Travel Guide Kola (Кола)

Kola (10135 inhabitants) is a small town 30 minutes south of Murmansk. It can be reached by bus or marshrutkas No. 106, 109 and 110. At the beginning of the 19th century Kola was the first town on the peninsula. Catherine II decided that it deserved a place of worship worthy of the name and financed the construction of the Cathedral of the Annunciation, inaugurated in 1807; it was then the only stone building in the entire region. In addition to its astonishing dome, this church contains a treasure: it is a large wooden cross dating from the 17th century. It had been erected on the port and the sailors bowed before it before each departure at sea.