The Azimut Hotel Murmansk is a high-rise hotel in the center of

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

, Russia. It opened in 1984, as the Hotel Arktika (russian: Арктика) and was renamed the Azimut Hotel Murmansk in 2014, following major renovations. It is the tallest building in Murmansk and the tallest building located north of the Arctic Circle.

Description

The hotel is located at 82 Lenin Avenue at Five Corners, Murmansk's main square. Prior to its 2009 closing, the hotel had a restaurant (also called "Arctic"), a cafe (the "Day and Night"), a

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

room, a hairdressing salon, a

tanning salon Indoor tanning involves using a device that emits ultraviolet radiation to produce a cosmetic tan. Typically found in tanning salons, gyms, spas, hotels, and sporting facilities, and less often in private residences, the most common device is a ho ...

, and several shops, bars, and coffee shops.

History

The first Murmansk hotel named "Arktika" opened in 1933. It was a four–story brick building with 100 rooms. In 1972 – 1984 the old hotel was demolished and replaced by the current building. Before 1988 the hotel was a state enterprise. In 1990 it became the property of a joint Soviet–Swedish company. In 1996 it acquired the status of a municipal hotel and restaurant complex, in 2003 it became a municipal unitary enterprise, and in 2006 it was

privatized Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

. Half the shares are held by the City of Murmansk and half by the Azimut Hotels Corporation. In 1996 (the 80th anniversary of the establishment of Murmansk), following an initiative by mayor Oleg Naydenov, chimes were installed in the hotel which play " My Beloved Arctic", the unofficial anthem of the Murmansk region. The chimes were silenced from 2007 to 2009 for repairs.

Renovation

In 2009 the Hotel Arctic was closed for renovation, to upgrade the comfort and safety of the hotel. The renovation was undertaken by the Azimut Hotels Company, the architectural firm of Nikolai Lyzlov, and a British architectural firm. The renovation was designed so as to update the facade, increase the number of elevators, and provide space for boutiques, cafes, and restaurants. The utilities were to be updated, the outdated fire safety systems was to be replaced, and the average room size was to be increased to . The first six or seven floors were converted to office space, with hotel rooms occupying only the upper ten floors. The hotel reopened as the Azimut Hotel Murmansk on 13 September 2014.

Notable guests

Various persons of note stayed at the old or new Arctic, including the Soviet physicist

Sergei Vavilov Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Вави́лов ( – January 25, 1951) was a Soviet physicist, the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union from July 1945 until his death. His elder brothe ...

, the arctic explorers

Vladimir Wiese Vladimir Yulyevich Wiese (russian: Владимир Юльевич Визе; 5 March 1886 – 19 February 1954) was a Russian scientist of German descent who devoted his life to the study of the Arctic ice pack. His name is associated with the ...

Otto Schmidt Otto Yulyevich Shmidt, be, Ота Юльевіч Шміт, Ota Juljevič Šmit (born Otto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; – 7 September 1956), better known as Otto Schmidt, was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesm ...

, and

Ivan Papanin Ivan Dmitrievich Papanin (russian: Иван Дмитриевич Папанин, – 30 January 1986) was a Soviet polar explorer, scientist, Counter Admiral, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union, who was awarded nine Orders of Lenin. Life a ...

, the Soviet writers

Veniamin Kaverin Veniamin Aleksandrovich Kaverin (russian: link=no, Вениами́н Алекса́ндрович Каве́рин; Вениами́н А́белевич Зи́льбер (Veniamin Abelevich Zilber); , Pskov – May 2, 1989, Moscow) was a Sov ...

Konstantin Simonov Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov, born Kirill Mikhailovich Simonov (russian: link= no, Константин Михайлович Симонов, – 28 August 1979), was a Soviet author, war poet, playwright and wartime correspondent, arguabl ...

, and

Valentin Kataev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Ката́ев; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev; – 12 April 1986) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing ...

, and the Russian/Soviet zoologist Nikolai Knipovich. The hotel provides accommodation for participants in the

Northern Festival Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

(the "Polar Olympics") which is held in Murmansk.

In literature

The Arctic is mentioned in the poem "A Toast to Zhenya" by

Yuri Vizbor Yuri Iosifovich Vizbor (russian: Юрий Иосифович Визбор; June 20, 1934 – September 17, 1984) was a Soviet bard and poet as well as a theatre and film actor. Vizbor was born in Moscow where he lived for most of his life. He ...

References

External links

Azimut Hotel Murmansk official website

Presentation on the renovation project
(PDF), see pages 32 – 39. {{in lang, en Murmansk Hotels in Russia Hotels established in 1984 Hotel buildings completed in 1984 Buildings and structures in Murmansk Oblast Hotels built in the Soviet Union 1984 establishments in the Soviet Union