Hotel Arktika: Tallest Building North of the Arctic Circle

With 19 floors, the Arktika Hotel has become a symbol for Russia's northern Murmansk. At 72 meters, it is the tallest building north of the Arctic Circle.



We followed the building through time and traced its development as Murmansk evolved from a transit point for the Allied merchant navy in World War II to a fishing port for north west Russia today and a major base for oil exploration in the Arctic in the future.



The Arktika was first built on the city's Five-Corner Square in the heart of Murmansk in 1933 as a four-storey brick building and offered unprecedented service: it had a restaurant and an in-house hairdresser, its 100 rooms boasted telephones and bathrooms and doormen stood guard at its entrance.



Read the full story:

Welcome to Murmansk's 'Arktika': The Story of the Arctic's Tallest Building



See our previous Photo Gallery:

A Day in Murmansk

To cater for a new, bigger city, the Arktika was torn down in its entirety in the 1980s.

The four-story building was replaced with a three-part, white colossus with 19 floors: a record for the region to this day.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the hotel fell into disrepair and became embroiled in rumors of prostitution, corruption and other criminal practices.

Once the pride of the city, in 2007 the hotel was shut down by the local authorities over safety concerns and its facade covered in huge advertisement banners, earning it the dubious title as the "Arctic's biggest billboard."

Following a 2,5-year renovation project the Arktika was reopened in September as a four-star hotel, a business center, two restaurants and VIP apartments with skyline views over the city center and the neighboring port.

The sun sets over Murmansk, where temperatures can reach -30 degrees in winter.