The city of Vorkuta is really located at the “end of the world”. They get here only by plane or train. There is no car connection - by car you can only get to Sosnogorsk. What can surprise and interest Vorkuta tourists? We will describe the sights and the most interesting places of the city in our article.
Vorkuta: a portrait of the city
The geographical location of Vorkuta is unique. The city is located in the far north of the Komi Republic, on the slopes of the low mountains of the Polar Urals. It is the easternmost city in Europe. In addition, it is one of the five largest settlements on the planet located beyond the Arctic Circle.
“Bear River” - this is the name of this city in translation from Nenets. Once upon a time, on the gray and inhospitable shores of the local river of the same name, there really were "clubfoot". But in 1930, geologist Georgy Chernov discovered solid deposits of coal in these places. In the late 30s, the first mine was built here and the first working village was laid.
Half a century ago, the population of Vorkuta exceeded the 100,000 mark. The city was actively growing and developing. Alas, in the early 90s there was a deep crisis in the mining industry. Many coal mines were closed, so people began to massively move to other regions of Russia. Today, the city of Vorkuta is considered one of the most depressed and unpromising. The number of its inhabitants decreased to 60 thousand and continues to decline.
In the 1930s and 1950s, one of the largest Gulag camps was located in Vorkuta. The total number of his prisoners reached 73 thousand people. However, the place of exile for the "objectionable" city remained until the beginning of the 80s.
Vorkuta: Attractions of the City and Nearby
Perhaps the most expressive feature of Vorkuta is its harsh climate. Summer is short but very bright. Winter is incredibly long and frosty. The only thing that somehow brightens her up is the northern lights - a natural phenomenon of magical beauty!
The gloomy past, the dying industry and architecture - these are perhaps the main attractions of Vorkuta. The city is surrounded on almost all sides by closed mines, abandoned coal mines and almost "dead" workers' settlements. All this industrial heritage, of course, can be interesting for tourists (and first of all - foreign).
Since the city arose and formed in the middle of the twentieth century, magnificent and pompous neoclassicism (or the Stalinist Empire) dominates in the architecture of its central part. Among the most beautiful and expressive buildings of Vorkuta are the mining technical school, the Rodina cinema, the Palace of Miners' Culture, the Political Education House, the Severnaya Hotel and others.
Top 5 Vorkuta Attractions:
- City Museum of Local Lore.
- State Drama Theater.
- Palace of Culture of Miners.
- Memorial sign "Vorkuta. 67th parallel. "
- The ghost town of Mine.
And what to see in the vicinity of the city? Here, too, there are several interesting objects, primarily natural ones. Among them:
- Mount Pemboy (421 meters).
- Integrated nature reserve "Spine".
- Marble canyon on the river Kara.
- Halmer-Yu Waterfall (one of the largest in the European part of the country).
- Vorkuta geological monument in the form of a 400-meter rocky wall.
Museum of Local Lore
In 1960, the Vorkuta Museum of Local Lore was opened. His numerous expositions are mainly devoted to the geology of the region, the history of the construction of the city, as well as the cultural life of Vorkutins. In the 90s, a rather large exhibition hall was opened in the museum, in which local artists got the opportunity to exhibit their works.
Many exhibits of the Vorkuta Museum are somehow connected with the history of the Vorkutlag - the largest camp for political prisoners. So, here you can see home-made postcards, various items of camp life or chess made from bread crumb.
Polar Drama Theater
The Vorkuta Theater was created back in 1943 - on the basis of the same Vorkutlag. Among the prisoners there were many talented artists, professional musicians, artists and decorators. For a long time, Boris Mordvinov was the main ideological inspirer of the Vorkuta Drama Theater, in the past - the main director of the Bolshoi Moscow Theater. In the 50s, the Gulag was disbanded, but the theater remained. Today in his repertoire - more than a dozen plays by both recognized classics and contemporary authors.
Palace of Culture of Miners
Perhaps, the most outstanding building of the city, the Palace of Culture of Miners, stands on the central square of Peace. It was built in 1961. The main facade of the building is decorated with powerful Doric columns, as well as sculptures of miners and builders. The walls of the building are faced with granite and marble. The square in front of the palace is decorated with a fountain and a monument to Lenin.
Commemorative sign "67 parallel"
In the southern part of Vorkuta, not far from the airport and the railway station, there is an obelisk “67 parallel”. Its appearance here is not accidental - the city is really located at 67th degree of northern latitude. The monument was designed by architect Gennady Ilyashenko. The diameter of the structure is 14 meters. Today, this monument is considered the main symbol of Vorkuta.
Rudnik village
In the western part of the city, on the right bank of the Vorkuta River, is an abandoned working quarter. It was from here that the city began in the 30s of the last century. Today, the Mine is a sad sight - several dozen non-residential and dilapidated houses. You can get here from the Miners embankment along the old suspension bridge.
The mine was settled back in the 1990s due to unprofitability. Former inhabitants received apartments on the opposite bank of the river - directly in Vorkuta. Passing the emergency and rather dangerous bridge over the river, you find yourself in an abandoned village. The first to meet you here is a rusty obelisk, and behind it is a beautiful three-story building of the former Palace of Culture. Above the village there is a railway track leading to the still operating Vorkutinskaya mine.