OUR CITY.

Murmansk, that is beyond the Polar Circle, was founded 21 September (4 October) 1916 on the coast of the ice-free Kola Bay. There was Lopskaya Zemlya there, which was situated far off large cities and great events. Now it is called the Kola Peninsula. There was a lot of fish, poultry, and beast. And also there was an ice-free bay and the western part of the sea - all-the-year-round waterway to Norway and Europe.

People knew about Gulfstream from time immemorial, but it took too much time to get there, sometimes more than one month. Kola was the center of this region, but the places, that were situated to the north of Kola, were considered to be awful. People said: " There were only 3 versts from Kola to Ara". There are different theories about the origin of the word "Murmansk". One of the most popular theory is the following: the name of the city came from two words in Lappish - the word "MUR" means the sea and the word "MAN" means the land.

Today Murmansk is the largest city in the world beyond the Polar Circle. Its population is about 440 000. People who live here possess warm-heartedness. In summer the sun never sets during two months, but in December - January it never rises. If you want to see white nights, you can visit Saint Petersburg. But if you are in Murmansk in summer, only your clock's hand shows you the end of the day. In June - July there is no night at all.

On the other hand, at Christmas you can see how the sun only twinkles on the horizon and at 16.00 you can see twilights. A birth of the first ray from the absolute darkness, that only enlivens by its flash, is the peculiarity of the Far North. This unusual thing surprises Murmansk's guests and gives a special local colour.