Theme Week Russia – Sochi on the Russian Riviera
Saturday, 6 April 2013 - 01:06 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Russia / Russland Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time: 5 minutes
View on Sochi from Black Sea © Ojj! 600
🔊 Listen to this Post
Sochi is a city in
Krasnodar Krai , situated on the
Black Sea coast near the border between
Georgia and
Russia . Greater Sochi sprawls for 145 kilometers (90 mi) along the shores of the Black Sea near the
Caucasus Mountains . The city has a permanent population of 343,000; up from 329,000 recorded in the 2002, making it Russia’s largest
resort city .
Sochi will host the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014 , as well as the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix from 2014 until at least 2020. It is also one of the host cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup .
Sochi Sea Port with Maritime Terminal © Maqs
Sochi was established as a fashionable resort area under
Joseph Stalin , who had his favorite
dacha built in the city; Stalin’s study, complete with a wax statue of the leader, is now open to the public. During Stalin’s reign the coast became dotted with imposing
Neoclassical buildings, exemplified by the opulent Rodina and Ordzhonikidze sanatoriums. The centerpiece of this early period is
Shchusev ‘s
Constructivist Institute of Rheumatology (1927–31). The area was continuously developed until the demise of the Soviet Union.
Following Russia’s loss of the traditionally popular resorts of the
Crimean peninsula (transferred away from the
Russian SFSR to the
Ukrainian SSR in 1954 by
Nikita Khrushchev ), Sochi emerged as the unofficial summer capital of the country. During
Vladimir Putin ‘s term in office, the city witnessed a significant increase in investment, although many Russian holidaymakers still flock to the cheaper resorts of neighbouring Abkhazia (Georgia), Ukraine, or to the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
Here you can find the complete
Overview of all Theme Weeks .
Read more on
City of Sochi ,
Resort City Sochi ,
Sochi2014.com/ ,
Wikitravel Sochi and
Wikipedia Sochi . Photos by Wikipedia Commons.
VIDEO
Recommended posts:
[caption id="attachment_153534" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Cypriot Archeological Museum © ChristosV[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Nicosia, known locally as Lefkosia, is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Nicosia remained the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line. It is located near the center of the island, on the banks of the Pedieos River. Nicosia is the capital and seat of govern...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_160231" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Port of L'Île-Rousse © Jean-Pol GRANDMONT[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia. Corsica is the least economically developed region in Metropolitan France. Tourism plays a big part in the Corsican economy. The island's climate, mountains and coastlines make it popular among tourists. The island has not had the same level of intensi...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_231753" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - nakashi/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. It is also a courthouse, serving as the seat of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and houses the Civil Trial and Orphans' Court Divisions of the Court of Co...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_165378" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Tiia Monto/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Khreshchatyk (Ukrainian: Хрещатик) is the main street of Kyiv, Ukraine. The street has a length of 1.3 km (0.81 mi). It stretches from the European Square (northeast) through the Maidan and to Bessarabska Square (southwest) where the Besarabsky Market is located. Along the street are the offices of the Kiev City Council which contains both the city's council and the state administration, the Main Post Off...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_151214" align="aligncenter" width="590"] The Basilica of San Francesco © Berthold Werner[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Assisi is a town and comune of Italy in the province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It was the birthplace of St. Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208, and St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), the founder of the Poor Sisters, which later became the Order of Poor Clares after her death. The 19th-century Saint Gabri...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_25448" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Sebastian Terfloth/cc-by-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper ballet. The building is located on the Theatre Square in central Dresden on the bank of the Elbe River in the historic centre of Dresden. The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfri...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_228193" align="aligncenter" width="590"] City Hall and Monument of Radziwiłł © Algirdas/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Kėdainiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located 51 km (32 mi) north of Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2020 is 23,667. Its old town dates to the 17th century. The city is the administrative centre of the Kėdainiai District Municipality. The geographical c...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_192647" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Cotton Club © Gotanero/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Harlem is a large neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Since the 1920s, Harlem has been known as a major African American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Harlem's history has been defined by a series of economic boom-and-bust cycles, with...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_153458" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Rovinj © David Orlovic/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Istria, formerly Histria (Latin), is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner. It is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.
The geographical features of Istria include the Učka mountain ridge, which is the highest portion of the Ćićarija mountain range; the rivers Dragon...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_153438" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Villa Isola del Garda © Luca Capuccini[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. A sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about a fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in the region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country. It is also the region with the most Unesco World Heritage Sites in Italy. Although Lombardy is often identified as merely an economic and industrial powerhouse, it ha...
[ read more ]