Theme Week Russia – Sochi on the Russian Riviera

Saturday, 6 April 2013 - 01:06 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  5 minutes

View on Sochi from Black Sea © Ojj! 600

View on Sochi from Black Sea © Ojj! 600

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 Arboretum © Yufereff Sochi Sea Port with Maritime Terminal © Maqs Letniy Theatre (Summer Theatre) © Yufereff © Vir2oz/cc-by-sa-3.0 Ski resort of Krasnaya Polyana © Lite View on Sochi from Black Sea © Ojj! 600
<
>
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.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Nicosia, capital of Cyprus

Nicosia, capital of Cyprus

[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 ]

Theme Week Corsica, a mountain in the sea

Theme Week Corsica, a mountain in the sea

[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 ]

Philadelphia City Hall

Philadelphia City Hall

[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 ]

Khreshchatyk Boulevard in Kyiv

Khreshchatyk Boulevard in Kyiv

[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 ]

Assisi in Umbria

Assisi in Umbria

[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 ]

Theme Week Dresden - The Semperoper

Theme Week Dresden - The Semperoper

[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 ]

Theme Week Lithuania - Kėdainiai

Theme Week Lithuania - Kėdainiai

[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 ]

Harlem in New York

Harlem in New York

[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 ]

Theme Week Istria

Theme Week Istria

[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 ]

Theme Week Lombardy

Theme Week Lombardy

[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 ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
Mikrolimano © Templar52
Piraeus on the east coast of the Saronic Gulf

Piraeus is a port city in the region of Attica. Piraeus is located within the Athens-Piraeus Urban Area, 12 km...

Costa Smeralda - Palau Panorama © Sardinianguy88
The Costa Smeralda on the northeast coast of Sardinia

The Costa Smeralda (English: Emerald Coast) is a coastal area and tourist destination in northern Sardinia, 55 km (34 mi)...

Flag of the Conch Republic © Jmckean/cc-by-3.0
The Conch Republic celebrates Independence Day on April 23

The Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a tongue-in-cheek secession of the city of Key West, Florida from the...

Schließen