stadiums, and public gardens. The Five Corners Square is also located here - the main one in Murmansk. All official events and festive ceremonies are held there. In winter, the square is decorated with a New Year tree, which delights the townspeople until March; at the same time, a snow and ice sculpture festival is held here. The best hotels and restaurants are located near Five Corners. The city center is always well lit, tidy and looks quite presentable.
At the southern tip of Murmansk is the Pervomaisky district, the youngest in the city. It occupies an impressive territory, including the village of Abram Mys, located on the opposite side of the bay, and the Dolina Uyuta microdistrict. The main artery of the Pervomaisky district is the wide Kola Avenue.
A sports complex of the same name was built in the Valley of Comfort. In the summer, you can play football and ride bicycles here; in the winter, skiing and biathlon competitions are held here, and in March they celebrate the Festival of the North with reindeer sled races.
Near the upper bypass road stretches Ogni Murmanska Street. Here, on the slope of one of the hills, cottages are built where wealthy townspeople live, and the famous hotel “Lights of Murmansk” is also located. There is a slope for skiers and snowboarders on the hill.
There are several reservoirs within the city limits. Their condition is depressing, as environmentalists constantly remind us, but so far the local authorities have only managed to keep Semenovskoye Lake in order. Initiative groups clean the shore and bottom of the reservoir every year, after the end of the picnic season.
Sights of Murmansk
Murmansk boasts a large number of monuments, the main one being “Alyosha”. It is the pride of Murmansk residents and one of the most grandiose sculptural sculptures in the world. Together with the pedestal, the height of the monument is 42.5 meters. The figure of a warrior in a raincoat, with oblique fathoms in his shoulders, can be seen from any corner of Murmansk.
“Alyosha” is the dominant sculpture of the memorial “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” The memorial was erected on the highest hill in the city, Cape Verde, blown by all the winds and jutting deep into the Kola Bay. Anti-aircraft batteries were installed here to defend Murmansk from attacks by enemy aircraft. Two anti-aircraft guns are walled up at the foot of the monument. The memorial also includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Eternal Flame, and a granite stele with memorial inscriptions.
Other iconic sculptural sights of the city include monuments to the victims of the 1918 intervention, the heroic warrior A. Bredov, the lost ships of the Northern convoys, the first Russian icebreaker Ermak, and the enlighteners Cyril and Methodius. Not so long ago, a beautiful and touching monument “Waiting” was erected in the park on Alexandrova Street. The bronze monument of the girl faces the port, personifying the appearance of the sea city and symbolizing loyalty to her beloved.
To the north of the city center, on a low hill, there is a memorial in memory of the sailors who died in peacetime. It is dominated by a 25-meter lighthouse tower, which can be reached via a wide marble staircase. In the basement of the tower there is a Hall of Memory and a small museum.
The icebreaker Lenin, which became the world's first civilian ship with a nuclear installation, is moored in the port of Murmansk. The most fascinating excursions are held here; they usually last about an hour. You can explore the premises of a huge icebreaker, see a nuclear reactor, and sit at the control panel. It is worth saying that buying tickets for these excursions, each of which is designed for 25 people, is not an easy task. They are sold in a pavilion on the pier, there is a long queue. Every hour and a half, an employee comes out and brings out 25 calendars with an image of an icebreaker, these are the entrance tickets.
If you don’t get the treasured calendar, you will have to wait for the next excursion, which is very depressing, especially in winter. The cost of tickets for Russian citizens is 150 rubles.
The churches of Murmansk were built in modern times; these buildings do not shine with architectural solutions, but for a general idea of the city they are worth a visit. The main temple of the Murmansk diocese is St. Nicholas Cathedral. Somewhat ascetic and strict, it was consecrated in 1986. Later, a church in the name of St. Tryphon of Pechenga, a chapel of the icon of the Mother of God, and the Marine Orthodox Church of the Savior on Water, distinguished by the ancient Russian style of the facades, were built.
Another symbol of Murmansk is the Kola Bridge, connecting the shores of the bay. The length of this record holder among automobile bridges in the Arctic is 2.5 km. It looks very impressive, and on some days, when its tip is lost in a foggy haze, even romantic and mysterious. Beautiful views of the bay and the city spread out on the hills can be seen from the bridge itself.
There are several museums in Murmansk that would be interesting for curious tourists to visit. All of them are located in the central part of the city.
The Murmansk Museum of Local Lore, the oldest in the city, has 17 exhibition halls, which reflect the history of the exploration and development of the region. The “Nature” department presents a unique, only in the country, exposition of samples of geological rocks extracted during the drilling of the Kola superdeep well.
The Murmansk Art Museum displays paintings by local artists of the second half of the twentieth century. The Museum of the History of the Polar Olympics displays an exhibition dedicated to the Festival of the North, an important city event that has been held since 1934.
Camping
In the vicinity of Murmansk, near and far, there are many remarkable places that will be interesting to visit. Thus, near Lake Semenovskoye there are picturesque granite rocks known as Ram's forehead. This marvelous creation of nature is part of the ecological walking route laid around the reservoir. On the way, you can go up to the observation deck, where it is convenient to watch birds, visit the Walrus House, where fans of winter swimming are based, and see a clearing with plants listed in the Red Book.
You can go to the waterfall on the Lavna River. This picturesque place is located 16 km from Murmansk. A taxi ride will cost 300 rubles. It will be nice to cook barbecue on the bank of a river that is stormy during high water. If it's a hot day, you can even take a dip here. Not far from Lavna there is a small forest. When going here, you need to take mosquito repellent.
If you want to see the Barents Sea, go to a village called Teriberka, which is 120 km from Murmansk. Other villages on the coast, which are closer to the city, are part of the border zone, and you can only get there with special passes. Teriberka became famous after the release of Andrei Zvyagintsev’s film “Leviathan” - filming took place here. There is practically no infrastructure here, there are no cafes, no eateries, and you will also find gas stations on the way from Murmansk. But the local wildlife will stun anyone who gets here. In August, the village hosts the Teriberka festival. New life". At this time, many tourists come and folklore groups perform in front of them. As a treat, snacks, fresh fish and meat dishes are served, which are delivered from the best restaurants in Murmansk.
Entertainment
There are three theaters in Murmansk - the Murmansk Regional Drama Theater, the Drama Theater of the Northern Fleet, and the Murmansk Regional Puppet Theater. Fans of cinema can go to one of the shopping and entertainment centers or “Northern Nagornoye”. In the shopping center "Murmansk Mall" there is an eight-screen cinema "Northern Lights"; The cinema complex in Severny Nagorny includes seven halls. Both shopping centers have amusement parks for children.
In Murmansk, you should definitely visit the oceanarium. Three times a day - at 11:00, 15:00 and 17:00 - circus performances take place here with the participation of Arctic seals, bearded seals and ringed seals. The Oceanarium is not only a popular attraction of the city, but also the only research center in Europe for the study of Arctic seals. The oceanarium is located on Geroev-Severomortsev Avenue, 4, near the lake. A visit to it will cost 500 rubles. A ticket for children under 14 years old costs 400 rubles, for children under 3 years old admission is free. Mondays and Tuesdays are closed here.
In winter in Murmansk you can go skiing and snowboarding; a popular activity is cheesecake skiing from the slopes of the hills. Extreme sports enthusiasts enjoy snowkiting in the winter and kitesurfing in the summer. There are several schools teaching these sports in Murmansk.
It is not difficult to find other types of entertainment in the city. In the Sfera complex on Kola Prospekt you can go bowling (6 lanes) and play billiards - American or Russian. There is a restaurant, hookah room, and disco rooms. It is also worth visiting the bowling alley; there are several billiard halls open right here. This hotel is also known for its nightlife. The local club has a chic dance floor, excellent music, and often presents spectacular entertainment programs.
There are several more nightclubs in Murmansk. Some have face control and require an appropriate dress code. Among the most popular establishments are the Pin-Up club-restaurant (43 Shmidta St.) and the Icebreaker night club at the Park Inn Poliarnie Zori hotel. The average bill at these establishments is 1,500 rubles.
Kitchen
Murmansk has cafes and restaurants of different types, but city guests tend to visit first of all places where they can taste seafood. The freshest boiled crab meat, squid dishes, scallops, delicious cod, smelt, salmon will be served to you in the well-known Tundra restaurant (Polyarnye Zori St., 49/2). In addition to fish dishes, it is worth trying excellent steaks from all types of meat, including venison. The table is served with homemade bread, which tastes like a butter pie, infusions of local berries - cranberries, cloudberries, lingonberries, and herbal tea. The wine list is also impressive. There are tables for lovers and places for a large family or company. There is a play area for children. Seats in this restaurant must be reserved in advance.
Next door to “Tundra” there is a popular oriental restaurant “Shanghai”. The establishment employs chefs from China who prepare dishes according to traditional recipes.
Many consider it the best restaurant in Murmansk (Kolsky Prospekt, 86). The interiors of the hall include hunting trophies, skins, and medieval-style chandeliers. The highlight of the restaurant menu is game dishes prepared according to old recipes. Here you will also be offered fish delicacies and seafood.
Classic European cuisine is presented in the restaurants “Terrace” (Lenina Avenue, 69), “Las Galetas” (Polyarnye Zori St., 4), “Ogni Murmanska”, in the hotel of the same name.
The establishments that are part of the Kruzhka chain of taverns are popular in Murmansk; they are located in different districts. Here you can eat deliciously and inexpensively; the menu includes dishes of Russian, Italian, and Chinese cuisine. In some establishments, the disco program starts after 20:00, so you can dance after your meal.
The whole family often comes to the Mama na Dacha restaurant. There is a friendly atmosphere, bright interiors, excellent cuisine, original presentation of dishes, and a special menu for children. Little ones can have fun in the children's corner.
The average bill in expensive restaurants in Murmansk is from 800 rubles per person, in establishments in the middle price category - 500-700 rubles, in a budget cafe you can have lunch for 350-450 rubles.
What to bring from Murmansk
The city's many shops offer a variety of locally themed products. Murmansk port, a submarine, variations on the theme of the northern lights are depicted on magnets, hats, T-shirts, dishes and key rings. It is convenient to buy souvenir goods of this kind in the shopping center “Murmansk Mall” (Lenina Avenue, 32) in the “North” and “T-shirt 51” departments. Cute products are sold in the Severnoye Nagorye multifunctional complex (Kolsky Prospekt, 158), in a clothing store (Polyarnye Zori, 62).
The souvenir departments also offer a wide range of products such as models of ships, steering wheels, anchors, real compasses, vests, and caps. Ceramic or clay figurines of penguins, reindeer, polar owls, and bears are popular. Buyers with tight wallets may prefer more expensive gifts - original products made from reindeer antlers and skins.
Souvenirs and jewelry made from minerals mined on the Kola Peninsula are very good. These can be boxes, amulets, bracelets, earrings, or solid stones of an original shape. It is better to buy minerals in a specialized store at the Murmansk Regional History Museum.
Ethnography lovers can be advised to head to the Sami reindeer herding village of Lovozero. Here you will be offered to purchase handicrafts made from deerskin trimmed with fur. These are mainly handbags, wallets, original boots, as well as warm clothes. Similar products can be bought in Murmansk, but the choice in city stores is not so wide.
There are plenty of delicious souvenirs in supermarkets and markets. First of all, this is fish in any form - dried, smoked, salted, frozen, fresh. Halibut, northern catfish, smoked sea bass, crab meat, and dried ruff are always popular.
Where to stay
In Murmansk, which is often visited by tourists and business people, there are about two dozen hotels of various categories. Among the elite is the Azimut Hotel Murmansk , located on Lenin Avenue. Here guests can expect spacious, comfortable rooms with heated floors, delicious breakfasts, a cozy restaurant "Arctic", nice cafes and a bar. The cost of living is about 5,300 rubles per day per room. The hotel is popular among visitors from China.
It is also convenient to stay at the Park Inn Poliarnie Zori hotel, which belongs to the famous Radisson chain. It is located in the center of Murmansk, at the address - st. Knipovicha, 17. Visitors note the professional work of the staff, the variety and quality of the dishes offered for breakfast (buffet). The cost of living is from 4850 rubles per day. The Meridian Hotel, located in the very center, next to Five Corners Square, belongs to the same price category.
Guests of Murmansk have the opportunity to stay in one of the guest houses. Among the best are “Three Hares” and “The Arctic Circle”. It's clean, cozy, and the atmosphere is homely. Daily accommodation will cost about 2,000 rubles per room.
There are several hostels in the city. The most inexpensive accommodation option is offered by the hostel “On the Hook” (Sovetskaya St., 13-A). For a double room here you will need to pay only 700 rubles.
You can stay in the vicinity of Murmansk, for example, in the cottage hotel complex “Ogni Murmansk”. It is located in a picturesque area, 6 km from the city center, on the top of one of the hills. There is a swimming pool, sauna, and a restaurant with 4 rooms. In winter there is a snow park and ski slopes.
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Transport
Public transport in Murmansk is represented by buses, minibuses and trolleybuses. By the way, Murmansk is one of the few polar cities in the world where the population is served by trolleybuses. This transport runs in five directions. There are many more bus routes. There is also an intercity bus service.
The cost of tickets for public transport in Murmansk is 28 rubles. If you use the services of a bus going to the suburbs, you will need to pay extra for each kilometer outside Murmansk. Information about the final fare is located next to the driver's seat. The passes are valid only within the city. Their cost in 2022: 1600 rubles/month, 544 rubles/10 days.
A bus service connects Murmansk with the Norwegian city of Kirkenes and the Finnish city of Rovaniemi. These are popular shopping tour routes. In addition to visiting the largest malls, the program usually includes an excursion program. There are weekend and longer tours. The cost of a tour to Kirkenes is from 1800 rubles (only transport there and back in one day, without visiting attractions and museums). A trip to Rovaniemi will cost from 2,500 rubles. Prices vary depending on the euro exchange rate.
There are about 20 companies providing taxi services in Murmansk. It is better to order transport officially - by phone. The approximate price of a trip from the outlying area to the center is 200-250 rubles. The services of taxi drivers waiting for potential passengers at the railway or bus station or at shopping centers will cost much more.
If you arrive in Murmansk with your own car, you will definitely encounter a pressing problem for the city - insufficient parking. Murmansk residents usually place their personal transport in any place they like. During peak hours, congestion in the city is regular.
There are about two dozen car rental companies operating in the city. An economy class car can be rented from 1,500 rubles per day. A deposit is usually required, its cost is determined when ordering the service.
How to get there
Murmansk is an important transport center in the north of Russia. Its airport, which accepts both domestic and international flights, is located 24 km from the city center, in the village of Murmashi.
Airliners from Moscow land at Murmansk airport several times a day. Several airlines operate direct flights from Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports. The flight takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. The cost of round-trip tickets is from 3,000 rubles. You can fly from St. Petersburg to Murmansk in 2 hours. It is convenient to get to Murmansk from other cities of Russia with a transfer at the airports of Moscow or St. Petersburg.
You can get from the airport to Murmansk by bus or minibus, paying 100 rubles for the journey. Transport serves passengers at intervals of 20-30 minutes from 05:20 to 23:30, travel time is about an hour. The final stop is at the railway station, located in the city center.
You will get there faster by taxi, but the trip will cost 500-600 rubles.
Trains arrive at the Murmansk railway station daily from the capital of the country (travel time - 30-35 hours), St. Petersburg (25-28 hours). You can choose between a regular train and ). There are also direct railway connections with Novorossiysk, Minsk, and Vologda. In the summer, additional routes are introduced: Murmansk - Adler, Murmansk - Volgograd, trains run through Petrozavodsk.
In 20 hours you can travel from St. Petersburg to Murmansk by bus. Transport departs daily from the Mezhdunarodnaya metro station and arrives at the city bus station. Ticket prices start from 2,200 rubles.
Fans of traveling on wheels can travel to Murmansk by car, stopping in interesting corners of northern Russia. There are two routes from Moscow to Murmansk: through Yaroslavl and Vologda, as well as through Tver and Volkhov (towards St. Petersburg). Both routes intersect in the small Karelian town of Medvezhyegorsk. From here you need to take the A-119 and E-105 highways. On the way you will have the opportunity to admire the beauty of northern nature. Along the entire route there are parking lots, gas stations, cafes, and motels.
Calendar of low prices for air tickets
Monument to the Victims of the Intervention
Residents of the capital know very well that the monument to Minin and Pozharsky was erected on Red Square for their services in liberating Moscow from Polish invaders. Did you know that the Russian North also had its own British interventionists?
You can read more about this story, in which almost all the leading world powers were involved after the First World War, on other sites or in books, but I will tell you about the monument.
Initially, this white building with stairs was supposed to serve as a platform for Soviet rulers during their public speeches or on holidays.
Agree, it is very convenient, considering the location of the monument: the central square of the city. Over time, the structure was left alone. By the way, the monument to the Victims of the intervention is the oldest in Murmansk: it was opened in 1927, just a few years after the intervention itself.
Now the building looks rather dull, but for the overall development it is worth spending a little time visiting this place. Moreover, you will probably pass by it.
How to get there
The Monument to the Victims of the Intervention is located in the Park to the Victims of the Intervention, not far from the Five Corners Square. An excellent landmark is the tallest building in Murmansk, which houses the business and Azimut hotel. If you stand facing it, the park and the monument will be on your left.
The best way to get here is on foot, checking the map.
Reason #2: Arctic Ocean
Let's assume you have 2 million rubles. In this case, nothing prevents you from setting off from the local port on the icebreaker “50 Let Pobedy” directly to the North Pole.
If you don’t have that kind of money in your pocket, you can get a job in the Russian Arctic National Park for 6 months, for example as a photographer, go to the Pole and still receive a salary.
If you don’t want to change your profession, but you still don’t have enough money for a cruise, go to Teriberka. After the filming of the film “Leviathan” took place here, every tourist considers it his duty to visit this village on the ocean shore, in some places covered with sand, and in some places with pebbles the size of a dinosaur egg. You can get there by car or by bus in a couple of hours. In the summer, the Teriberka rock festival takes place here. New Life” - many tourists settle in tents and enjoy the creativity of the participants and the beauty of northern nature.
In winter you need to be careful, because the snowdrifts on the road to the village are one and a half times higher than a person’s height and a snowstorm can arise at any minute.
The Kola Peninsula is washed by two seas: the Barents and the White.
And if you are a real traveler and think that traveling for a week on a train along the Trans-Siberian Railway is great, then you urgently need to board the non-tourist ship “Klavdiya Elanskaya”.
It travels for five days along the Kola Peninsula along the White Sea, stopping in villages and towns. Even a private first class cabin can be rented for little money.
Just keep in mind that for a day he enters a closed village, where it is difficult for a mere mortal to get a pass, so you will have to spend all this time circling the deck. At other stops you can get off the ship and walk around the villages.
Monument to Submariners
Murmansk is the only ice-free port in Russia beyond the Arctic Circle. It was founded in 1916 precisely as the northern outpost of the country, so it is not surprising that the atmosphere here is appropriate.
However, seas, oceans and ships do not always mean romance and beauty. Tragedies also happen. It was in memory of such incidents that a monument to submarine sailors who died in peacetime was erected in Murmansk. Sometimes it is called in short: the Kursk monument.
However, this is not just a monument, but a whole memorial complex. It represents the black metal cabin of the same Kursk submarine, which sank in the summer of 2000 in the Barents Sea with 118 crew members on board.
The felling was located here in 2009, and before that the Church of the Savior on Water and a lighthouse tower 17 meters high were built on the site.
The temple is beautiful in appearance and has an unusual iconostasis: it is made in the northern Russian style, made of linden wood.
The opening of the complex took place in 2002, and since then the place has become a favorite among citizens. The unofficial name of the place is the Kursk Monument.
The observation decks here offer a beautiful view of the city, so don’t be lazy and get to this city outskirts.
How to get there
If you want to feel all the complexity and heroism of naval service even in times of peace, come to the Leninsky district of Murmansk: the Kursk monument is located on the descent between the street. Chelyuskintsev and Heroev-Severomortsev Avenue.
You can get here from the center (for example, from Five Corners Square) by the same trolleybus No. 3 or even on foot.
Reason No. 5: proximity to the border with Finland and Norway
Until recently, it was believed that Finnish products were of higher quality than Russian ones, so locals went to stock up on shampoos, clothes and food, for example, in Ivalo. Now this has gone somewhere, but in border villages you can find traders who buy butter, chocolate and shower gels in Finland at a special price and sell them to locals at a premium.
Murmansk residents revere Finnish chocolate Marabou, although it costs about 200–300 rubles. The most delicious tile is Apelsin krokant; you can bring it as a gift to relatives.
Due to the fact that there is a piece of the border with Finns and Norwegians, local residents and travelers have the fortunate opportunity to easily and quickly apply for Schengen. Do you have relatives in Murmansk, are you staying at a hotel for a long time or have you found a job? Complete your temporary registration and run for your visa. Neighboring countries do not require anything other than registration, a foreign passport and your personal presence. Well, isn't it happiness?
In addition, you can even travel abroad for free with locals who order goods from Norwegian online stores and visit the neighboring country almost every week.
Residents of Murmansk compare themselves with Muscovites and note, not without pride, that their prices are high, like in the capital.
It’s not as good here as in cities with a population of over a million, competition is developed, and store owners set a high price tag, knowing that the product will still be in demand. And residents can afford such purchases: the minimum wage in Murmansk is 40% higher than the national average.
About five to ten years ago, it was fashionable among students to go to Finland to earn money - to pick blueberries and strawberries. Now everyone dreams of working in St. Petersburg or Moscow, and in public transport they often gossip with poorly concealed envy about those who have already achieved this.
Let's summarize. The tourist season in Murmansk opens in winter, when you can admire the northern lights and ride snowmobiles, skis and reindeer sleds with childish delight. But even in summer there is something to do in these parts: take an ATV and go to Rybachy or take a boat along the Kola Peninsula. And you can eat crabs and reptiles here at any time of the year.
Monument to cod
Murmansk, as we have already found out, is a city thoroughly saturated with the sea. Therefore, it was quite natural that the townspeople decided to erect a monument to cod, the “most” Murmansk fish. During the hungry war years, the basis of the diet of any local family was cod.
Perhaps this is the youngest monument in the city: it was opened in 2015 with funds raised by the townspeople. It depicts a fish in its life size: approximately 1 meter 20 centimeters. The cod appears to be caught in a metal net. And the base of the monument is a granite hemisphere.
How to get there
The fish faces the business side and is located on the street. Pushkinskaya (which is easily accessible from the already familiar Five Corners Square).
Monument to the Waiting Woman
And this monument is dedicated to the women of Murmansk who are awaiting the return of their sailor relatives.
It is curious that they could not install it for almost 30 years. All because of the difficult economic situation in Russia, which developed in the 80s and continued until the early 00s.
The idea of creating a monument was expressed by the poet Viktor Timofeev back in 1984. He himself worked as a navigator at sea for many years, where he wrote the poem “Sentimental Watch,” so he knew what he was talking about. The city leadership immediately approved the poet’s intention to erect a monument to women waiting for their loved ones from flights, but the plans were only implemented in 2012.
The Waiting Monument is a three-meter bronze figure of a woman looking towards the Kola Bay. The same bronze seagull sits next to the girl.
The words of Viktor Timofeev are engraved on the pedestal of the monument:
Let all those who go to sea for a long time, Fishing boats and ships - Let this Waiting One bring them home to their native port - like the image of the whole earth.
It is noteworthy that the poet waited until the opening of the monument and even attended its grand opening.
How to get there
The traveler has only one difficult task related to this monument: “Waiting” is located far from the city center and the seaport.
However, this is easily explained: in Murmansk the entire coastline is a closed port area, so it was not possible to install “Waiting” on the embankment.
To look at the monument to women's love and patience, you need to take bus number 18 and just go to the final stop. The exact address of the monument: the intersection of Kovalev Street with Chumbarova-Luchinsky Street. The best place to sit down is on Lenin Avenue. The cost of a bus trip in Murmansk is 28 rubles.
Reason No. 3: Sredny and Rybachy peninsulas
To get there you will need:
1) Russian passport for passing through the border zone in Titovka. From here you can already see Norwegian territorial waters, so this is a necessary measure.
In Titovka you can run into a cafe (there is only one) where freshly caught fish is excellently prepared. This is the most ordinary roadside catering establishment, without interior frills or problems, but truly worthwhile;
2) ATV. Renting is not cheap - from 15 thousand per day, and some go there by bicycle or car, but the faces of these drivers are always exhausted.
The peninsula is indescribably beautiful and objectively deserves one of the lines in the list of the top 10 places in Mother Russia.
Residents claim that whales sometimes appear close to the coastline. But if you decide to go for one night, the chances of admiring the sea giants are, of course, slim.
You can stay at the Bolshoye Ozerko recreation center overlooking Motovsky Bay for 2,500 rubles per day. On Rybachy, all military structures from World War II have survived. There are even abandoned cities on the peninsulas, without a single human or non-human soul.
Monument to the cat Semyon
There are cat monuments in many cities around the world: Lyon, Regensburg, Rome, Vladivostok. But the Murmansk monument is special: it was erected as a symbol of the devotion of domestic animals.
Several years ago, a Murmansk family was returning home from vacation in the capital. In Moscow, their favorite cat, Semyon, disappeared, but the family, having suffered a little, was forced to leave for Murmansk. What a surprise it was when, 6 years later, Semyon came home! The cat walked almost 2,000 kilometers, and the townspeople, appreciating the animal’s feat, decided to erect a monument to it.
In general, a distinctive feature of most monuments in Murmansk is that they are installed on the initiative and at the expense of local residents. In my opinion, this characterizes Murmansk residents on the good side: they love their city and are trying to make it better.
How to get there
The monument to the cat Semyon in Murmansk is located near the Semenovskoye Lake, already known to us. You can get there from the center by trolleybus No. 3 (stop “Ulitsa Gagarina”). Walk along the shore of the lake (it will be on the left), and after 5 minutes, on the right side, you will see “Seeds”.
Be careful: the monument is small and easily lost among the attractions of the local amusement park.
A local resident told me that if you rub a cat's nose, all your wishes will come true. Two of her wishes have already come true, she came for the third. I also rubbed the cat’s nose and wished to return to Murmansk again, in the summer.
Reason #1: gastronomic tourism
Take a look at the Reindir shop, where local venison from the aforementioned Lovozero is sold in any variation - for example, cheese-made, with barley or in the form of sausages.
Seafood - crab and fish - is another source of pride for Murmansk residents. Local residents especially praise the dried ruff, which fishermen prepare directly on the ship and sell to the surrounding markets.
Men like fishing in the sea, and if there are also divers among them, then catching a sea urchin is not a problem. Right there on the ship they split it and drink it.
Monument to Valentin Pikul
It would seem, how are the writer Pikul, born in 1928 in Leningrad, and the polar port of Murmansk connected? It’s very simple: the future writer spent his youth here, serving in the Northern Fleet.
Valentin Savvich's first novel was Ocean Patrol. Then there were many works dedicated to Murmansk and the region. If you want to get to know these places better, read Pikul, you won’t regret it. The writer loved this region very much and, like no one else, knew how to express the beauty of northern places on paper.
How to get there
On the writer’s birthday, in 2013 (he would have turned 85 years old), in the park on the street. Captain Burkov, a monument dedicated to him was unveiled. By the way, it was on this site that during the war there was a military hospital for sailors. A walk to the monument from Five Corners Square will take no more than 10 minutes.
And now a bronze monument in the form of a figure of a writer, who for many years glorified these harsh lands, on a granite pedestal seems to peer into his beloved city.
“They left the harbors, as a rule, at night, went into a confusion of alarming splashes, towards the winds rushing from Spitsbergen, and the dank darkness of the ocean absorbed them for a long time in its deserted space.”
