Location: Sochi, Krasnodar Krai
Krasnaya Polyana (Beautiful or Red Glade in Russian) is a mountainous ski resort near Sochi, Russia that hosted 2014 Winter Olympics Games and Paralympics Events. You can take taxi from Sochi, but it is fairly expensive at a price ranging from 50- 70 US dollars and even more. It takes about 1 hour to get from Sochi to Krasnaya Polyana ski resort. Additionally you can also rent a car in the Sochi International Airport. However much cheaper option is by taking a bus 105 from Sochi Central Bus terminal or bus 135 from the center of Adler. It is about 60- 80 Rubles one way or 2.5- 3.5 USD. Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort is situated in Krasnaya Polyana. During Winter Olympics it will host snowboarding and skiing competition. The whole sport complex was constructed from 2003 to 2011 under supervision and guidance of Bernhard Russi, gold medalist of 1972 Olympic games. This part of Krasnaya Polyana was one of the first places to be completed and in February 2011 it already hosted the European Cup ski competition. A year later in February 2012 it hosted World Cup alpine races for both men and women. Rosa Khutor region of Krasnaya Polyana has 10 hotels with a total capacity of over 1600 rooms.
Krasnaya Polyana is located in the middle reaches of the Mzymta
River, 38 km from the Black Sea coast at an altitude of about 550 meters
above sea level. It is located 65 km southeast of Central Sochi (on the
road).
The village is surrounded on all sides by high mountains:
from the north-west by Mount Achishkho and its spurs, from the
south-east by the Aibga ridge (its highest point is Mount Kamenny Pillar
(2509.7 m) - the highest observation deck on Krasnaya Polyana). The
watershed of the Main Caucasian Range runs 15 km north of Krasnaya
Polyana. The village occupies a vast terrace, which is a slightly
inclined area in the form of a triangle, the top resting against the
spurs of Mount Achishkho, and the base resting on the right
(orographically) bank of the Mzymta River. During the ice age, the site
of the village was the lower extremity of a powerful glacier, traces of
which are found everywhere in the form of huge boulders and furrows on
the rocks of the mountains surrounding the valley. In the area of the
village, the rivers Melnichny, Beshenka, Monashka and First Galion flow
into Mzymta.
The settlement is connected with Adler and the
airport of Sochi by a modern combined road and railroad. There is a
heliport. There is an internal bus route 163 "Rosa Khutor-Heliport". The
village is connected with the Central District of Greater Sochi by buses
105 and 105c, 105e and an electric train, bus routes 105, 105c, 105e,
135.135e and an electric train are connected with the Adler district.
Since ancient times, there was an aul of one of
the mountainous Abkhazian tribes - Akhchipsou (Medoveev). Until the
end of the Caucasian War, the village on the site of the modern
village among the local Abkhaz-Adyghe peoples was known under the
name - Kbaade.
The earliest information about this area is
found in the work "Siyahat Name" by the Turkish traveler of the
middle of the 17th century, Evliya Celebi. The author reports that
the number of achchips in his time numbered up to 10,000 people.
The first Russian who visited this remote corner of the Caucasus
in 1835 was an officer of the tsarist army, intelligence officer,
Baron F.F. Tornau. He descended to the upper reaches of the Mzymta
River from the north from the area of the village of Psebay along
the gorge of the Malaya Laba River. He first described the Akhchipsu
society, which lived "near the upper reaches of the Mdzimta River."
On May 21, 1864, four detachments of Russian troops united in
this place: the Malolabinsk detachment of Major General P. Kh.
Lieutenant D. I. Svyatopolk-Mirsky. In the presence of the
commander-in-chief of the army, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, a
parade was held and a prayer service was served on the occasion of
the end of the Caucasian War. In honor of this event, Grand Duke
Mikhail Nikolayevich, at the request of the commanders of all the
assembled military detachments, decided to name this place -
Romanovsk, in honor of the royal family. Later, May 21 (the day of
the end of the Caucasian War) began to be celebrated by the
Adyghe-Abkhaz peoples as "a day of memory and sorrow for the victims
in the Caucasian War."
In 1869, the village of Romanovskoye
was founded in the valley, which existed for several years. In 1878,
the Greeks, immigrants from the historical Pontus, moved from
Stavropol to the empty place. 36 Greek families crossed the
Pseashkho pass to look for new lands for development and saw this
valley. The Greeks founded a new settlement with the name "Krasnaya
Polyana", built the church of St. Haralamy and opened a school.
In 1898, a special state commission visited Krasnaya Polyana,
which was looking for places on the Black Sea coast that could be
used for climatic and balneological treatment of patients. The
commission included the therapist F. I. Pasternatsky, the
meteorologist A. I. Voeikov, the mining engineer M. V. Sergeev, and
was headed by a member of the State Council N. S. Abaza. The
territory located in the valley of the Mzymta River was of
particular interest to the commission because of the excellent
“healing” climate and mineral water outlets. In 1898, the commission
managed to study six mineral springs in the vicinity of Krasnaya
Polyana. Much attention was paid by N. S. Abaza to the Achipse
source closest to Krasnaya Polyana - he gave the order to conduct a
chemical analysis of the waters of this source in the laboratory of
the Caucasian Mineral Waters, which was attributed to the type of
"carbon dioxide-salt-iron-alkaline", close to the waters of the
source No. 4 in Essentuki. After the research was completed, the
source was renamed "Nikolaevsky" in honor of the ruling king. Based
on the results of chemical analyzes, the commission concluded that
in the vicinity of Krasnaya Polyana there are many types of mineral
waters from saline-alkaline to ferruginous.
The members of
the commission had high hopes for Krasnaya Polyana as a summer
climatic station, which was able to receive pulmonary patients from
Sochi and Gagra, where in summer "although not very hot, the heat is
humid, heavy." The excellent climate in the summer gave A. I.
Voeikov the reason to call Krasnaya Polyana the “Russian Riviera”.
However, the lack of regular meteorological observations did not
allow the scientist to judge the suitability of this settlement for
the treatment of pulmonary patients in winter. The scientist
believed that in winter Krasnaya Polyana could be an ordinary
resort. Krasnaya Polyana surpassed Essentuki in terms of the amount
of snowfall, so vacationers could engage in “cross-country skiing,
sleigh riding, mountain climbing”, while they were protected in the
river valley. Mzymta from the gusty wind harmful to them.
On
June 19, 1899, the village received the status of a city and the
name Romanovsk, given by N. S. Abaza, who headed the state
commission that visited the village. A year later, the
Krasnopolyanskoye Highway was built and opened - the road from Adler
to Krasnaya Polyana. However, the official name Romanovsk never
caught on. The name Krasnaya Polyana has been preserved since the
times of the Russian Empire. This happened also because within the
boundaries of the city of Romanovsk that did not arise, there was a
village of Krasnaya Polyana, registered in all official instances.
Since the late 1920s, the settlement has officially been called
Krasnaya Polyana.
In 1950, the settlement received the status
of an urban-type settlement.
On December 3, 2010, Italian
Prime Minister S. Berlusconi and Russian President D. A. Medvedev
met at the next round of Russian-Italian interstate negotiations in
the village, the negotiations took place at the Dynasty Hotel in
room 4.
Krasnaya Polyana received a new development as a
venue for the competitions of the XXII Winter Olympic Games in 2014.
Economic activity in the village is based on serving
tourists and visitors in winter and summer. Krasnaya Polyana is a
popular center for skiing and snowboarding, which has a reputation as
the most "respectable" in Russia. Due to the humid air, the ski slopes
in the vicinity of the village are known for good snow cover. The
terrain provides good opportunities for off-piste skiing. The ski season
lasts from November to May.
The Alpika-Service ski complex,
located 12 km from the center of Krasnaya Polyana and 8 km from the
village of Esto-Sadok, became the first object of skiing in the region.
At the beginning of 2007, near Krasnaya Polyana, the first phase of
the Gazprom Alpine skiing complex Laura was opened. The first stage
includes 6 cable cars and 18 tracks.
In 2008, the Gornaya Karusel
ski complex was put into operation, which has three stages of a modern
gondola-type cable car and a six-seat cable car. On January 29, 2011,
the Rosa Khutor modern ski complex began to operate in test operation
mode, on the slopes of which the 2014 Winter Olympic Games competitions
in alpine skiing, snowboarding and freestyle were held.
As a ski
resort, Krasnaya Polyana received a powerful development in connection
with the implementation of the federal target program "Development of
Sochi as a mountain climatic resort in 2006-2014", as well as with the
holding of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. In addition to a
large number of built sports facilities, hotel complexes, entertainment
and shopping centers, Krasnaya Polyana was connected to the
international airport and the city of Sochi by a combined road and
railroad.
In the summer, mountain tourism is actively developing
in the area of the village.
There are a number of hotels
(including the Radisson SAS Lazurnaya Peak Hotel, the Polyana Grand
Hotel, located in the mountain and tourist center of Gazprom OJSC, and a
number of other hotels). Massive construction of hotels and apartments
is underway.
Agricultural production is developed, Krasnaya
Polyana is known for its honey. The village is surrounded by chestnut
forests, and many medicinal herbs grow on the slopes.
Near
Krasnaya Polyana is the Krasnaya Polyana hydroelectric power station.
In January 2012, 50 points of wireless Internet connection using
Wi-Fi technology were installed at the ski resorts of Krasnaya Polyana.
The Greek church of St. Harlampy and the chapel
attached to it in the cemetery.
"Hunting Lodge", built in 1901 for
the king on the slopes of Mount Achishkho.
Regional Museum.
Museum
of Nature at the Krasnopolyansky forestry.
Bronze Soldier (installed
May 2, 2010).
Krasnopolyansk dolmens.
One of the most common reasons for visiting Krasnaya
Polyana is skiing, skiing and snowboarding.
In the fall of 2019,
3 mountain and tourist complexes functioned in the village - the
Krasnaya Polyana Resort, the Rosa Khutor STC and the GTZ of GAZPROM
OJSC.
Resort Krasnaya Polyana
Multi-level complex on the
northern slope of Mount Aibga. The first, the lowest of the three levels
of lifts, starts in Esto-Sadok at around 540 m above sea level. Three
more stations are located at altitudes of 960, 1460 and 2200 m. Due to
the special location of the mountains, the resort has the longest skiing
season - from December to May. In winter, there are 30 kilometers of ski
slopes of various difficulty levels, illuminated slopes for evening
skiing and slopes with artificial snow.
In winter, there are 13
gondola, chairlift and tow ropeways. The total throughput is up to 2400
people per hour.
GTZ "Gazprom"
In winter, it specializes in
skiing and snowboarding, and in summer it offers the services of a
tourism and recreation center, a health complex, and a sports and
training base. The center also has an all-season water park, an
entertainment center, cinemas and an ice arena.
There are two
slopes for skiing at the GTZ Gazprom resort. Cozy "Laura" - the tracks
run among the fir forest on the Psekhako plateau. And the legendary
"Alpika" - slopes with a height difference of up to 1,154 meters on the
Aibginsky Range (the first ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana).
In
total, the resort has 35 pistes of all difficulty levels: green, blue,
red, and black. For day and night skiing. The trails are wide - up to 66
meters.
It is possible to go cross-country skiing. 12 km of
tracks on the territory of the Laura Ski and Biathlon Complex. At an
altitude of 1500 meters "velveteen" for skating and track - for the
classics.
"Rosa Khutor"
Ski complex, the slopes of which are
located on the northern, northeastern and southern slopes of Mount
Aibga.
The highest point of "Rosa Khutor" is at around 2509 m
above sea level.
In total, the resort has 29 gondola lifts,
chairlifts, rope tows and conveyor types. The trails of Rosa Khutor
stretch for 102 km, the maximum height difference exceeds 1534 m. Also
on the territory of the resort is the Olympic Extreme Park, consisting
of a Snowboard Park and a Freestyle Center.
The mountain cluster of the XXII Winter Olympic and XI
Paralympic Games was located in Krasnaya Polyana, where competitions in
all types of the Olympic program were held on snow and snow-ice tracks,
sports delegations and all the infrastructure that ensured the holding
of competitions in such sports as skiing, snowboarding , cross-country
skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined, ski jumping, bobsleigh, luge,
skeleton, freestyle.
Skiing
All competitions of the Olympic
and Paralympic programs in alpine skiing were held at the Rosa Khutor
ski resort. The tracks were designed, built and tested several years
before 2014. When designing and building ski slopes, all modern
requirements for organizing competitions of the highest level were taken
into account. According to some athletes, the ski slopes of the Rosa
Khutor complex are among the best in the world.
Snowboard
For
snowboarding competitions, the Roza Khutor Extreme Park was built,
located to the west of the main ski slopes of the Rosa Khutor complex.
The Extreme Park includes two stadiums: a snowboard park and a freestyle
center. The snowboard park hosted competitions in qualifying, parallel
giant slalom, parallel slalom, slopestyle. The Freestyle Center was the
venue for the halfpipe competition.
Cross-country skiing,
biathlon
All biathlon and cross-country skiing competitions at the
2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi were held at the Laura
Ski and Biathlon Competition Complex, located on the Psekhako Ridge, at
an altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level, on the territory of the
Gazprom Mountain Tourist Center .
Bobsleigh, luge, skeleton
To
conduct competitions in these sports on the northern slope of the Aibga
ridge, on the site of the former Alpika Service complex, the Sanki Luge
Center was built. Here is the first luge and bobsleigh track in Russia
for international competitions and the only track in the world with
three counter slopes. The route repeats the existing terrain as much as
possible, its highest point is located at around 836 meters above sea
level, the lowest - at around 704 meters. All kinds of competitions in
luge, skeleton and bobsleigh were held on this bobsleigh track.
Ski jumping, Nordic combined
For the competitions in ski jumping, a
ski jump complex was built, where all the competitions of the 2014
Winter Olympics in ski jumping and Nordic Combined were held. The ski
jump complex is located on the northern slope of the Aibga ridge on the
territory of the Gornaya Karusel ski complex, in close proximity to the
village and the Estosadok railway hub of the same name. The place was
specially chosen by international experts at the junction of two ridges
so that the ski jumps harmoniously fit into the surrounding landscape,
and the jumpers were protected from gusts of side wind.
The
complex consists of the most modern Olympic jumps K-95 and K-125. The
ski track for Nordics is laid along the slope of the ridge next to the
ski jumps, the start and finish are organized on the roll-out area of
the ski jump complex.
Freestyle
The freestyle competitions at
the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi were held from 6 to 21 February at the
Rosa Khutor Extreme Park in the snowboard park (ski cross, slopestyle)
and the freestyle center (mogul, ski acrobatics, halfpipe). 10 sets of
awards were played, which is 4 more than at previous Olympic Games.
In the area of the village, on the Mzymta River,
episodes with a mountain river were filmed in the popular Soviet comedy
film “Prisoner of the Caucasus”.
In the village of Krasnaya
Polyana, the shooting of the Russian comedy "Only Girls in Sports"
(2014) took place. The beautiful image of the Rosa Khutor village and
resort has made its additional contribution to increasing the popularity
of this Olympic hospitality zone and the city of Sochi as a whole.