Liverpool its surrounding areas combine to form the fifth largest metropolitan area in the UK, with over 2.24 million people in 2011. The local authority is Liverpool City Council, the most populous local government district within the metropolitan county of Merseyside and the largest within the Liverpool City Region.

Liverpool historically lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in the south west of the county of Lancashire. It became a borough in 1207 and a city in 1880. In 1889, it became a county borough independent of Lancashire.

Liverpool sits on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary and its growth as a major port was paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, raw materials such as coal and cotton, the city was also involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Liverpool was home to both the Cunard and White Star Line, and was the port of registry of the ocean liner RMS Titanic, the RMS Lusitania, Queen Mary and Olympic.

The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and was European Capital of Culture together with Stavanger, Norway, in 2008. Several areas of the city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004. The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City includes the Pier Head, Albert Dock, and William Brown Street.

The popularity of The Beatles and other groups from the Merseybeat era contributes to Liverpool's status as a tourist destination. Liverpool is also the home of two Premier League football clubs, Liverpool and Everton, matches between the two being known as the Merseyside derby. The city's namesake club is the sole British club to win five European Cups. The world-famous Grand National horse race takes place annually at Aintree Racecourse on the outskirts of the city.

Liverpool's status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, was drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, particularly from Ireland and Wales. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe. Natives of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians, and colloquially as "Scousers", a reference to "scouse", a form of stew. The word "Scouse" has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect.

Pool is a common place name element in England from the Brythonic word for a pond, inlet, or pit, cognate with the modern Welsh: pwll. The derivation of the first element remains uncertain, with the Welsh word Llif (an old name for the Atlantic Ocean also meaning flood, flow or current) as the most plausible relative. This etymology is supported by its similarity to that of the archaic Welsh name for Liverpool Llynlleifiad (the lake/pool that floods/overflows).

Other origins of the name have been suggested, including "elverpool", a reference to the large number of eels in the Mersey. The name appeared in 1190 as "Liuerpul", and it may be that the place appearing as Leyrpole, in a legal record of 1418, refers to Liverpool.

Liverpool has several tiers of government; the Mayor and Local Council, who are also stakeholders in the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the National Government and the European Parliament.

Liverpool is officially governed by a Unitary Authority, as when Merseyside County Council was disbanded civic functions were returned to a district borough level. However several services such as the Police and Fire and Rescue Service, continue to be run at a county-wide level.

Liverpool has been described as having "the most splendid setting of any English city." At 53°24′0″N 2°59′0″W (53.4, −2.98), 176 miles (283 km) northwest of London, located on the Liverpool Bay of the Irish Sea the city of Liverpool is built across a ridge of sandstone hills rising up to a height of around 230 feet (70 m) above sea-level at Everton Hill, which represents the southern boundary of the West Lancashire Coastal Plain.

The Mersey Estuary separates Liverpool from the Wirral Peninsula. The boundaries of Liverpool are adjacent to Bootle, Crosby and Maghull in south Sefton to the north, and Kirkby, Huyton, Prescot and Halewood in Knowsley to the east.

As with other large cities, Liverpool is an important cultural centre within the United Kingdom, incorporating music, performing arts, museums and art galleries, literature and nightlife amongst others. In 2008, the cultural heritage of the city was celebrated with the city holding the title of European Capital of Culture, during which time a wide range of cultural celebrations took place in the city, including Go Superlambananas! and La Princesse.

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Bristol is a city and county in South West England with a population of 449,300 in 2016. The district has the 10th largest population in England, while the Bristol metropolitan area is the 12th largest in the United Kingdom. The city borders North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with the cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south-east and north-east, respectively.

Iron Age hill forts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon, and around the beginning of the 11th century the settlement was known as Brycgstow (Old English "the place at the bridge"). Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373, when it became a county of itself. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities after London in tax receipts. Bristol was surpassed by the rapid rise of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham in the Industrial Revolution.

Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. On a ship out of Bristol in 1497 John Cabot, a Venetian, became the first European since the Vikings to land on mainland North America. In 1499 William Weston, a Bristol merchant, was the first Englishman to lead an exploration to North America. At the height of the Bristol slave trade, from 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried an estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas. The Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock.

Bristol's modern economy is built on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries, and the city-centre docks have been redeveloped as centres of heritage and culture. The city has the largest circulating community currency in the U.K.- the Bristol pound, which is pegged to the Pound sterling. The city has two universities, the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol and a variety of artistic and sporting organisations and venues including the Royal West of England Academy, the Arnolfini, Spike Island, Ashton Gate and the Memorial Stadium. It is connected to London and other major UK cities by road, rail, sea and air by the M5 and M4 (which connect to the city centre by the Portway and M32), Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations, and Bristol Airport.

One of the UK's most popular tourist destinations, Bristol was selected in 2009 as one of the world's top ten cities by international travel publishers Dorling Kindersley in their Eyewitness series of travel guides. The Sunday Times named it as the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017, and Bristol also won the EU's European Green Capital Award in 2015.

The most ancient recorded name for Bristol is the archaic Welsh Caer Odor (the fort on the chasm), which is consistent with modern understanding that early Bristol developed between the River Frome and Avon Gorge. It is most commonly stated that the Saxon name Bricstow was a simple calque of the existing Celtic name, with Bric (meaning a break) a literal translation of Odor, and the common Saxon suffix Stow replacing Caer. Alternative etymologies are supported with the numerous orthographic variations in Medieval documents with Samuel Seyer enumerating 47 alternative forms.

The Old English form Brycgstow is commonly used to derive the meaning place at the bridge. Utilizing another form, Brastuile, Rev. Dr. Shaw derived the name from the Celtic words bras (quick, rapid), or braos (a gap, chasm,) and tuile (a stream). The poet Thomas Chatterton popularised a derivation from Brictricstow linking the town to Brictric, the last king of Wessex. It appears that the form Bricstow prevailed until 1204, and the Bristolian 'L' (the tendency for the local accent to add a letter L to the end of some words) is what eventually changed the name to Bristol.

Bristol is part of a limestone area running from the Mendip Hills in the south to the Cotswolds in the northeast. The rivers Avon and Frome cut through the limestone to the underlying clay, creating Bristol's characteristically hilly landscape. The Avon flows from Bath in the east, through flood plains and areas which were marshes before the city's growth. To the west the Avon cuts through the limestone to form the Avon Gorge, aided by glacial meltwater after the last ice age.

The gorge, which helped protect Bristol Harbour, has been quarried for stone to build the city, and its surrounding land has been protected from development as The Downs and Leigh Woods. The Avon estuary and the gorge are the county boundary with North Somerset, and the river flows into the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth. Another gorge, cut by the Hazel Brook (which flows into the River Trym), crosses the Blaise Castle estate in northern Bristol.

Bristol is home to the regional headquarters of BBC West and the BBC Natural History Unit based at Broadcasting House, which produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. These include nature documentaries, including The Blue Planet and Planet Earth. The city has a long association with David Attenborough's authored documentaries, including Life on Earth.

Bristol has two daily newspapers, the Western Daily Press and the Bristol Post; a weekly free newspaper, the Bristol Observer; and a Bristol edition of the free Metro newspaper. All are owned by the Trinity Mirror Group. The Bristol Mercury was published from 1716 and 1909.

The city has several radio stations, including BBC Radio Bristol. Bristol's television productions include Points West for BBC West, Endemol productions such as Deal or No Deal, The Crystal Maze, and ITV News West Country for ITV West & Wales (formerly HTV West) and ITV Westcountry. The hospital drama Casualty, formerly filmed in Bristol, moved to Cardiff in 2012.

Publishers in the city have included 18th-century Bristolian Joseph Cottle, who helped introduce Romanticism by publishing the works of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. During the 19th century, J.W. Arrowsmith published the Victorian comedies Three Men in a Boat (by Jerome K. Jerome) and The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith. The contemporary Redcliffe Press has published over 200 books covering all aspects of the city. Bristol is home to YouTube video producers The Yogscast, with founders Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley moving their operations from Reading to Bristol in 2012.

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Cardiff is the capital and largest city in Wales and the eleventh-largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is the country's chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. The unitary authority area's mid-2011 population was estimated to be 346,100, while the population of the Larger Urban Zone was estimated at 861,400 in 2009. The Cardiff metropolitan area makes up over a third of the total population of Wales, with a mid-2011 population estimate of about 1,100,000 people. Cardiff is a significant tourist centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked sixth in the world in National Geographic's alternative tourist destinations.

The city of Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan (and later South Glamorgan). Cardiff is part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. The Cardiff Urban Area covers a slightly larger area outside the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a major port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city.

Cardiff was made a city in 1905, and proclaimed the capital of Wales in 1955. Since the 1980s, Cardiff has seen significant development. A new waterfront area at Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building, home to the Welsh Assembly and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex. Current developments include the continuation of the redevelopment of the Cardiff Bay and city centre areas with projects such as the Cardiff International Sports Village, a BBC drama village, and a new business district in the city centre.

Sporting venues in the city include the Millennium Stadium (the national stadium for the Wales national rugby union team), SWALEC Stadium (the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club), Cardiff City Stadium (the home of Cardiff City football team), Cardiff International Sports Stadium (the home of Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club) and Cardiff Arms Park (the home of Cardiff Blues and Cardiff RFC rugby union teams). The city was awarded the title of European City of Sport twice, due to its role in hosting major international sporting events: first in 2009 and again in 2014. The Millennium Stadium hosted 11 football matches as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics, including the games' opening event and the men's bronze medal match.

The centre of Cardiff is relatively flat and is bounded by hills on the outskirts to the east, north and west. Its geographic features were influential in its development as the world's largest coal port, most notably its proximity and easy access to the coal fields of the south Wales valleys. The highest point in the authority is Garth Hill 307 metres (1,007 feet) above sea level.

Cardiff is built on reclaimed marshland on a bed of Triassic stones; this reclaimed marshland stretches from Chepstow to the Ely Estuary, which is the natural boundary of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic landscapes of this part of the world are usually shallow and low-lying which accounts and explains the flatness of the centre of Cardiff. The classic Triassic marl, sand and conglomerate rocks are used predominantly throughout Cardiff as building materials. Many of these Triassic rocks have a purple complexion, especially the coastal marl found near Penarth. One of the Triassic rocks used in Cardiff is "Radyr Stone", a freestone which as it name suggests is quarried in the Radyr district. Cardiff has also imported some materials for buildings: Devonian sandstones (the Old Red Sandstone) from the Brecon Beacons has been used. Most famously, the buildings of Cathays Park, the civic centre in the centre of the city, are built of Portland stone which was imported from Dorset. A widely used building stone in Cardiff is the yellow-grey Liassic limestone rock of the Vale of Glamorgan, including the very rare "Sutton Stone", a conglomerate of lias limestone and carboniferous limestone.

Cardiff is bordered to the west by the rural district of the Vale of Glamorgan—also known as The Garden of Cardiff - to the east by the city of Newport, to the north by the South Wales Valleys and to the south by the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel. The River Taff winds through the centre of the city and together with the River Ely flows into the freshwater lake of Cardiff Bay. A third river, the Rhymney flows through the east of the city entering directly into the Severn Estuary.

Cardiff is situated near the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, stretching westward from Penarth and Barry - commuter towns of Cardiff - with striped yellow-blue Jurassic limestone cliffs. The Glamorgan coast is the only part of the Celtic Sea that has exposed Jurassic (blue lias) geology. This stretch of coast, which has reefs, sandbanks and serrated cliffs, was a ship graveyard; ships sailing up to Cardiff during the industrial era often never made it as far as Cardiff as many were wrecked around this hostile coastline during west/south-westerly gales. Consequently, smuggling, deliberate shipwrecking and attacks on ships were common.

Cardiff lies within the north temperate zone and has an essentially maritime climate (Köppen: Cfb), characterised by mild weather that is often cloudy, wet and windy. Summers tend to be warm and sunny, with average maximum temperatures between 19 and 22 °C (66 and 72 °F). Winters tend to be fairly wet, but rainfall is rarely excessive and the temperature usually stays above freezing. Spring and autumn feel quite similar and the temperatures tend to stay above 14 °C (57 °F)—also the average annual daytime temperature. Rain is unpredictable at any time of year, although the showers tend to be shorter in summer.

The northern part of the county, being higher and inland—for example, The Garth (Welsh: Mynydd y Garth), about 7 miles (11 km) north west of Cardiff city centre, (elevation 1,007 feet (307 m))—tends to be cooler and wetter than the city centre.

There are seven NHS hospitals in the city, the largest of which is the University Hospital of Wales. The University Hospital of Wales is the third largest hospital in the UK and deals with most accidents and emergencies. The University Dental Hospital, which provides emergency dental treatment, is also located on this site. Llandough Hospital is located in the south of the city.

The city's newest hospital, St. David's Hospital (built behind the former building) is located in the Canton area and provides services for the elderly and children. Cardiff Royal Infirmary is located on Newport Road, near the city centre. The majority of this hospital was closed in 1999 but with the West Wing remaining open for clinic services, genitourinary medicine and rehabilitation treatment. Rookwood Hospital and Whitchurch Hospital are also located within the city, along with Rookwood Hospital and Velindre Cancer Centre. All hospitals in Cardiff are administered by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, with the exception of the Velindre site which is run by a separate trust. In addition Spire Healthcare has a private hospital in the city which is located in Pentwyn.

Cardiff has many cultural sites varying from the historical Cardiff Castle and out of town Castell Coch to the more modern Wales Millennium Centre and Cardiff Bay. Cardiff was a finalist in the European Capital of Culture 2008. In recent years Cardiff has grown in stature as a tourist destination, with recent accolades including Cardiff being voted the eighth favourite UK city by readers of the Guardian. The city was also listed as one of the top 10 destinations in the UK on the official British tourist boards website Visit Britain, and US travel guide Frommers have listed Cardiff as one of 13 top destinations worldwide for 2008. Annual events in Cardiff that have become regular appearances in Cardiff's calendar include Sparks in the Park, The Great British Cheese Festival, Cardiff Mardi Gras, Cardiff Winter Wonderland, Cardiff Festival and Made in Roath.

Cardiff is the Welsh base for the main national broadcasters (BBC Cymru Wales, ITV Wales and S4C). A locally based television station, Made in Cardiff, is also based in the city centre. Major filming studios in Cardiff include the BBC's Roath Lock Studios and Pinewood Studios Wales.

Several contemporary television programmes and films are filmed in and/or set in Cardiff such as Casualty, Doctor Who, Merlin, Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, The Valleys, Upstairs Downstairs and Sherlock.

The main local newspaper, the South Wales Echo and the national paper the Western Mail are based in Park Street in the city centre. Capital Times, Echo Extra and the South Wales edition of Metro are also based and distributed in the city. There are also a number of magazines based in the city including Buzz magazine, Primary Times and a monthly papur bro, or Welsh-language community newsletter, called Y Dinesydd (The Citizen).

A number of other radio stations serve the city and are based in Cardiff, including Capital FM (South Wales), Heart (South and West Wales), BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, Nation Radio, Radio Cardiff, Smooth Radio (Wales) and Xpress Radio.

Google Street View is available throughout Cardiff. The introduction of this was controversial at the time, but an online poll has since voted the Millennium Stadium to be one of six locations in the UK to be specially photographed and made available on Google Street View as a 360-degree virtual tour.

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Belfast the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, the second largest on the island of Ireland, and the heart of the tenth largest Primary Urban Area in the United Kingdom. On the River Lagan, it had a population of 286,000 at the 2011 census and 333,871 after the 2015 council reform. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.

Belfast was a centre of the Irish linen, tobacco-processing, rope-making and shipbuilding industries: in the early 20th century, Harland and Wolff, which built the RMS Titanic, was the world's biggest and most productive shipyard. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, and was a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. It has sustained a major aerospace and missiles industry since the mid 1930s. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast Ireland's biggest city at the beginning of the 20th century.

Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education, business, and law, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the Troubles, but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. Additionally, Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square.

Belfast is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles (24 km) west of the city. Belfast is a major port, with commercial and industrial docks dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline, including the Harland and Wolff shipyard, and is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city.

Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It had been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Catholic and Protestant populations. These opposing groups in this conflict are now often termed republican and loyalist respectively, although they are also loosely referred to as 'nationalist' and 'unionist'. The most recent example of this conflict was known as the Troubles – a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to 1998.

Belfast saw some of the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly in the 1970s, with rival paramilitary groups formed on both sides. Bombing, assassination and street violence formed a backdrop to life throughout the Troubles. The Provisional IRA detonated 22 bombs within the confines of Belfast city centre in 1972, on what is known as "Bloody Friday", killing eleven people. Loyalist paramilitaries including the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) claimed that the killings they carried out were in retaliation for the IRA campaign. Most of their victims were Catholics with no links to the Provisional IRA. A particularly notorious group, based on the Shankill Road in the mid-1970s, became known as the Shankill Butchers.

In all, over 1,600 people were killed in political violence in the city between 1969 and 2001. Sporadic violent events continue as of 2017, although not supported by the previous antagonists who had reached political agreement in 1998.

Belfast was granted borough status by James VI and I in 1613 and official city status by Queen Victoria in 1888. Since 1973 it has been a local government district under local administration by Belfast City Council. Belfast is represented in both the British House of Commons and in the Northern Ireland Assembly. For elections to the European Parliament, Belfast is within the Northern Ireland constituency.

At the 2001 census, the population was 276,459, while 579,554 people lived in the wider Belfast Metropolitan Area. This made it the fifteenth-largest city in the United Kingdom, but the eleventh-largest conurbation. Belfast experienced a huge growth in population in the first half of the twentieth century. This rise slowed and peaked around the start of the Troubles with the 1971 census showing almost 600,000 people in the Belfast Urban Area. Since then, the inner city numbers have dropped dramatically as people have moved to swell the Greater Belfast suburb population. The 2001 census population in the same Urban Area had fallen to 277,391 people, with 579,554 people living in the wider Belfast Metropolitan Area. The 2001 census recorded 81,650 people from Catholic backgrounds and 79,650 people from Protestant backgrounds of working age living in Belfast. The population density in 2011 was 24.88 people/hectare (compared to 1.34 for the rest of Northern Ireland). As with many cities, Belfast's inner city is currently characterised by the elderly, students and single young people, while families tend to live on the periphery. Socio-economic areas radiate out from the Central Business District, with a pronounced wedge of affluence extending out the Malone Road and Upper Malone Road to the south. An area of greater deprivation extends to the west of the city. The areas around the Falls and Shankill Roads are the most deprived wards in Northern Ireland.

Despite a period of relative peace, most areas and districts of Belfast still reflect the divided nature of Northern Ireland as a whole. Many areas are still highly segregated along ethnic, political and religious lines, especially in working-class neighbourhoods. These zones – Catholic/Republican on one side and Protestant/Loyalist on the other – are invariably marked by flags, graffiti and murals. Segregation has been present throughout the history of Belfast, but has been maintained and increased by each outbreak of violence in the city. This escalation in segregation, described as a "ratchet effect", has shown little sign of decreasing. The highest levels of segregation in the city are in west Belfast with many areas greater than 90% Catholic. Opposite but comparatively high levels are seen in the predominantly Protestant east Belfast. Areas where segregated working-class areas meet are known as interface areas and sometimes marked by peace lines. When violence flares, it tends to be in interface areas.

Ethnic minority communities have been in Belfast since the 1930s. The largest groups are Poles, Chinese and Indians. Since the expansion of the European Union, numbers have been boosted by an influx of Eastern European immigrants. Census figures (2011) showed that Belfast has a total non-white population of 10,219 or 3.3%, while 18,420 or 6.6% of the population were born outside the UK and Ireland. Almost half of those born outside the UK and Ireland live in south Belfast, where they comprise 9.5% of the population. The majority of the estimated 5,000 Muslims and 200 Hindu families living in Northern Ireland live in the Greater Belfast area.

Ethnic minority communities have been in Belfast since the 1930s. The largest groups are Poles, Chinese and Indians. Since the expansion of the European Union, numbers have been boosted by an influx of Eastern European immigrants. Census figures (2011) showed that Belfast has a total non-white population of 10,219 or 3.3%, while 18,420 or 6.6% of the population were born outside the UK and Ireland. Almost half of those born outside the UK and Ireland live in south Belfast, where they comprise 9.5% of the population. The majority of the estimated 5,000 Muslims and 200 Hindu families living in Northern Ireland live in the Greater Belfast area.

Belfast is one of the most visited cities in the UK, and the second most visited on the island of Ireland. In 2008, 7.1 million tourists visited the city. Numerous popular tour bus companies and boat tours run there throughout the year.

Frommer's, the American travel guidebook series, listed Belfast as the only United Kingdom destination in its Top 12 Destinations to Visit in 2009. The other listed destinations were Berlin (Germany), Cambodia, Cape Town (South Africa), Cartagena (Colombia), Istanbul (Turkey), the Lassen Volcanic National Park (USA), Saqqara (Egypt), the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail (USA), Waiheke Island (New Zealand), Washington, D.C. (USA), and Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada).

The Belfast City Council is currently investing into the complete redevelopment of the Titanic Quarter, which is planned to consist of apartments, hotels, and a riverside entertainment district. A major visitor attraction, Titanic Belfast is a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard, opened on 31 March 2012. It features a criss-cross of escalators and suspended walkways and nine high-tech galleries. They also hope to invest in a new modern transport system (including high-speed rail and others) for Belfast, with a cost of £250 million.

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Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and the most populous city in the Nordic countries; 932,917 people live in the municipality, approximately 1.5 million in the urban area, region. The city is home to some of Europe's top ranking universities, such as the Stockholm School of Economics, Karolinska Institute and Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). It hosts the annual Nobel Prize ceremonies and banquet at the Stockholm Concert Hall and Stockholm City Hall. One of the city's most prized museums, the Vasa Museum, is the most visited non-art museum in Scandinavia. The Stockholm metro, opened in 1950, is well known for its decoration of the stations; it has been called the longest art gallery in the world. Sweden's national football arena is located north of the city centre, in Solna. Ericsson Globe, the national indoor arena, is in the southern part of the city. The city was the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics, and hosted the equestrian portion of the 1956 Summer Olympics otherwise held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Stockholm is the seat of the Swedish government and most of its agencies, including the highest courts in the judiciary, and the official residencies of the Swedish monarch and the Prime Minister. The government has its seat in the Rosenbad building, the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) is seated in the Parliament House, and the Prime Minister's residence is adjacent at the Sager House. The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and principal workplace of the Swedish monarch, while the Drottningholm Palace, a World Heritage Site on the outskirts of Stockholm, serves as the Royal Family's private residence.

Stockholm is located on Sweden's south-central east coast, where the freshwater Lake Mälaren - Sweden's third largest lake - flows out into the Baltic Sea. The central parts of the city consist of fourteen islands that are continuous with the Stockholm archipelago. The geographical city centre is situated on the water, in Riddarfjärden bay. Over 30% of the city area is made up of waterways and another 30% is made up of parks and green spaces.

The biome Stockholm belongs to is the Temperate Deciduous Forest, which means the climate is very similar to that of the far north-eastern area of the United States and coastal Nova Scotia in Canada. The average annual temperature is 10 °C (50 °F). The average rainfall is 30 to 60 inches a year. The deciduous forest has four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In the autumn the leaves change colour. During the winter months the trees lose their leaves.

For details about the other municipalities in the Stockholm area, see the pertinent articles. North of Stockholm Municipality: Järfälla, Solna, Täby, Sollentuna, Lidingö, Upplands Väsby, Österåker, Sigtuna, Sundbyberg, Danderyd, Vallentuna, Ekerö, Upplands-Bro, Vaxholm, and Norrtälje. South of Stockholm: Huddinge, Nacka, Botkyrka, Haninge, Tyresö, Värmdö, Södertälje, Salem, Nykvarn and Nynäshamn.

The vast majority of Stockholm residents work in the service industry, which accounts for roughly 85% of jobs in Stockholm. The almost total absence of heavy industry (and fossil fuel power plants) makes Stockholm one of the world's cleanest metropolises. The last decade has seen a significant number of jobs created in high technology companies. Large employers include IBM, Ericsson, and Electrolux. A major IT centre is located in Kista, in northern Stockholm.

Stockholm is Sweden's financial centre. Major Swedish banks, such as Nordea, Swedbank, Handelsbanken, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, are headquartered in Stockholm, as are the major insurance companies Skandia, Folksam and Trygg-Hansa. Stockholm is also home to Sweden's foremost stock exchange, the Stockholm Stock Exchange (Stockholmsbörsen). Additionally, about 45% of Swedish companies with more than 200 employees are headquartered in Stockholm. Noted clothes retailer H&M is also headquartered in the city. In recent years, tourism has played an important part in the city's economy. Stockholm County is ranked as the 10th largest visitor destination in Europe, with over 10 million commercial overnight stays per year. Among 44 European cities Stockholm had the 6th highest growth in number of nights spent in the period 2004–2008.

Research and higher education in the sciences started in Stockholm in the 18th century, with education in medicine and various research institutions such as the Stockholm Observatory. The medical education was eventually formalized in 1811 as the Karolinska Institutet. The Royal Institute of Technology (Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, or KTH) was founded in 1827 and is currently Scandinavia's largest higher education institute of technology with 13,000 students. Stockholm University, founded in 1878 with university status granted in 1960, has 52,000 students as of 2008. It also incorporates many historical institutions, such as the Observatory, the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and the botanical garden Bergianska trädgården. The Stockholm School of Economics, founded in 1909, is one of the few private institutions of higher education in Sweden.

In the fine arts, educational institutions include the Royal College of Music, which has a history going back to the conservatory founded as part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1771, the Royal University College of Fine Arts, which has a similar historical association with the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and a foundation date of 1735, and the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting, which is the continuation of the school of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, once attended by Greta Garbo. Other schools include the design school Konstfack, founded in 1844, the University College of Opera (founded in 1968, but with older roots), the University College of Dance, and the Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut (the University College of Music Education).

The Södertörn University College was founded in 1995 as a multi-disciplinary institution for southern Metropolitan Stockholm, to balance the many institutions located in the northern part of the region.

Apart from being Sweden's capital, Stockholm houses many national cultural institutions. The Stockholm region is home to three of Sweden's World Heritage Sites – spots judged as invaluable places that belong to all of humanity: The Drottningholm Palace, Skogskyrkogården (The Woodland Cemetery) and Birka. In 1998, Stockholm was named European Capital of Culture.

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Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, the city has a population of approximately 550,000 in the urban area and about 1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.

Gothenburg was founded as a heavily fortified, primarily Dutch, trading colony, by royal charter in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus. In addition to the generous privileges (e.g. tax relaxation) given to his Dutch allies from the then-ongoing Thirty Years' War, the king also attracted significant numbers of his German and Scottish allies to populate his only town on the western coast. At a key strategic location at the mouth of the Göta älv, where Scandinavia's largest drainage basin enters the sea, the Port of Gothenburg is now the largest port in the Nordic countries.

Gothenburg is home to many students, as the city includes the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927. The original, parent Volvo Group and the now separate Volvo Car Corporation are still headquartered on the island of Hisingen in the city. Other key companies are SKF and Astra Zeneca.

Gothenburg is served by Göteborg Landvetter Airport 30 km (18.64 mi) southeast of the city center. The smaller Göteborg City Airport, 15 km (9.32 mi) from the city center, was closed to regular airline traffic in 2015.

The city hosts some of the largest annual events in Scandinavia. The Gothenburg Film Festival, held in January since 1979, is the leading Scandinavian film festival with over 155,000 visitors each year. In summer, a wide variety of music festivals are held in the city, such as Way Out West and Metaltown.

Gothenburg is located on the west coast, in southwestern Sweden, about halfway between the capitals Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oslo, Norway. The location at the mouth of the Göta älv, which feeds into Kattegatt, an arm of the North Sea, has helped the city grow in significance as a trading city. The archipelago of Gothenburg consists of rough, barren rocks and cliffs, which also is typical for the coast of Bohuslän. Due to the Gulf Stream, the city has a mild climate and moderately heavy precipitation. It is the second-largest city in Sweden after capital Stockholm.

The Gothenburg Metropolitan Area (Stor-Göteborg) has 982,360 inhabitants and extends to the municipalities of Ale, Alingsås, Göteborg, Härryda, Kungälv, Lerum, Lilla Edet, Mölndal, Partille, Stenungsund, Tjörn, Öckerö in Västra Götaland County, and Kungsbacka in Halland County.

Angered, a suburb outside Gothenburg, consists of Hjällbo, Eriksbo, Rannebergen, Hammarkullen, Gårdsten, and Lövgärdet. It is a Million Programme part of Gothenburg, like Rosengård in Malmö and Botkyrka in Stockholm. Angered had about 50,000 inhabitants in 2015. It lies north of Gothenburg and is isolated from the rest of the city. Bergsjön is another Million Programme suburb north of Gothenburg, it has 14,000 inhabitants. Biskopsgården is the biggest multicultural suburb on the island of Hisingen, which is a part of Gothenburg but separated from the city by the river.

Many of the cultural institutions, as well as hospitals and the university, were created by donations from rich merchants and industrialists, for example the Röhsska Museum. On 29 December 2004, the Museum of World Culture opened near Korsvägen. Museums include the Gothenburg Museum of Art, and several museums of sea and navigation history, natural history, the sciences, and East India. Aeroseum, close to the Göteborg City Airport, is an aircraft museum in a former military underground air force base. The Volvo museum has exhibits of the history of Volvo and the development from 1927 until today. Products shown include cars, trucks, marine engines, and buses.

Universeum is a public science centre that opened in 2001, the largest of its kind in Scandinavia. It is divided into six sections, each containing experimental workshops and a collection of reptiles, fish, and insects. Universeum occasionally host debates between Swedish secondary-school students and Nobel Prize laureates or other scholars.

The most noted attraction is the amusement park Liseberg, located in the central part of the city. It is the largest amusement park in Scandinavia by number of rides, and was chosen as one of the top ten amusement parks in the world (2005) by Forbes. It is the most popular attraction in Sweden by number of visitors per year (more than 3 million).

There are a number of independent theatre ensembles in the city, besides institutions such as Gothenburg City Theatre, Backa Theatre (youth theatre), and Folkteatern.

The main boulevard is called Kungsportsavenyn (commonly known as Avenyn, "The Avenue"). It is about 1 km (0.62 mi) long and starts at Götaplatsen — which is the location of the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the city's theatre, and the city library, as well as the concert hall— and stretches all the way to Kungsportsplatsen in the old city centre of Gothenburg, crossing a canal and a small park. The Avenyn was created in the 1860s and 1870s as a result of an international architecture contest, and is the product of a period of extensive town planning and remodelling. Avenyn has Gothenburg's highest concentration of pubs and clubs. Sweden's largest shopping centre, Nordstan, is located in central Gothenburg.

Gothenburg's Haga district is known for its picturesque wooden houses and its cafés serving the well-known Haga bulle – a large cinnamon roll similar to the kanelbulle.

Five Gothenburg restaurants have a star in the 2008 Michelin Guide: 28 +, Basement, Fond, Kock & Vin, Fiskekrogen, and Sjömagasinet. The city has a number of star chefs – over the past decade, seven of the Swedish Chef of the Year awards have been won by people from Gothenburg.

The Gustavus Adolphus pastry, eaten every 6 November in Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus Day, is especially connected to, and appreciated in, Gothenburg because the city was founded by King Gustavus Adolphus.

One of Gothenburg's most popular natural tourist attractions is the Southern Gothenburg Archipelago, which is a set of several islands that can be reached by ferry boats mainly operating from Saltholmen. Within the archipelago are the Älvsborg fortress, Vinga and Styrsö islands.

Due to Gothenburg's advantageous location in the centre of Scandinavia, trade and shipping have always played a major role in the city's economic history, and they continue to do so. Gothenburg port has come to be the largest harbour in Scandinavia.

Apart from trade, the second pillar of Gothenburg has traditionally been manufacturing and industry, which significantly contributes to the city's wealth. Major companies operating plants in the area include SKF, Volvo, and Ericsson. Volvo Cars is the largest employer in Gothenburg, not including jobs in supply companies. The blue-collar industries which have dominated the city for long are still important factors in the city's economy, but they are being gradually replaced by high-tech industries. Banking and finance are also important, as well as the event and tourist industry.

Gothenburg is the terminus of the Valdemar-Göteborg gas pipeline, which brings natural gas from the North Sea fields to Sweden, through Denmark.

Historically, Gothenburg was home base from the 18th century of the Swedish East India Company. From its founding until the late 1970s, the city was a world leader in shipbuilding, with such shipyards as Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstad, Götaverken, Arendalsvarvet, and Lindholmens varv. Gothenburg is classified as a global city by GaWC, with a ranking of Gamma. The city has been ranked as the 12th-most inventive city in the world by Forbes.

Source: Wikipedia

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Malmö is the capital and largest city of the Swedish county of Scania. Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the 5th biggest city in Scandinavia, with a population of above 300,000. The Malmö Metropolitan Region is home to 700,000 people, and the Øresund Region, which includes Malmö, is home to 3.9 million people.

Malmö was one of the earliest and most industrialized towns of Scandinavia, but it struggled with the adaptation to post-industrialism. Since the construction of the Øresund Bridge, Malmö has undergone a major transformation with architectural developments, and it has attracted new biotech and IT companies, and particularly students through Malmö University, founded in 1998. The city contains many historic buildings and parks, and is also a commercial centre for the western part of Scania.

Malmö is located at 13°00' east and 55°35' north. It is located near the southwestern tip of Sweden, in the Scania province.

Malmö is part of the transnational Øresund Region and since 2000, the Øresund Bridge crosses the Øresund to Copenhagen, Denmark. The bridge opened 1 July 2000, and measures 8 kilometres (5 miles) (the whole link totalling 16 km), with pylons reaching 204.5 metres (670.9 feet) vertically. Apart from the Helsingborg-Helsingør ferry links further north, most ferry connections have been discontinued.

Malmö Municipality is an administrative unit defined by geographical borders, consisting of the City of Malmö and its immediate surroundings.

Malmö (Malmö tätort) consists of the urban part of the municipality together with the small town of Arlöv in the Burlöv Municipality. Both municipalities also include smaller urban areas and rural areas, such as the suburbs of Oxie and Åkarp. Malmö tätort is to be distinguished from Malmö stad (the city of Malmö), which is a semi-official name of Malmö Municipality.

The leaders in Malmö created a commission for a socially sustainable Malmö in November 2010. The commission's was tasked with providing evidence-based strategies for reducing health inequalities and improve living conditions for all citizens of Malmö, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged and issued its final report in December 2013.

Malmö is a young city, with almost half of the population under the age of 35 (48%).

After 1971, Malmö had 265,000 inhabitants, but the population then dropped to 229,000 by 1985. The total population of the urban area was 280,415 in December 2010. It then began to rise again, and had passed the previous record by the 1 January 2003 census, when it had 265,481 inhabitants. On 27 April 2011, the population of Malmö reached the 300,000 mark.

Circa 43% of the population have a foreign background (135,509 residents); 31% was born abroad (99,788) and another 11% was Swedish-born (35,721), with foreign-born parents. The Middle East, Horn of Africa, former Yugoslavia and Denmark are the main sources of immigration.

As of 2015, Malmö had the fourth-highest proportion of foreign-born residents of any municipality in Sweden. In addition to these figures, 14% of the population are foreign nationals.

The economy of Malmö was traditionally based on shipbuilding (Kockums) and construction related industries, such as concrete factories. The region's leading university, along with its associated hi-tech and pharmaceutical industries, is located in Lund about 16 kilometres (10 miles) to the north-east. As a result, Malmö had a troubled economic situation following the mid-1970s. Between 1990–1995, 27,000 jobs were lost, and the budget deficit was more than one billion Swedish krona. In 1995, Malmö had Sweden's highest unemployment rate.

However, during the last few years there has been a revival. The main contributing factor has been the economic integration with Denmark brought about by the Øresund Bridge. Almost 10% of the population[citation needed] of Malmö works in Copenhagen. Also the university founded in 1998 and the effects of integration into the European Union have contributed.

In 2004, the rate of wage-earners was 63%, compared to 74% in Stockholm and 71% in Gothenburg. This in turn led to Malmö municipality in 2007 having the 9th lowest median income in Sweden.

In December 2009, Moderna Museet Malmö was opened in the old Rooseum building. It is a part of the Moderna Museet, with independent exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. The collection of Moderna Museet holds key pieces of, among others, Marcel Duchamp, Louise Bourgeois, Pablo Picasso, Niki de Saint Phalle, Salvador Dalí, Carolee Schneemann, Henri Matisse and Robert Rauschenberg. The Malmö Konsthall is one of the largest exhibition halls in Europe for contemporary art, opened in 1975.

The beach Ribersborg, by locals usually called Ribban, south-west of the harbour area, is a man-made shallow beach, stretching along Malmö's coastline. Despite Malmö's chilly climate, it is sometimes referred to as the "Copacabana of Malmö". It is the site of Ribersborgs open-air bath, opened in the 1890s.

The long boardwalk at The Western Harbour, Scaniaparken and Daniaparken, has become a new favourite summer hang-out for the people of Malmö and is a popular place for bathing. The harbour is particularly popular with Malmö's vibrant student community and has been the scene of several impromptu outdoor parties and gatherings.

Source: Wikipedia

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Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. It had 149,245 inhabitants in 2015. Located 71 km (44 mi) north of the capital Stockholm, it is also the seat of Uppsala Municipality. Since 1164, Uppsala has been the ecclesiastical centre of Sweden, being the seat of the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden. Uppsala is home to Scandinavia's largest cathedral – Uppsala Cathedral. Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest centre of higher education in Scandinavia. Among many achievements, the Celsius scale for temperature was invented there.

Situated on the fertile Uppsala flatlands of muddy soil, the city features the small Fyris River (Fyrisån) flowing through the landscape surrounded by lush vegetation. Parallel to the river runs the glacial ridge of Uppsalaåsen at an elevation of circa 30 metres (98 feet), the site of Uppsala's castle, from which large parts of the town can be seen. The central park Stadsskogen (literally "The Town Forest") stretches from the south far into town, with opportunities for recreation for many residential areas within walking distance.

Only some 70 kilometres (43 miles) or 40 minutes by train from the capital, many Uppsala residents work in Stockholm. The train to Stockholm-Arlanda Airport takes only 17 minutes, rendering the city easily accessible by air.

The commercial centre of Uppsala is quite compact. The city has a distinct town and gown divide with clergy, royalty and academia historically residing on the river's western shore, somewhat separated from the rest of the city, and the ensemble of cathedral, castle and university buildings has remained mostly undisturbed until today. While some beautiful buildings remain on the periphery of the central core, retail commercial activity is geographically focused on a small number of blocks around the pedestrianized streets and main square on the eastern side of the river, an area that was subject to a large-scale metamorphosis during the economically booming years in the 1960s in particular. During recent decades, a significant part of retail commercial activity has shifted to shopping malls and stores situated in the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, the built-up areas have expanded greatly, and some suburbanization has taken place.

The Fyris river (Fyrisån) neatly divides the city into two different parts: the historic quarter to the west of the river and the modern administrative, residential and commercial city centre to the east. Most of the historical sights and university buildings are in the western part, with a medieval street layout, river views and parks and dominated by the cathedral.

The most outstanding building in Uppsala is the Domkyrka (Uppsala Cathedral), Scandinavia's largest church building (118.70 m (389.44 ft) high). Together with Uppsala Castle it has dominated Uppsala's skyline since its construction in the 13th century and can be seen from a long distance outside the city, other tall buildings being rare.

Facing the west end of the cathedral is the Gustavianum, built in 1625 to be the main building of the University, and served as such through most of the 19th century. It contains the Museum of Nordic Antiquities, the Victoria Museum (of Egyptian antiquities) and the University's cultural history collections. It also houses a perfectly preserved 17th-century anatomical theatre (used in its time for public dissections). Next to Gustavianum is the 18th century Archbishop's Palace, the official residence of the Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala and the primate of the Church of Sweden.

Across the street from the Gustavianum in the University Park stands the University Hall, erected in 1879–86 in Italian renaissance style. The Uppsala University Coin Cabinet is located in the university main building.

Not far from the University stands the Uppsala University Library (Carolina Rediviva), the largest library in Sweden, with over 5 million volumes and some 60,000 manuscripts. The building was built in 1820–41.

On a circa 35-metre high hill to the southwest of the University Library stands Uppsala Castle. Its construction was initiated in 1549 by King Gustav Vasa, founder of the Vasa royal dynasty. Today the castle holds several museums, among them the regional art museum, and is the residence of the Uppsala County Governor.

There are several botanical museums in Uppsala related to the world-famous 18th century botanist and zoologist Carl Linnaeus; the Botanic Garden next to the castle, the Linnaean Garden in the city centre, and Linnaeus Hammarby, Linnaeus' summer house in the countryside village of Danmarks Hammarby south of the city.

5 kilometres (3 miles) north of Uppsala city lies Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), the location of the pre-Christian settlement of Uppsala which later provided the new name for the medieval settlement further south. There are few remains, with the exception of several huge burial mounds of pre-Christian monarchs and the previous cathedral from 1164 A.D., traditionally said to be built over the old heathen temple (and recent archaeological investigations seems to support this notion). The site was a major religious centre in Scandinavia in pre-Christian times. After the old cathedral church burned down around 1240 it was only partially restored to a more modest size as it no longer was the seat of the Archbishop. The Gamla Uppsala Museum exhibits archeological finds made during excavations in Gamla Uppsala and related finds from other parts of Uppland, as well as exhibitions on the history of the site itself.

Source: Wikipedia

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Västerås is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 110,877 inhabitants in 2010, out of the municipal total of 150,000 (2017). Västerås is the seat of Västerås Municipality, the capital of Västmanland County and an episcopal see.

Västerås is predominantly known as an industrial city, but also a retailing and logistics city. The city wants to distinguish itself as Västerås – Mälarstaden, meaning "Västerås—the city by Lake Mälaren", in order to attract tourists and new inhabitants, as well as students to the local university college, Mälardalen University (approximately 16,000 enrolled students in Västerås and in the nearby Eskilstuna). To this effect, the city has started using a designed logo as branding in some official contexts, partially replacing the coat of arms, as well as rebuilding several old harbor areas to make them more attractive to live in. Västerås has the largest lakeside commercial and recreational port in Scandinavia on Lake Mälaren.

The city also has a skyscraper cordially nicknamed "Skrapan" which has Sweden's highest-located cocktail bar, called Sky Bar, on the 24th floor of the building. Västerås hosts Power Big Meet, an annual event where owners of high-powered American cars can meet.

According to the Köppen climate classification, Västerås experiences a humid continental climate with cold winters and warm summers.

Summers tend to be quite unpredictable with sunny spells but with a risk of sudden showers. The sunniest weather usually occurs when high-pressure systems are blocking the low-pressure systems that usually move in from the Atlantic Ocean. Daytime temperatures in July mostly hover around 22 °C (72 °F), but may sometimes exceed 25 °C (77 °F) and occasionally even 30 °C (86 °F).

Winters are usually cold with a snow cover that lasts for several months. Some winters can be mild with longer spells without snow on the ground. The weather differs a lot whether the air masses are coming from the Atlantic Ocean or from the Eurasian continent. In the first case, temperatures over 5 °C (41 °F) might be expected. In the second case, the temperature may not rise above −15 °C (5 °F) in the middle of the day. Lake Mälaren is usually frozen from December until the end of March.

Source: Wikipedia

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Groups of people carrying portraits of family members affected by World War II are appearing worldwide in the runup to Victory Day celebrations. What started as a local tradition in Russia has grown into a global phenomenon.

The ‘Immortal Regiment’ allows people to honor family members who were affected by the bloody conflict that was waged decades ago. Originating in the Russian city of Tomsk six years ago, the tradition has since spread to other nations affected by World War II.

In some countries, merely dozens take part in the event. Most are descendants of families from the former Soviet Union. In others, like Israel, thousands march to honor their grandparents and great grandparents. Often, but not always, the local Russian diplomatic mission helps in organizing these events.

An Immortal Regiment vigil was held in New York City’s Battery Park on Saturday.

Similar events were staged in LA, Seattle, Miami, San Diego, Boston, and Washington, DC. A massive turnout was reported at two separate marches in Toronto, Canada, where up to 6,000 people showed up despite the rain.

In Spain, a commemoration held in Madrid attracted hundreds, while smaller events were reported in Barcelona, Valencia, Marbella, and other cities. In Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, some 600 people took part in the ‘Immortal Regiment’ march, which was followed by a concert.

In the Italian capital, two separate marches, organized independently by different groups, were held. A commemorative march was held in the city of Bologna. A march in Brisbane, Australia proceeded along the South Bank boardwalk. It was the second year the city participated. In Japan, the ‘Immortal Regiment’ march was held for the first time.

Some 150 people gathered at the Russian Embassy in Kuwait City for an Immortal Regiment event. A similar event was staged near the embassy in Mexico City, halfway across the world. Israel’s Haifa held an Immortal Regiment march for the third time this year.

In some cities, including Beijing and London, the vigils will be held on May 9, the date Victory Day is celebrated in Russia.

Russia’s combat planes won’t take part in the Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square due to unfavorable weather conditions, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"Due to the unfavorable weather conditions in the Moscow area, a decision has been made to cancel the participation of aviation in the Victory Day parade on Red Square. The aircraft and helicopters engaged for participation in the Victory Day parade will return to their permanent aerodromes," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It was reported earlier that 72 crews would take in the air parade over Red Square on May 9.

Specifically, the air parade over Moscow’s Red Square was expected to involve Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers, Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, Il-78 refueling tanker aircraft, An-124 and Il-76MD military transport planes, Su-35S, Su-30SM, Su-27, MiG-29, MiG-31BM fighter jets, Su-34 and Su-24M frontline bombers, Su-25 attack aircraft, Yak-130 combat trainers and Mi-26, Mi-8AMTSh, Mi-28N, Ka-52 and Mi-35M helicopters.

The airborne part of the parade was planned to be opened by Mil Mi-26 and Mi-8 helicopters at an altitude of 150 meters.

The combat planes and helicopters expected to take part in the air parade were based on eight aerodromes in the Moscow, Tver, Bryansk, Saratov, Kaluga, Voronezh, Lipetsk and Nizhny Novgorod Regions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the sacrifices of the Soviet people in World War Two, addressing the armed forces in Moscow.

The giant, annual Victory Day parade for the first time included missiles adapted for Arctic warfare.

Russia is developing new Arctic bases.

"No force will be able to dominate our people," Mr Putin said, deploring the havoc that Nazi Germany wreaked in the war. The USSR lost more than 20 million people - more than any other country.

The Soviet Union (USSR) ceased to exist in 1991.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko took part in a wreath-laying ceremony in Kiev. He told Ukrainian soldiers that Russia was trying to use the victory anniversary "to satisfy its own revanchist, imperialist and expansionist needs".

"The Kremlin is still trying to command Ukraine as if it commanded the four Ukrainian fronts in the 1940s."

Russia has often been accused of downplaying the role of other nations in the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Western sanctions were imposed on Russia after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014. They were ratcheted up - targeting many close associates of Mr Putin - when the Russian military bolstered pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The Kremlin denies helping the rebels militarily, but admits that Russian "volunteers" have joined their ranks.

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The "Immortal regiment" march to honor the victims of the World War II was held in the German capital for the third year in the row, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Tuesday. Several hundred people carrying photographs of their relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War gathered near the Brandenburg Gate and then marched to the memorial to the fallen Soviet soldiers in Tiergarten Park.

The "Immortal Regiment" march was first held in Berlin in 2015, with 500 people taking part in it. They laid the wreaths at the memorial in Treptower Park honoring the memory of 7,000 of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers that fell in the Battle of Berlin in 1945.

Russian President Vladimir Putin showed off ballistic missiles, armored tanks and new aircraft systems at a World War II commemorative parade in Moscow on Tuesday. More than 10,000 troops marched in formation through Red Square to mark Victory Day, an annual event to celebrate the Soviet Union's triumph over Nazi Germany in a series of battles that ended on May 9, 1945.

Among more than 100 pieces of equipment put on display was an apparently new air defense division for operation in sub-zero Arctic conditions, state-run news agency Sputnik said. That included missile defense systems, bearing the image of an Arctic wolf.

Moscow has been conducting military activities in the Arctic, in a race with the United States, Canada and Norway to control the resource-rich area. Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles were among more than 100 pieces of military equipment rolled through the square. The usual fly-past appeared to be canceled as thick clouds hovered over the Russian capital.

Russia is the world's third largest military spender after the US and China. In 2016, Russia spent over $69 billion on its military. In his remarks, Putin said that World War II taught Russia to be vigilant and ready for any assault. But he also called for international unity in the fight against terrorism. "Our forces are capable of repelling any kind of attack, but to efficiently combat terrorism, Nazism, extremism, what we need is the consolidation of international community. We are strengthening that," Putin said at the parade in Moscow's Red Square. "Russia will always be on the side in the world of those who fight against these scourges. Dear friends, as the Second World War recedes in history, we are obliged to make sure that stability throughout the world is observed." Russia is currently heavily involved in the Syrian conflict, using its air power to prop up the regime of embattled President Bashar al-Assad. The country also sees the NATO alliance between the US and European nations as a regional military aggression.

Russia is celebrating Victory Day with festivities all across the nation marking the 72nd anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. Dozens of Russian cities are staging military parades, concerts, firework displays and other festive events.

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The Immortal Regiment march was held in almost two dozen cities in the United States on Saturday, with more than 4,000 people taking part in it, member of the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots of the USA (KSORS) and President of the Russian Youth of America society, Igor Kochan, said in an interview with TASS.

"About 20 cities took part took part this year compared to seven last year. Literally every major Russian city was covered," he said. Among the cities where the march was held were New York City, Los Angeles (California), Chicago (Illinois), San Francisco (California), Miami (Florida), Washington, DC, Boston (Massachusetts) and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Kochan voiced confidence that interest in the KSORS-backed campaign had grown compared to previous years. "In all, more than 4,000 people took part in it, that’s for sure," he noted. "Those were mostly our fellow countrymen, natives of the former Soviet Union."

"It is good to see that more and more Americans take part in this event showing increased interest in it," he added. Among the cities where the event had never been held before, Kochan mentioned Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Diego, Little Rock (Arkansad), St. Petersburg and Tallahassee (both in Florida). "In some cities, American high school children worked as volunteers helping to organize the march," Kochan said. The Immortal Regiment march was held for the first time in 2012 in Siberia’s Tomsk. In 2013, some Russian, Kazakh and Ukrainian cities joined the campaign. In 2015, the event became nationwide. On May 9, 2015, when the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany was celebrated, the Immortal Regiment marched through the streets of 500 cities across the world with some 12 million people carrying photographs of their ancestors who fought in World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin joined the march in Moscow with a portrait of his father. That same year it was held for the first time in three American cities on the initiative of the Russian Youth of America society.

Putin urges world to fight terror as Russia marks 72 years since defeating Nazis during WW2

In a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Victory Day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Russia's role in the liberation of Jews as soldiers and military hardware paraded across Red Square in Moscow as the country held its annual pomp-filled celebration of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Netanyahu congratulated Putin and the Russian people on the 72nd anniversary of the Red Army's "heroic triumph" over Nazi Germany in World War II, writing of its importance in Jewish history as "the end of the systematic annihilation of European Jewry and the liberation of the remaining survivors from the concentration and death camps in Poland and Germany."

"It is hard to imagine what the world would look like today had it not been for the Russian people's incredible sacrifice. Today, millions across the globe gather to salute those brave men and women who fought to free the world of Nazi tyranny."

Netanyahu made special mention of the "hundreds of thousands of Jewish men and women who fought in the ranks of the Soviet Army," and said that veterans living in Israel would march to commemorate Victory Day.

An estimated 27 million of the former Soviet Union's soldiers and civilians were killed in World War II and the Red Army's triumph in the war is viewed as a huge source of pride in Russia.

Putin on Tuesday warned Russia could defeat any aggressors but insisted that the world come together to fight "terrorism".

"The lessons of past war force us to remain alert and the armed forces of Russia are capable of warding off any potential aggression," Putin said as he presided over the parade.

"Today life itself requires us to increase our defensive capability, but for an effective fight against terrorism, extremism, neo-Nazism and other threats it is necessary to consolidate the whole international community."

The Kremlin strongman insisted that Russia was "open for such cooperation" and that Moscow would "always be on the side of the forces of peace and with those who choose the path of equal partnership."

Under Putin, celebrations of the Soviet Union's immense sacrifice in World War II has become a key rallying point for society with authorities fiercely seeking to control the historical narrative.

"This monstrous tragedy was not prevented primarily because the criminal ideology of racial superiority was tolerated, because of the disunity of the world's leading countries," Putin said.

There "is no, there was no, and there will be no force that can conquer our people," he added.

"We will never forget that the freedom of Europe and long-awaited peace across the planet was won namely by our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers."

The Victory Day military parade is also a major chance for Putin to showcase Russia's military might as the country has poured vast sums into bolstering its forces.

In a hiccup, however, organizers said they were forced to cancel the traditional fly-by of helicopters and warplanes over Red Square due "adverse weather conditions" as heavy clouds covered Moscow.

As soldiers paraded in cities across the country, Moscow's forces at its Hmeimim air base in Syria also held a ceremony.

Russia has been pushing for the West to join forces with it in Syria to battle "terrorism" but has faced fierce criticism for backing leader Bashar al-Assad.

Sources:

RBTH

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Moscow is the capital and most populous city of Russia, with 13.2 million residents within the city limits and 17.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a Russian federal city.

Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. By broader definitions Moscow is among the world's largest cities, being the 14th largest metro area, the 18th largest agglomeration, the 15th largest urban area, and the 11th largest by population within city limits worldwide. According to Forbes 2013, Moscow has been ranked as the ninth most expensive city in the world by Mercer and has one of the world's largest urban economies, being ranked as an alpha global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is also one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth. It is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe; the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe; and the Moscow International Business Center. By its territorial expansion on July 1, 2012 southwest into the Moscow Oblast, the area of the capital more than doubled, going from 1,091 to 2,511 square kilometers (421 to 970 sq mi), and it gained an additional population of 233,000 people. Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia, making it the world's most populated inland city. The city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basil's Cathedral with its brightly colored domes. With over 40 percent of its territory covered by greenery, it is one of the greenest capitals and major cities in Europe and the world, having the largest forest in an urban area within its borders—more than any other major city—even before its expansion in 2012. The city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union and the contemporary Russian Federation. Moscow is considered the center of Russian culture, having served as the home of Russian artists, scientists and sports figures and because of the presence of museums, academic and political institutions and theaters.

Moscow is the seat of power of the Government of Russia, being the site of the Moscow Kremlin, a medieval city-fortress that is today the residence for work of the President of Russia. The Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in the city.

The city is served by a transit network, which includes four international airports, nine railway terminals, numerous trams, a monorail system and one of the deepest underground rapid transit systems in the world, the Moscow Metro, the fourth-largest in the world and largest outside of Asia in terms of passenger numbers, and the busiest in Europe. It is recognized as one of the city's landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations.

Moscow has a hemiboreal climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with long, cold (although average by Russian standards) winters usually lasting from mid-November through the end of March, and warm summers. Weather can fluctuate widely with temperatures ranging from −25 °C (−13 °F) in the city and −30 °C (−22 °F) in suburbs to above 5 °C (41 °F) in the winter, and from 10 to 35 °C (50 to 95 °F) in the summer.

The city is full of clubs, restaurants and bars. Tverskaya Street is also one of the busiest shopping streets in Moscow.

The adjoining Tretyakovsky Proyezd, also south of Tverskaya Street, in Kitai-gorod, is host to upmarket boutique stores such as Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., Armani, Prada and Bentley. Nightlife in Moscow has moved on since Soviet times and today the city has many of the world's largest nightclubs. Clubs, bars, creative spaces and restaurants-turned-into-dancefloors are flooding Moscow streets with new openings every year. The hottest area is located around the old chocolate factory, where bars, nightclubs, galleries, cafés and restaurants are placed.

Moscow is the seat of power for the Russian Federation. At the centre of the city, in the Central Administrative Okrug, is the Moscow Kremlin, which houses the home of the President of Russia as well as national governmental facilities. This includes military headquarters and the headquarters of the Federal Security Service. Moscow, like with any national capital, is also the host of all the foreign embassies and diplomats representing a multitude of nations in Russia.

Moscow is designated as one of three federal cities of Russia – the others being Saint Petersburg and Sevastopol (although the status of the latter is disputed). Among the 85 federal subjects of Russia, Moscow represents the most populated one and the second-smallest one in terms of area. Moscow is located within the central economic region, one of twelve regions within Russia with similar economic goals. The basic law of the city is the Charter of Moscow that was adopted in 1995.

Moscow has one of the largest municipal economies in Europe and it accounts more than 1/5 of Russian GDP. As of 2015, the nominal GRP in Moscow reached ₽13,5 trillion $0.22 trillion($0.6 trillion in Purchasing Power) and $18,000 per capita ($51,000 per capita in Purchasing Power).

Moscow has the lowest unemployment rate of all federal subjects of Russia, standing at just 1% in 2010, compared to the national average of 7%. The average monthly wage in the city is ₽60,000 (about $2,000), which is almost twice the national average of ₽27,000 ($900), and the highest among the federal subjects of Russia.

Moscow is the financial center of Russia and home to the country's largest banks and many of its largest companies, such as natural gas giant Gazprom. Moscow accounts for 17% of retail sales in Russia and for 13% of all construction activity in the country. Since the 1998 Russian financial crisis, business sectors in Moscow have shown exponential rates of growth. Many new business centers and office buildings have been built in recent years, but Moscow still experiences shortages in office space. As a result, many former industrial and research facilities are being reconstructed to become suitable for office use. Overall, economic stability has improved in recent years; nonetheless, crime and corruption continue still hinder business development. World Trade Center in Moscow.

The Cherkizovskiy marketplace was the largest marketplace in Europe, with a daily turnover of about thirty million dollars and about ten thousand venders from different countries (including China, Turkey, Azerbaijan and India). It was administratively divided into twelve parts and covers a wide sector of the city. Since July 2009 it has been closed.

In 2008, Moscow had 74 billionaires with an average wealth of $5.9 billion, which placed it above New York's 71 billionaires. However, as of 2009, there were 27 billionaires in Moscow compared with New York's 55 billionaires. Overall, Russia lost 52 billionaires during the recession. Topping the list of Russia's billionaires in 2009 is Mikhail Prokhorov with $9.5 billion, ahead of the more famous Roman Abramovich with $8.5 billion, in 2nd place. Prokhorov's holding company, "ОНЭКСИМ" (ONÈKSIM) group, owns huge assets in hydrogen energy, nanotechnology, traditional energy, precious metals sector, while Abramovich, since selling his oil company Sibneft to Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom in 2005, has bought up steel and mining assets. He also owns Chelsea F.C.. Russia's richest woman remains Yelena Baturina, the 50-year-old second wife of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Oleg Deripaska, the 1st on this list in 2008 with $28 billion, was only 10th in 2009 with $3.5 billion. Based on Forbes' 2011 list of the world's billionaires, Moscow is the city with the most billionaires in the world, with 79 from 115 in all of Russia.

English-language media include The Moscow Times and Moscow News, which are, respectively, the largest and oldest English-language weekly newspapers in all of Russia. Kommersant, Vedomosti and Novaya Gazeta are Russian-language media headquartered in Moscow. Kommersant and Vedomosti are among the country's leading and oldest Russian-language business newspapers. Other media in Moscow include the Echo of Moscow, the first Soviet and Russian private news radio and information agency, and NTV, one of the first privately owned Russian television stations. The total number of radio stations in Moscow in the FM band is near 50.

Source: Wikipedia

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Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject (a federal city). Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 27, 1703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad and in 1991 back to Saint Petersburg. Between 1713 and 1728 and in 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow.

Saint Petersburg is one of the modern cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. Many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks, and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg.

The area of Saint Petersburg city proper is 605.8 square kilometers (233.9 sq mi). The area of the federal subject is 1,439 square kilometers (556 sq mi), which contains Saint Petersburg proper (consisting of eighty-one municipal okrugs), nine municipal towns – (Kolpino, Krasnoye Selo, Kronstadt, Lomonosov, Pavlovsk, Petergof, Pushkin, Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk) – and twenty-one municipal settlements.

Petersburg is situated on the middle taiga lowlands along the shores of the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland, and islands of the river delta. The largest are Vasilyevsky Island (besides the artificial island between Obvodny canal and Fontanka, and Kotlin in the Neva Bay), Petrogradsky, Dekabristov and Krestovsky. The latter together with Yelagin and Kamenny Island are covered mostly by parks. The Karelian Isthmus, North of the city, is a popular resort area. In the south Saint Petersburg crosses the Baltic-Ladoga Klint and meets the Izhora Plateau.

The elevation of Saint Petersburg ranges from the sea level to its highest point of 175.9 meters (577 ft) at the Orekhovaya Hill in the Duderhof Heights in the south. Part of the city's territory west of Liteyny Prospekt is no higher than 4 meters (13 ft) above sea level, and has suffered from numerous floods. Floods in Saint Petersburg are triggered by a long wave in the Baltic Sea, caused by meteorological conditions, winds and shallowness of the Neva Bay. The four most disastrous floods occurred in 1824 (421 centimeters or 166 inches above sea level, during which over three hundred buildings were destroyed), 1924 380 centimeters or 150 inches, 1777 321 centimeters or 126 inches, 1955 293 centimeters or 115 inches, and 1975 281 centimeters or 111 inches. To prevent floods, the Saint Petersburg Dam has been constructed.

Since the 18th century the terrain in the city has been raised artificially, at some places by more than 4 meters (13 ft), making mergers of several islands, and changing the hydrology of the city. Besides the Neva and its tributaries, other important rivers of the federal subject of Saint Petersburg are Sestra, Okhta and Izhora. The largest lake is Sestroretsky Razliv in the north, followed by Lakhtinsky Razliv, Suzdal Lakes and other smaller lakes.

Due to location at ca. 60° N latitude the day length in Petersburg varies across seasons, ranging from 5 hours 53 minutes to 18 hours 50 minutes. A period from mid-May to mid-July when twilight may last all night is called the white nights.

Under the Köppen climate classification, Saint Petersburg is classified as Dfb, a humid continental climate. Distinct moderating influence of the Baltic Sea cyclones result in warm, humid and short summers and long, moderately cold wet winters. Climate of Saint Petersburg is close to the climate of Helsinki, although colder in winter and warmer in summer because of its more eastern location.

Saint Petersburg is home to more than two hundred museums, many of them hosted in historic buildings. The largest of the museums is the Hermitage Museum, featuring interiors of the former imperial residence and a vast collection of art. The Russian Museum is a large museum devoted specifically to Russian fine art. The apartments of some famous Petersburgers, including Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Feodor Chaliapin, Alexander Blok, Vladimir Nabokov, Anna Akhmatova, Mikhail Zoshchenko, Joseph Brodsky, as well as some palace and park ensembles of the southern suburbs and notable architectural monuments such as St. Isaac's Cathedral, have also been turned into public museums.

The Kunstkamera, with its collection established in 1714 by Peter the Great to collect curiosities from all over the world, is sometimes considered the first museum in Russia, which has evolved into the present-day Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. The Russian Ethnography Museum, which has been split from the Russian Museum, is devoted to the cultures of the people of Russia, the former Soviet Union and Russian Empire.

A number of museums provide insight into the Soviet history of Saint Petersburg, including the Museum of the Blockade, which describes the Siege of Leningrad and the Museum of Political History, which explains many authoritarian features of the U.S.S.R. .

Other notable museums include the Central Naval Museum, and Zoological Museum, Central Soil Museum, the Railway Museum, Suvorov Museum, Museum of the Siege of Leningrad, Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, the largest non-governmental Museum of contemporary art in Russia, Saint Petersburg Museum of History in the Peter and Paul Fortress and Artillery Museum, which includes not only artillery items, but also a huge collection of other military equipment, uniforms and decorations.

Saint Petersburg is home to numerous parks and gardens, some of the most famous of which are situated in the southern suburbs, including one of the largest English gardens in Europe in Pavlovsk. Sosnovka is the largest park within the limits of the city proper, occupying 240 ha. The Summer Garden is the oldest one, dating back to the early 18th century and designed in the regular style. It is situated on the southern bank of the Neva at the head of the Fontanka and is famous for its cast iron railing and marble sculptures.

Among other notable parks are the Maritime Victory Park on Krestovsky Island and the Moscow Victory Park in the south, both commemorating the victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, as well as the Central Park of Culture and Leisure occupying Yelagin Island and the Tauride Garden around the Tauride Palace. The most common trees grown in the parks are the English oak, Norway maple, green ash, silver birch, Siberian Larch, blue spruce, crack willow, limes, and poplars. Important dendrological collections dating back to the 19th century are hosted by the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden and the Park of the Forestry Academy.

In order to commemorate 300 years anniversary of Saint Petersburg a new park was laid out. The park is situated in the north western part of the city. The construction was started in 1995. It is planned to connect the park with the pedestrian bridge to the territory of Lakhta Center's recreation areas. In the park 300 trees of valuable sorts, 300 decorative apple-trees, 70 limes. 300 other trees and bushes were planted. These trees were presented to Saint Petersburg by non-commercial and educational organizations of the city, its sister-cities, city of Helsinki, heads of other regions of Russia, German Savings Bank and other people and organizations.

Source: Wikipedia

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Novosibirsk is the third-most populous city in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is the most populous city in Asian Russia, with a population of 1,473,754 as of the 2010 Census. It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District.

The city is located in the southwestern part of Siberia on the banks of the Ob River adjacent to the Ob River Valley, near the large water reservoir formed by the dam of the Novosibirsk Hydro Power Plant. It is split into ten districts and occupies an area of 502.1 square kilometers (193.9 sq mi).

The best-known trees native to Novosibirsk are birch, pine, and aspen. Some mountain ash, hawthorn, spruce, and fir are also present. European species of apple, ash, elm, linden, and oak have been successfully introduced.

Large mammals native to the Novosibirsk area include the brown bear, reindeer, moose (elk), wolf and fox. Also present are wolverine, ermine, marten, weasel, and polecat. The predators among them are supported by populations of beaver, hare, mouse, hamster, vole, shrew, squirrel, and chipmunk. More than 350 species of birds have been recorded in the area. On the other hand, only a few cold-blooded vertebrate species live on land, but they include the venomous adder and the swift grass snake. Perch and carp are prominent among the fish, of which there are more than thirty species. The carp often host a dangerous parasite, the liver fluke. Ticks in the area are frequent carriers of viral encephalitis.

The weather in Novosibirsk is like the rest of typical Siberia, with a clear sky and far below freezing winter temperatures. The reason for these temperatures is the absence of nearby ocean, the Ural Mountains, barring Atlantic air masses from reaching Siberia, and the lack of tall mountains at the north of Novosibirsk, that could have held back freezing Arctic winds. In fact, Novosibirsk is the second farthest substantially populated city from the ocean, the first being Ürümqi in China.

Novosibirsk is home to Russia's most powerful shortwave relay station east of the Ural mountains. This relay station can reach most of South Asia, the Middle East, and China. The Magadan and Vladivostok relay stations when operated in conjunction with Novosibirsk can guarantee that the Voice of Russia or any other broadcaster renting time at Novosibirsk is heard in the intended target area.

Novosibirsk is a large industrial center. The industrial complex consists of 214 large and average sized industrial enterprises. These produce more than two-thirds of all industrial output of the Novosibirsk region. Leading industries are airspace (Chkalov's Novosibirsk Aircraft Plant), nuclear fuel (Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant), turbo- and hydroelectric generators (NPO ELSIB), textile machinery (Textilmach), agriculture machinery (NPO "Sibselmash"), electronics components and devices production (Novosibirsk Factory and Design Bureau of Semiconductor Devices, OXID Novosibirsk Plant of Radio components), metallurgy and metal working (Kuzmina's Novosibirsk Metallurgical Plant, Novosibirsk Tin Plant" OJSC, and JSC "Plant of Rare Metals).

According to the television station RBC Novosibirsk took third place in 2008 in the list of the cities of Russia most attractive to business (in 2007 it was placed thirteenth).

Source: Wikipedia

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Yekaterinburg alternatively romanised as Ekaterinburg, is the fourth-largest city in Russia and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast, located in the middle of the Eurasian continent, on the border of Europe and Asia. At the 2010 Census, it had a population of 1,349,772.

Yekaterinburg is the main industrial and cultural centre of the Ural Federal District. Between 1924 and 1991, the city was named Sverdlovsk after the Communist party leader Yakov Sverdlov.

Yekaterinburg is situated on the border of Europe and Asia, 1,667 kilometers (1,036 mi) east of Moscow, on the eastern side of the Ural Mountains on the Iset River. It is surrounded by wooded hills, partially cultivated for agricultural purposes, and small lakes. The city features a humid continental climate (Dfb) under the Köppen climate classification. The winter lasts for about six months—from October until the middle of April—and the temperature may fall to −45 °C (−49 °F), though rarely lower than −20 °C (−4 °F) to −25 °C (−13 °F). Summer in the Urals is short, with warm weather for only 65–70 days and an average temperature of +18 °C (64 °F). The city's location "behind" the mountain range and highly variable winds mean that the weather is quite changeable from one day to the next and from year to year.

The main areas of the city's industry are machinery, metal processing, and ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. Recently the commercial economy has improved, and business centres like Yekaterinburg-City have been planned. The "Vysotsky" is the tallest skyscraper in Russia outside of Moscow. Ural Airlines has its head office in Yekaterinburg.

The Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and numerous other scientific research institutes and establishments are in Yekaterinburg. With its 16 state-owned universities and educational academies, as well as a number of private higher education institutions, Yekaterinburg is considered the leading educational and scientific centre of the Urals. These institutions include the Ural Federal University (comprising Ural State University and Ural State Technical University), Ural State Pedagogical University, Ural State University of Forestry, Ural State Mining University, Ural State University of Railway Transport, Russian State Vocational Pedagogics University, Ural State University of Economics, Military Institute of Artillery, Ural State Conservatory, Ural State Agricultural Academy, Ural State Law Academy, Ural State Medical University, Ural State Academy of Performing Arts, Ural Academy of Public Service, Institute of International Relations, and the Urals Academy of Architecture.

Source: Wikipedia

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Nizhny Novgorod is a city in the administrative center of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Volga Federal District in Russia. From 1932 to 1990, it was known as Gorky, after the writer Maxim Gorky, who was born there. The city is an important economic, transportation, scientific, educational and cultural center in Russia and the vast Volga-Vyatka economic region, and is the main center of river tourism in Russia. In the historical part of the city there are a large number of universities, theaters, museums and churches. Nizhny Novgorod is located about 400 km east of Moscow, where the Oka empties into the Volga. Population: 1,250,619 (2010 Census); 1,311,252 (2002 Census); 1,438,133 (1989 Census).

The city was founded in 1221 by Prince Yuri II of Vladimir. In 1612 Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky organized an army for the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. In 1817 Nizhny Novgorod became a great trade center of the Russian Empire. In 1896 at a fair, an All-Russia Exhibition was organized.

During the Soviet period, the city turned into an important industrial center. In particular, the Gorky Automobile Plant was constructed in this period. Then the city was given the nickname "Russian Detroit". During the World War II Gorky became the biggest provider of military equipment to the front. Due to this, the Luftwaffe constantly bombed the city from the air. The majority of the German bombs fell in the area of the Gorky Automobile Plant. Although almost all the production sites of plant were completely destroyed, the citizens of Gorky reconstructed the factory after 100 days.

After the war, Gorky became a "closed city" and remained one until after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990. At that time the city was renamed Nizhny Novgorod once again.

In 1985 the metro was opened. In 2016 Vladimir Putin opened the new 70th Anniversary of Victory Plant which is part of the Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defence Corporation.

The Kremlin – the main center of the city – contains the main government agencies of the city and the Volga Federal District.

The demonym for a Nizhny Novgorod resident is "нижегородец" (nizhegorodets) for male or "нижегородка" (nizhegorodka) for female, rendered in English as Nizhegorodian. And never - Novgorodian (demonym for a Veliky Novgorod), because it is considered disrespectful to the citizens.

Originally the name was just Novgorod ("Newtown"), but to distinguish it from the other, older and well-known Novgorod to the west, the city was commonly called "Novgorod of the Lower lands". This land was named "lower" because it is situated downstream, especially from the point of view of other Russian cities such as Moscow, Vladimir and Murom. Later it was transformed into the contemporary name of the city that literally means "Lower Newtown".

In 1817, the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, one of the liveliest in the world, was transferred to Nizhny Novgorod, and started to attract millions of visitors annually. By the mid-19th century, the city was firmly established as the trade capital of the Russian Empire. The world's first radio receiver by engineer Alexander Popov and the world's first hyperboloid tower and lattice shell-coverings by engineer Vladimir Shukhov were demonstrated at the All-Russia industrial and art exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896. According to official Imperial Russian statistics the population of Nizhny Novgorod as of 14 January 1913 was 97,000.

The largest industrial enterprise was the Sormovo Iron Works which was connected by the company's own railway to Moscow station in the upper part of Nizhny Novgorod. The private Moscow to Kazan Railway Company's station was in the lower part of the city. Other industries gradually developed, and by the start of the 20th century the city was also a first-rank industrial hub. Henry Ford helped build a large truck and tractor plant (GAZ) in the late 1920s, sending engineers and mechanics, including future labour leader Walter Reuther.

The climate in the region is continental, specifically humid continental (Dfb), and it is similar to the climate in Moscow, although colder in winter, which lasts from late November until late March with a permanent snow cover. Average temperatures range from +19 °C (66 °F) in July to −9 °C (16 °F) in January.

A maximum temperature of +38.2 °C (100.8 °F) was recorded during the 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves.

Nizhny Novgorod is one of the centers of the IT Industry in Russia. It ranks among the leading Russian cities in terms of the quantity of software R&D providers. Intel has a big software R&D center with more than 500 engineers in the city, as well as a major datacenter. In Nizhny Novgorod there is also a number of offshore outsourcing software developers, including Bell Integrator, Itseez, Tecom, Luximax Systems Ltd., MERA Networks, RealEast Networks, Auriga, SoftDrom, and Teleca, and many other smaller companies specializing in the delivery of services to telecommunication vendors.

There are twenty-five scientific R&D institutions focusing on telecommunications, radio technology, theoretical and applied physics, and thirty-three higher educational institutions, among them are Nizhny Novgorod State University, Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University, Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy, as well as Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Information Technologies, that focuses on information technologies, software development, system administration, telecommunications, cellular networks, Internet technologies, and IT management.

Nizhny Novgorod has also been chosen as one of four sites for building an IT-oriented technology park—a special zone that has an established infrastructure and enjoys a favorable tax and customs policy.

Much of the city downtown is built in the Russian Revival and Stalin Empire styles. The dominating feature of the city skyline is the grand Kremlin (1500–1511), with its red-brick towers. After Bolshevik devastation, the only ancient edifice left within the kremlin walls is the tent-like Archangel Cathedral (1624–31), first built in stone in the 13th century.

There are more than six hundred unique historic, architectural, and cultural monuments in the city.

There are about two hundred municipal and regional art and cultural institutions within Nizhny Novgorod. Among these institutions there are eight theaters, five concert halls, ninety-seven libraries (with branches), seventeen movie theaters (including five movie theaters for children), twenty-five institutions of children optional education, eight museums (sixteen including branches), and seven parks.

Source: Wikipedia

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Samara is the sixth largest city in Russia and the administrative center of Samara Oblast. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers on the east bank of the Volga. The Volga acts as the city's western boundary; across the river are the Zhiguli Mountains, after which the local beer (Zhigulyovskoye) is named. The northern boundary is formed by the Sokolyi Hills and by the steppes in the south and east. The land within the city boundaries covers 46,597 hectares (115,140 acres). Population: 1,164,685 (2010 Census); 1,157,880 (2002 Census); 1,254,460 (1989 Census). The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast contains a population of over three million.

Formerly a closed city, Samara is now a large and important social, political, economic, industrial, and cultural centre in European Russia and hosted the European Union—Russia Summit in May 2007. It has a continental climate characterised by hot summers and cold winters. The life of Samara's citizens has always been intrinsically linked to the Volga River, which has not only served as the main commercial thoroughfare of Russia throughout several centuries, but also has great visual appeal. Samara's riverfront is considered one of the favourite recreation places both for local citizens and tourists. After the Soviet novelist Vasily Aksyonov visited Samara, he remarked: "I am not sure where in the West one can find such a long and beautiful embankment.

Samara is the administrative center of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Volzhsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with two rural localities, incorporated separately as the city of oblast significance of Samara—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Samara is incorporated as Samara Urban Okrug. In April 2015, Samara's nine city districts were granted municipal status.

Samara is a leading industrial center in the Volga region and is among the top ten Russian cities in terms of national income and industrial production volume. Samara is known for the production of aerospace launch vehicles, satellites and various space services (Progress State Research and Production Rocket Space Center), engines (Kuznetsov Design Bureau) and cables (Volgacable, Samara Cable Company), aircraft (Aviakor) and rolled aluminum, block-module power stations; refining, chemical and cryogenic products; gas-pumping units; bearings of different sizes, drilling bits; automated electrical equipment; airfield equipment (Start plant); truck-mounted cranes; construction materials; chocolates made by the Russia Chocolate Factory; Rodnik vodka; Vektor vodka; Zhiguli beer; food processing and light industrial products.

Samara has an opera and ballet theater, a philharmonic orchestra hall, and five drama theaters. There is a museum of natural history and local history studies, a city art museum, and a number of movie theaters. As a dedication to the city's contribution to the development of aerospace industry there is a museum Cosmic Samara and an exhibition of aerospace history in Samara State Aerospace University. In the 2000s there has also occurred a large number of art galleries, dedicated to contemporary art. There is a zoo and a circus in the city.

Samara has 188 schools of general education, lyceums, high schools, and the college of continuous education (from elementary up to higher education) known as Nayanova University existing under the aegis of International Parliament for Security and Peace attached to UNO. Samara is a major educational and scientific center of the Volga area. Twelve public and 13 commercial institutions of higher education as well as 26 colleges.

Samara is the home of Samara State Aerospace University (SSAU), one of Russia's leading engineering and technical institutions. SSAU faculty and graduates have played a significant role in Russia's space program since its conception. Samara is also the hometown of Samara State University, a very respected higher-education institution in European Russia with competitive programs in Law, Sociology, and English Philology. Scientific research is also carried out in Samara. The Samara Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences incorporates the Samara branch of the Physical Institute, Theoretical Engineering Institute and Image Processing Systems Institute. Major research institutions operate in the city. Samara State Technical University (SamGTU) was founded in 1914. There are 11 faculties with over 20,000 students (2009) and 1,800 faculty members. On campus, there are four dormitory and ten study buildings. Samara State Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities was founded in 1911 as Samara Teachers Institute. Currently, the academy offers 42 various specialization in its 12 faculties.

Source: Wikipedia

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Omsk is a city and the administrative center of Omsk Oblast, Russia, located in southwestern Siberia 2,236 kilometers (1,389 mi) from Moscow. With a population of 1,154,116, it is Russia's second-largest city east of the Ural Mountains after Novosibirsk, and seventh by size nationally.

During the Imperial era, Omsk was the seat of the Governor General of Western Siberia, and later of the Governor General of the Steppes. For a brief period during the Russian Civil War in 1918–1920, it served as the capital of the anti-Bolshevik Russian State and held the imperial gold reserves.

Omsk is the administrative center of the Siberian Cossack Host. It also serves as the see of the bishop of Omsk and Tara, as well as the administrative seat of the Imam of Siberia.

Omsk stretches along the banks of the north-flowing Irtysh at its confluence with the smaller Om River. The city has an elevation of 87 meters (285 ft) above mean sea level at its highest point.

Omsk is an important railroad hub, and is the junction point for the northern and southern branches of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The city also serves as a major hub for the regional highway network. River-port facilities handle both passengers and freight, giving the city access to navigating the extensive waterways of the Irtysh and Ob River. The waterways connect Omsk with the coal and mineral-mining towns further up the river in Kazakhstan, as well as with the oil, natural gas and lumber operations of northern Siberia. Omsk is served by the Tsentralny Airport, which offers access to domestic and international (primarily, German and Kazakh) destinations, making the city an important aviation hub for Siberia and the Russian Far East.

The climate is dry and continental, characterized by dramatic swings of weather. Average daily temperatures, taken over the past three decades, are +20 °C (68 °F) for July and −17 °C (1 °F) for January, although temperatures can reach +40 °C (104 °F) in the summer and drop to −45 °C (−49 °F) in the winter. On average, Omsk sees over 300 sunny days a year. The average annual precipitation is 415 millimeters.

The architectural centerpiece of the city is an ensemble of buildings along Lyubinsky Avenue/Lenina Street, anchored by the former Gostiny Dvor, and flanked by two chapels. The area is an eclectic mix of architectural styles, dominated by Art-Nouveau, Neoclassical and Second Empire.

Closer to the confluence of the Om and the Irtysh are the few surviving sombre buildings of the 18th-century fortress. The largest and most opulent church in the city is the Dormition Cathedral, a five-domed edifice in the Russian Revival style, consecrated in 1896, demolished by the Soviets, and restored in the early first decade of the 21st century.

Another area of interest is Nikolsky Avenue-Krasnykh Zor Street, where a line of merchants' wooden houses still stands. The street leads to the Neoclassical cathedral of St. Nicholas, which was commissioned by the Cossacks, designed by Vasily Stasov and consecrated in 1840. It contains various relics of the Siberian Cossacks.

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Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,535, it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. The Kazan Kremlin is a World Heritage Site.

In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of Russia. In 2009 it was chosen as the "Sports capital of Russia" and it still is referred to as such. The city hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade, 2014 World Fencing Championships, the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, and is one of the host cities for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

In 2015, Kazan was visited by 2.1 million tourists, which is a 20% increase in comparison with 2014. The Kazan Kremlin was visited by 1.5 million tourists in 2015 and hotel and entertainment complex with aquapark called "Kazan Riviera" was visited by 1 million tourists.

Kazan is one of the largest industrial and financial centers of Russia, and a leading city of the Volga economic region in construction and accumulated investment. City's Gross Regional Product had reached 380 billion rubles in 2011. Total banking capital of Kazan banks is third in Russia. The main industries of the city are: mechanical engineering, chemical, petrochemical, light and food industries. An innovative economy is represented by the largest IT-park in Russia which is one of the largest of its kind among Eastern Europe science parks. Kazan ranks 174th (highest in Russia) in Mercer’s Worldwide Quality of Living Survey.

Kazan has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with long, cold winters (colder than Moscow), and warm, often dry summers. As a result of its far inland position, summers are extremely warm for its latitude and winters are quite cold compared to areas further west in Europe.

The warmest month is July with daily mean temperature near 20.2 °C (68.4 °F), and the coldest month is January, with a daily mean of −10.4 °C (13.3 °F).

The city set its two hottest days on record during the 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves. Temperatures reached +39 °C (102 °F) in the hottest days during that time.

Kazan is a major scientific centre in Russia. Kazan formed a big number of scientific areas and schools (mathematical, chemical, medical, linguistic, geological, geobotanical, etc.). Scientific discoveries are a subject of special pride, including: the creation of non-Euclidean geometry (Nikolai Lobachevsky), the discovery of the chemical element ruthenium (Claus), the theory about the structure of organic compounds (Aleksandr Butlerov), the discovery of the electron paramagnetic resonance (Yevgeny Zavoisky) and acoustic paramagnetic resonance (Altshuler) and many others.

1814 year is considered to be an official year of the beginning of scientific medicine in Kazan. Exactly at that time University Hospital was open. In 1930 Faculty of Medicine is separated from the Kazan Federal University and holds a lot of specialized hospitals under its patronage. Nowadays Kazan becomes the largest public health center in Russia. 120 medical organisations are operated in the city. Kazan Interregional clinical-diagnostic center is the largest in Volga region in cardiovascular and neurological diseases. The largest hospital in Kazan is Republican Clinical Hospital.

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Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northeast of the oblast, 210 kilometers (130 mi) south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River, on the border of Europe and Asia. Population: 1,130,132 (2010 Census); 1,077,174 (2002 Census); 1,141,777 (1989 Census).

Chelyabinsk is located east of the Ural Mountains, 199 km south of Yekaterinburg. Its elevation is 200–250 meters.

The city is bisected by the river Miass which is regarded as the border between the Urals and Siberia. This is reflected in the geology of the place, with low granite hills of the Urals on the western side and lower sedimentary rock of the West Siberian Plain on the eastern side.

The "Leningrad bridge" connects the two sides, so it is called the "bridge of the Urals to Siberia". Chelyabinsk itself is therefore also known as "The Gateway to Siberia".

Like Rome, Constantinople, and Moscow, Chelyabinsk is said to be located on seven hills.

The architecture of the Chelyabinsk is determined by the change of historical eras in the development of Russia. Before the revolution of 1917 the city was a trading centre, with numerous merchant buildings in style eclecticism and modern with elements Russian Revival architecture, they are stored on a pedestrian street Chelyabinsk “Kirovka”. From the late '20s industrialization started. The construction of large plants was accompanied by the construction of a brand new residential and public buildings in the style of constructivism. Entire neighborhoods built in the style of constructivism can be seen in the area of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant.

Since the late '30s in the city came a new era associated with construction of monumental buildings in the Stalinist architecture. It is in this style is constructed in substantially the center of the city of Chelyabinsk and central avenue.

With 60 years in the city was conducted intensive housing construction tower blocks. During this period the city had reached a population of one million people, and on his map there is such a large residential area as the "Severo-Zapad" (English: North-West). Since the '90s, market reforms, the city began an intensive construction of office buildings for business and major shopping malls in style postmodern architecture and high-tech.

The city has several libraries, including Chelyabinsk Regional Universal Scientific Library, with more than 2 million books, including more than 12,000 rare books and monuments (17th to 19th centuries), is the largest public library in the Chelyabinsk oblast. Chelyabinsk State Academic Drama Theatre named Nahum Orlov

Chelyabinsk is home to several popular theaters: Chelyabinsk State Academic Drama Theatre named Nahum Orlov, Chelyabinsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named Glinka, Chelyabinsk State Chamber Theater Drama, Chelyabinsk State Puppet Theater, Chelyabinsk State Youth Theatre, Theater "Mannequin", Chelyabinsk New Arts Theatre, Chelyabinsk Contemporary Dance Theatre.

There are nine museums in Chelyabinsk. Chelyabinsk regional museum was founded in 1913, and holds about 300 thousand exhibits. There are expositions of the ancient settlement Arkaim age 3rd to 2nd millennium BC relating to the "Land of Cities", the largest fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteor, weighing 570 kg, famous decorated edged weapons of the 19th and 20th centuries, made by Zlatoust arms factory, exhibits Kasli artistic cast iron and much more. Chelyabinsk Region Picture Gallery has more than 11,000 works. Meeting up collections of art in Europe and the East (International Art), the national art of the Middle Ages, modern and contemporary, modern art. The peculiarity of the meeting are collections of icons (16th to 20th centuries), early printed books and manuscripts. The museum of railway equipment of the South Ural railway presented more than 30 exhibits of vehicles used on the rail after it in Chelyabinsk in 1892.

Museum of military equipment in the garden of Victory was founded in 2007. It is 16 eksponantov, including T-34, IS-3 tanks and multiple rocket launchers "Katyusha" issued in Chelyabinsk during World War II.

In addition, the city has the Chelyabinsk regional geological museum, museum of military glory of labor and the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, Museum postal service Chelyabinsk region, entertaining science museum "Eksperimentus".

Chelyabinsk Zoo - Zoological Park, located in the central region of Chelyabinsk. On an area of 30 hectares there are more than 110 species, of which more than 80 listed in the Red List. Zoo participates in international programs for the conservation of endangered species, including Amur (Siberian) tigers, Far Eastern leopards and Polar bears. The zoo regular sightseeing tours, lectures, exhibitions and celebrations. City also has a circus building.

In Chelyabinsk has Concert Hall. Prokofiev Hall of organ and chamber music with organ-known German company "Hermann Eule". The tool consists of 2504 pipes, 37 registers, three manuals and pedal keyboard. His sound is a rare gentleness and generosity sound basic votes. Chelyabinsk body many artists considered to be one of the best in Russia and Europe.

In the city of Chelyabinsk are several churches built in the 19th to 21st centuries.

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Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative center of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, 32 kilometers (20 mi) from the Sea of Azov. The southwestern suburbs of the city abut the Don River delta. Population: 1,089,261 (2010 Census); 1,068,267 (2002 Census); 1,019,305 (1989 Census).

Rostov-on-Don lies in a humid continental climate (Dfa). The winter is moderately cold, with an average February temperature of −3.1 °C (26.4 °F). The lowest recorded temperature of −31.9 °C (−25.4 °F) occurred in January 1940. The summers are warm and sunny. July temperatures average +23.3 °C (73.9 °F). The city's highest recorded temperature of +40.1 °C (104.2 °F) was reported on 1 August 2010. The mean annual precipitation is 643 millimeters (25.3 in), the average wind speed is 2.7 m/s, and the average air humidity is 72%.

With the construction of the Volga-Don Shipping Canal in 1952, Rostov-on-Don became a port of five seas: the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea, the White Sea, and the Baltic Sea.

In modern times, Rostov-on-Don has experienced economic growth. Numerous start-up companies have established headquarters in the city, the median income is increasing, and the city is being transformed into a modern, industrial and technology-rich hub. For instance, Rostov-on-Don is a center for helicopter and farm machinery manufacturing. The "Tebodin" engineering company opened its fourth office in Rostov-on-Don in June 2010.

The most conspicuous architectural feature of the central part of the city is the Cathedral of Virgin's Nativity (1860–1887), designed by Konstantin Thon.

Other facilities include seven stadiums, a Palace of Sports, a circus, a zoo botanical gardens and parks. Rostov-on-Don hosts the North Caucasian Science Center and research institutes. The city is also home to a Starbucks coffee chain, a true rarity in this geographical area of Russia.

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Oslo is the capital and the most populous city in Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. Founded in the year 1040, and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada, the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814 and with Sweden from 1814 to 1905 reduced its influence. After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, the city was moved closer to Akershus Fortress during the reign of Christian IV of Denmark and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality (formannskapsdistrikt) on 1 January 1838. Following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, at which time its original Norwegian name was restored.

Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers. Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.

Oslo is considered a global city and ranked "Beta World City" in studies carried out by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008. It was ranked number one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report by fDi magazine. A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo as the second most expensive city in the world for living expenses after Tokyo. In 2013 Oslo tied with the Australian city of Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)'s Worldwide Cost of Living study.

As of January 1, 2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, while the population of the city's urban area was 942,084. The metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1.71 million. The population was during the early 2000 increasing at record rates, making it the fastest growing major city in Europe at the time. This growth stems for the most part from international immigration and related high birth rates, but also from intra-national migration. The immigrant population in the city is growing somewhat faster than the Norwegian population, and in the city proper this is now more than 25% of the total.

Oslo occupies an arc of land at the northernmost end of the Oslofjord. The fjord, which is nearly bisected by the Nesodden peninsula opposite Oslo, lies to the south; in all other directions Oslo is surrounded by green hills and mountains. There are 40 islands within the city limits, the largest being Malmøya (0.56 km2 or 0.22 sq mi), and scores more around the Oslofjord. Oslo has 343 lakes, the largest being Maridalsvannet (3.91 km2 or 1.51 sq mi). This is also a main source of drinking water for large parts of Oslo.

Although Eastern Norway has a number of rivers, none of these flow into the ocean at Oslo. Instead Oslo has two smaller rivers: Akerselva (draining Maridalsvannet, which flows into the fjord in Bjørvika), and Alna. The waterfalls in Akerselva gave power to some of the first modern industry of Norway in the 1840s. Later in the century, the river became the symbol of the stable and consistent economic and social divide of the city into an East End and a West End; the labourers' neighbourhoods lie on both sides of the river, and the divide in reality follows Uelands street a bit further west. River Alna flows through Groruddalen, Oslo's major suburb and industrial area. The highest point is Kirkeberget, at 629 metres (2,064 ft). Although the city's population is small compared to most European capitals, it occupies an unusually large land area, of which two-thirds are protected areas of forests, hills and lakes. Its boundaries encompass many parks and open areas, giving it an airy and green appearance.

Oslo is the capital of Norway, and as such is the seat of Norway's national government. Most government offices, including that of the Prime Minister, are gathered at Regjeringskvartalet, a cluster of buildings close to the national Parliament, the Storting.

Constituting both a municipality and a county of Norway, the city of Oslo is represented in the Storting by nineteen members of parliament. The Labour Party and the Conservative Party have six each, the Progress Party and the Liberals have two each ; the Socialist Left Party, the Christian Democrats and the Green Party have one each.

The combined municipality and county of Oslo has had a parliamentary system of government since 1986. The supreme authority of the city is the City Council (Bystyret), which currently has 59 seats. Representatives are popularly elected every four years. The City Council has five standing committees, each having its own areas of responsibility. The largest parties in the City Council after the 2015-elections are the Labour Party and the Conservatives, with 20 and 19 representatives respectively.

Oslo has a large and varied number of cultural attractions, which include several buildings containing artwork from Edvard Munch and various other international artists but also several Norwegian artists. Several world-famous writers have either lived or been born in Oslo. Examples are Knut Hamsun and Henrik Ibsen. The government has recently invested large amounts of money in cultural installations, facilities, buildings and festivals in the City of Oslo. Bygdøy, outside the city centre is the centre for history and the Norwegian Vikings' history. The area contains a large number of parks and seasites and many museums. Examples are the Fram Museum, Vikingskiphuset and the Kon-Tiki Museum. Oslo hosts the annual Oslo Freedom Forum, a conference described by The Economist as "on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum." Oslo is also known for giving out the Nobel Peace Prize every year.

The newspapers Aftenposten, Dagbladet, Verdens Gang, Dagens Næringsliv, Finansavisen, Dagsavisen, Morgenbladet, Vårt Land, Nationen and Klassekampen are published in Oslo. The main office of the national broadcasting company NRK is located at Marienlyst in Oslo, near Majorstuen, and NRK also has regional services via both radio and television. TVNorge (TVNorway) is also located in Oslo, while TV 2 (based in Bergen) and TV3 (based in London) operate branch offices in central Oslo. There is also a variety of specialty publications and smaller media companies. A number of magazines are produced in Oslo. The two dominant companies are Aller Media and Hjemmet Mortensen AB.

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Bergen, historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Hordaland on the west coast of Norway. At the end of the first quarter of 2016, the municipality's population was 278,121, and the Bergen metropolitan region has about 420,000 inhabitants. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers 465 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and is on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen. The city centre and northern neighbourhoods are on Byfjorden, "the city fjord", and the city is surrounded by mountains; Bergen is known as the city of seven mountains. Many of the extra-municipal suburbs are on islands. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland and consists of eight boroughs: Arna, Bergenhus, Fana, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Ytrebygda, Årstad and Åsane.

Trading in Bergen may have started as early as the 1020s. According to tradition, the city was founded in 1070 by king Olav Kyrre; its name was Bjørgvin, "the green meadow among the mountains". It served as Norway's capital in the 13th century, and from the end of the 13th century became a bureau city of the Hanseatic League. Until 1789, Bergen enjoyed exclusive rights to mediate trade between Northern Norway and abroad and it was the largest city in Norway until the 1830s when it was surpassed by the capital, Oslo. What remains of the quays, Bryggen, is a World Heritage Site. The city was hit by numerous fires over the years. The "Bergen School of Meteorology" was developed at the Geophysical Institute beginning in 1917, the Norwegian School of Economics was founded in 1936, and the University of Bergen in 1946. From 1831 to 1972, Bergen was its own county. In 1972 the municipality absorbed four surrounding municipalities and became a part of Hordaland county.

The city is an international centre for aquaculture, shipping, offshore petroleum industry and subsea technology, and a national centre for higher education, media, tourism and finance. Bergen Port is Norway's busiest in both freight and passengers with over 300 cruise ship calls a year bringing nearly a half a million passengers to Bergen, a number that has doubled in ten years. Almost half of the passengers are German or British. The city's main football team is SK Brann and the city's unique tradition is the buekorps. Natives speak the distinct Bergensk dialect. The city features Bergen Airport, Flesland, Bergen Light Rail, and is the terminus of the Bergen Line. Four large bridges connect Bergen to its suburban municipalities.

Bergen is well known for having a mild winter climate, though with a lot of precipitation. In December - March, the temperature difference between Bergen and Oslo can be up to 30 degrees Celsius, despite the fact that both cities are at approximately 60 degrees North. The Gulf Stream keeps the sea relatively warm, considering the latitude, and the mountains protect the city from cold winds from the north, north-east and east.

Bergen occupies most of the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen in the district of Midthordland in mid-western Hordaland. The municipality covers an area of 465 square kilometres (180 square miles). Most of the urban area is on or close to a fjord or bay, although the urban area has are several mountains. The city centre is surrounded by the Seven Mountains, although there is disagreement as to which of the nine mountains constitute these. Ulriken, Fløyen, Løvstakken and Damsgårdsfjellet are always included as well as three of Lyderhorn, Sandviksfjellet, Blåmanen, Rundemanen and Kolbeinsvarden. Gullfjellet is Bergen's highest mountain, at 987 metres (3,238 ft) above mean sea level.

Bergen is sheltered from the North Sea by the islands Askøy, Holsnøy (the municipality of Meland) and Sotra (the municipalities of Fjell and Sund). Bergen borders the municipalities Meland, Lindås and Osterøy to the north, Vaksdal and Samnanger to the east, Os and Austevoll to the south, and Sund, Fjell and Askøy to the west.

Bergen is divided into 8 boroughs, as seen on the map to the right. Clockwise, starting with the northernmost, the boroughs are Åsane, Arna, Fana, Ytrebygda, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Årstad and Bergenhus. The city centre is located in Bergenhus. Parts of Fana, Ytrebygda, Åsane and Arna are not part of the Bergen urban area, explaining why the municipality has approximately 20,000 more inhabitants than the urban area.

Local borough administrations have varied since Bergen's expansion in 1972. From 1974, each borough had a politically chosen administration. From 1989, Bergen was divided into twelve health and social districts, each locally administrated. From 2000 to 2004, the former organizational form with eight politically chosen local administrations was again in use and from 2008 through 2010, a similar form existed where the local administrations had less power than previously.

In August 2004, Time magazine named the city one of Europe's 14 "secret capitals" where Bergen's capital reign is acknowledged within maritime businesses and activities such as aquaculture and marine research, with the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) (the second-largest oceanography research centre in Europe) as the leading institution. Bergen is the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy (at Haakonsvern) and its international airport Flesland is the main heliport for the Norwegian North Sea oil and gas industry, from where thousands of offshore workers commute to their work places onboard oil and gas rigs and platforms.

One of Norway's largest shopping malls, Lagunen Storsenter, is located in Fana in Bergen, with a turnover of 2 540 million Norwegian kroner, and 5.2 million visitors every year.

Tourism is an important income source for the city. The hotels in the city may be full at times, due to the increasing number of tourists and conferences. Prior to the Rolling Stones concert in September 2006, many hotels were already fully booked several months in advance. Bergen is recognised as the unofficial capital of the region known as Western Norway, and recognised and marketed as the gateway city to the world-famous fjords of Norway and for that reason it has become Norway's largest – and one of Europe's largest – cruise ship ports of call.

Source: Wikipedia

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Trondheim is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It has a population of 187,353 (January 1, 2016), and is the third most populous municipality in Norway, although the fourth largest urban area. It is the third largest city in the country, with a population (2013) of 169,972 inhabitants within the city borders. The city functions as the administrative centre of Sør-Trøndelag county. Trondheim lies on the south shore of Trondheim Fjord at the mouth of the river Nidelva. The city is dominated by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (SINTEF), St. Olavs University Hospital and other technology-oriented institutions.

The settlement was founded in 997 as a trading post, and it served as the capital of Norway during the Viking Age until 1217. From 1152 to 1537, the city was the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros; since then, it has remained the seat of the Lutheran Diocese of Nidaros and the Nidaros Cathedral. It was incorporated in 1838. The current municipality dates from 1964, when Trondheim merged with Byneset, Leinstrand, Strinda and Tiller.

Trondheim is situated where the river Nidelva meets Trondheim Fjord with an excellent harbour and sheltered condition. The river used to be deep enough for most boats in the Middle Ages. An avalanche of mud and stones made it less navigable and partly ruined the harbour in the mid-17th-century. The municipality's top elevation is the Storheia hill, 565 metres (1,854 ft) above sea level. At summer solstice, the sun rises at 03:00 and sets at 23:40, but stays just below the horizon–there is no darkness (no need for artificial lighting outdoors) from 23 May to 19 July under cloud-free conditions. At winter solstice, the sun rises at 10:01, stays very low above the horizon (at midday its altitude is slightly more than 3 degrees over the horizon), and sets at 14:31.

Several wetland habitats can be found within the city limits. The Gaulosen is one of these. Here you will find a newly built observation tower and information on the birdlife which can be found therein.

Despite Trondheim being Norway's third largest city, wild animals can be seen. Otters and beavers thrive in Nidelva and Bymarka. Badgers and foxes are not uncommon sights. Moose and deer are common in the hills surrounding the city, and might wander into the city, especially in May when the one-year-olds are chased away by their mothers, or in late winter when food grows scarce in the snow-covered higher regions. Since 2002, a wolverine has stayed in Bymarka.

The Trondheim Museum of Arts has Norway's third largest public art collection, mainly Norwegian art from the last 150 years. The National Museum of Decorative Arts boasts a large collection of decorative arts and design, including a great number of tapestries from the Norwegian tapestry artist Hannah Ryggen, as well as Norway's only permanent exhibibition of Japanese arts and crafts. Sverresborg, also named Zion after King David's castle in Jerusalem, was a fortification built by Sverre Sigurdsson. It is now an open-air museum, consisting of more than 60 buildings. The castle was originally built in 1182–1183, but did not last for long as it was burned down in 1188. However, the Sverresaga indicates it had been restored by 1197.

Trondheim Science Museum is a scientific hands-on experience center. The Museum of Natural History and Archaeology is part of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. There are also a variety of small history, science and natural history museums, such as the Trondheim Maritime Museum, the Armoury, adjacent to the Archbishops's Palace, the music and musical instrument museum Ringve National Museum, Ringve Botanical Garden, the Trondheim Tramway Museum, and the Jewish Museum, co-located with the city's synagogue, which is among the northernmost in the world.

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Stavanger is a city and municipality in Norway. The city is the third-largest urban zone and metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighbouring Sandnes) and the administrative centre of Rogaland county. The municipality is the fourth most populous in Norway. Located on the Stavanger Peninsula in Southwest Norway, Stavanger counts its official founding year as 1125, the year the Stavanger Cathedral was completed. Stavangers core is to a large degree 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses that are protected and considered part of the city's cultural heritage. This has caused the town centre and inner city to retain a small-town character with an unusually high ratio of detached houses, and has contributed significantly to spreading the city's population growth to outlying parts of Greater Stavanger.

The city's rapid population growth in the late 20th century was primarily a result of Norway's booming offshore oil industry. Today the oil industry is a key industry in the Stavanger region and the city is widely referred to as the Oil Capital of Norway. The largest company in the Nordic region, Norwegian energy company Statoil is headquartered in Stavanger. Multiple educational institutions for higher education are located in Stavanger. The largest of these is the University of Stavanger.

Domestic and international military installations are located in Stavanger, among these is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's Joint Warfare Center. Other international establishments, and especially local branches of foreign oil and gas companies, contribute further to a significant foreign population in the city. Immigrants make up 11.3% of Stavanger's population. Stavanger has since the early 2000s consistently had an unemployment rate significantly lower than the Norwegian and European average. In 2011, the unemployment rate was less than 2%. The city is also among those that frequent various lists of expensive cities in the world, and Stavanger has even been ranked as the world's most expensive city by certain indexes.

Stavanger is served by international airport Stavanger Airport, Sola, which offers flights to cities in most major European countries, as well as a limited number of intercontinental charter flights. The airport was named most punctual European regional airport by flightstats.com in 2010.

Every two years, Stavanger organizes the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS), which is the second largest exhibition and conference for the energy sector. Gladmat food festival is also held each year and is considered to be one of Scandinavia's leading food festivals. The city is also known for being one of the nation's premier culinary clusters. Stavanger 2008 European Capital of Culture.

The municipality of Stavanger is located in a coastal landscape, bordering the sea to the west and Boknafjorden in the northeast. The Byfjorden and Gandsfjorden run along the east side of the city. It is part of the Low-Jæren, a flat area of land consisting mostly of marsh, sand, and stone aur, that ranges from Ogna River in the south to Tungenes in the north; it is the northernmost part that includes Stavanger. The majority of the municipality lies between 0 and 50 metres (0 and 164 ft) in elevation. The landscape has a distinctive appearance with rocks and hills where there is no settlement or agriculture. The city of Stavanger is closely linked to the sea and water, with five lakes (including Breiavatnet, Stora Stokkavatnet, and Mosvatnet) and three fjords (Hafrsfjorden, Byfjorden, and Gandsfjorden); sea and water form the landscape, providing a shoreline rich with vegetation and wildlife.

The terrain is low-lying: 49% of the area is less than 20 metres (66 ft) above sea level, While 7% of the land is at 60 metres (200 ft). Stavanger's highest point is the 139-metre (456 ft) tall Jåttånuten with the 136-metre (446 ft) Ullandhaug as the second highest point.

The city has developed on both sides of a hollow that runs right through the terrain, with steep slopes up from the bottom. An extension of Boknafjorden and Byfjorden intersects the harbor into the hollow from the northwest, while Hillevåg lake intrudes from Gandsfjorden in the southeast. Breiavatnet is located between the two fjord arms.

The city includes many islands off the coast including: Bjørnøy, Buøy, Engøy, Grasholmen, Hellesøy, Hundvåg, Kalvøy, Lindøy, Sølyst, and Vassøy. It also includes the eastern half of the island of Åmøy.

The city is located on a peninsula on the southwest coast of Norway. The climate is maritime mild temperate (marine west coast - cfb) and rather windy, with all monthly temperature averages above freezing, and precipitation 1180 mm/year. Summers are pleasant and lowland areas in and around Stavanger have after Bergen the longest growing season in Norway. However, summer temperatures are much cooler than those found further inland on the Scandinavian peninsula, even in more northerly areas. In contrast, winter temperatures are much milder than those in Oslo and Stockholm for example.

Stavanger is a popular tourist destination, especially in summer. The hotels in the city have good occupancy year round due to a lot of commuters who travel to work and meetings in Stavanger. In recent years, Stavanger has also become one of the most popular ports of call for cruise ships, with the number of cruise ships increasing steadily, making Stavanger one of Europe's fastest growing ports of call for cruise ships north of the Mediterranean. In 2009, 99 ships and 146,000 passengers passed through the town, and in 2010, a total of 111 cruise ships with about 175,000 passengers visited the city.

Source: Wikipedia

Norway Sights

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Kvadraturen is the city center of Kristiansand in Vest-Agder county, Norway. The borough is made up of the very urban city centre and harbour in the south plus the more rural district of "Eg" which lies north of the main city centre. In 2015 the borough had a population of 6,750. This borough is the administrative centre of the municipality of Kristiansand as well as the administrative centre of Vest-Agder county. The borough is far smaller in area than the other boroughs in the municipality. The borough of Grim lies to the north and west and the borough of Lund lies to the east.

The borough is the location of the Kristiansand Cathedral and the nearby commercial, pedestrian street is the Markens gate. The city harbour is located along the Kristiansandsfjorden and the island of Odderøya. The borough has three malls and three high schools. The closest public junior high is "Grim Skole" and the closest elementary is Tordenskjoldsgate Skole and is the only remanding elementary in Kvadraturen. The Sørlandet Hospital Kristiansand is also located in the borough, in the district of Eg.

The main city centre was established as a city on 5 July 1641 by King Christian IV. The city became a self-governing municipality under the formannskapsdistrikt law on 1 January 1838. On 1 July 1921, a neighboring part of the municipality of Oddernes (population: 2,164) was transferred from Oddernes to the city of Kristiansand. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1965, the city of Kristiansand (population: 27,100) was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Randesund (population: 1,672), Oddernes (population: 18,668), and Tveit (population: 2,802) to form a new, larger municipality of Kristiansand.

Kristiansand Bus Terminal, Kristiansand Station, and Kristiansand Harbor are all located at Vestre Strandgate next to each other. Local buses goes from Henrik Wergelandsgate and Tollbodgata.

Kristiansand Station has daily trains to Oslo and Stavanger. Kristiansand Harbor has many daily ferry routes to Hirtshals, Denmark.

Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the city center, and it has routes to the biggest cities in Norway, with less frequent routes to other Northern European cities.

The borough of Kvadraturen is the site of many tourist attractions. Christiansholm Fortress was built in 1672. The Kilden Theatre, the largest culture house and theatre in Southern Norway, is located on the island of Odderøya. It was finished in 2012 and has a capacity of over 2,000.

Fiskebrygga (The Fish Wharf), a former fish landing in Kvadraturen with Odderøya, has been redeveloped as a restaurant, shopping, and tourist destination.

Source: Wikipedia

Norway Sights

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and its largest city, with a population of 542,664 as of 2015. Vilnius is located in the southeast part of Lithuania and is the second largest city in the Baltic states. Vilnius is the seat of the main government institutions of Lithuania as well as of the Vilnius District Municipality. Vilnius is classified as a Gamma global city according to GaWC studies, and is known for the architecture in its Old Town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Its Jewish influence until the 20th century has led to it being described as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania" and Napoleon named it "the Jerusalem of the North" as he was passing through in 1812. In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture, together with the Austrian city of Linz.

Vilnius is situated in south-eastern Lithuania (54°41′N 25°17′E) at the confluence of the Vilnia and Neris Rivers. Lying close to Vilnius is a site some claim to be the Geographical Centre of Europe.

Vilnius lies 312 km (194 mi) from the Baltic Sea and Klaipėda, the chief Lithuanian seaport. Vilnius is connected by highways to other major Lithuanian cities, such as Kaunas (102 km or 63 mi away), Šiauliai (214 km or 133 mi away) and Panevėžys (135 km or 84 mi away). The city's off-centre location can be attributed to the changing shape of the nation's borders through the centuries; Vilnius was once not only culturally but also geographically at the centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The current area of Vilnius is 402 square kilometres (155 sq mi). Buildings occupy 29.1% of the city; green spaces occupy 68.8%; and waters occupy 2.1%.

The climate of Vilnius is humid continental (Köppen climate classification Dfb). Temperature records have been kept since 1777. The average annual temperature is 6.1 °C (43 °F); in January the average temperature is −4.9 °C (23 °F), in July it is 17.0 °C (63 °F). The average precipitation is about 661 millimetres (26.02 in) per year. Average annual temperatures in the city have increased significantly during the last 30 years, a change which the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service attributes to global warming induced by human activities.

Summer days are pleasantly warm and sometimes hot, especially in July and August, with temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) throughout the day during periodic heat waves. Night-life in Vilnius is in full swing at this time of year, and outdoor bars, restaurants and cafés become very popular during the daytime.

Winters can be very cold, with temperatures rarely reaching above freezing – temperatures below −25 °C (−13 °F) are not unheard-of in January and February. Vilnius's rivers freeze over in particularly cold winters, and the lakes surrounding the city are almost always permanently frozen during this time of year. A popular pastime is ice-fishing.

Vilnius is the major economic centre of Lithuania and one of the largest financial centres of the Baltic states. Even though it is home to only 20% of Lithuania's population, it generates about one third of Lithuania's GDP. GDP per capita (nominal) in Vilnius county was USD 21,000 in 2015, making it the wealthiest region in Lithuania. The budget of Vilnius reached €0.51 billion in 2017. Vilnius contributed almost €3 billion to the national budget in 2008, making up about 40% of the budget. The average annual brutto salary in Vilnius city municipality was about €10,200/$11,300 as of 2015. In 2016, Vilnius merged two organisations to create Go Vilnius - an agency tasked with developing tourism and investment in the city.

The city has 12 primary schools, 19 progymnasiums and 42 gymnasiums.

The city has many universities. The largest and oldest is Vilnius University with 20,864 students. Its main premises are located in the Old Town. The university has been ranked among the top 500 universities in the world by QS World University Rankings. The University is participating in projects with UNESCO and NATO, among others. It features 15 Masters programs in English and 2 in Russian, as well as programs delivered in cooperation with universities all over Europe. The university is currently divided into 12 faculties, 7 institutes, and 4 study and research centres.

Other major universities include Mykolas Romeris University (17,739 students as of 2013), Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (10,500 students), and Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences (3,550 students). Specialized higher schools with university status include General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and Vilnius Academy of Arts. The museum associated with the Vilnius Academy of Arts holds about 12,000 artworks.

There are also a few private universities such as ISM University of Management and Economics, European Humanities University and Kazimieras Simonavičius University.

Several colleges are also located in Vilnius including Vilnius College, Vilnius College of Technologies and Design, International School of Law and Business and others.

Source: Wikipedia

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Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the centre of a county in Trakai Municipality of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. In the Russian Empire it was the capital of the Kaunas Governorate from 1843 to 1915. It became the only temporary capital city in Europe during the interwar period. Now it is the capital of Kaunas County, the seat of the Kaunas city municipality and the Kaunas District Municipality. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. Kaunas is located at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris, and near the Kaunas Reservoir, the largest body of water entirely in Lithuania.

The oldest part of Kaunas city is the Old Town located to the east of the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers. The formation of the new rectangular structure of the New Town started in Kaunas since 1847. The construction of the Kaunas Railway Tunnel and Railway Bridge across the Nemunas river helped move goods from the eastern part of Russian Empire west to the German Empire and Kaunas grew rapidly in the second part of the 19th century. The oldest part of Kaunas was connected with Žaliakalnis neighbourhood in 1889. The city increased once more when it was connected by bridges with Aleksotas and Vilijampolė districts in the 1920s.

Kaunas is a large center of industry, trade and services in Lithuania. The most developed industries in Kaunas are amongst the food and beverage industries, textile and light industries, chemical industry, publishing and processing, pharmaceuticals, metal industry, wood processing and furniture industry. Recently information technology and electronics have become an important area of business activities in Kaunas. The city also has large construction industry, including commercial, housing and road construction.

Primary foreign investors in Kaunas are companies from the United States, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, and Russia. Head offices of several major International and Lithuanian companies are located in Kaunas, including "Kraft Foods Lietuva", largest Generic Pharmaceuticals producer in Lithuania "Sanitas", producer of sportswear AB "Audimas", one of the largest construction companies "YIT Kausta", JSC "Senukai", largest producer in Lithuania of strong alcoholic drinks JSC "Stumbras", Finnish capital brewery JSC "Ragutis", JSC "Fazer Gardesis", JSC "Stora Enso Packaging", producer of pharmaceuticals, and the only producer of homoeopathic medicines in Lithuania JSC "Aconitum". Due to its geographic location, Kaunas is considered one of the biggest logistics centres in Lithuania. The largest wholesale, distribution and logistics company in Lithuania and Latvia JSC "Sanitex", as well as a subsidiary of material handling and logistics company Dematic in the Baltics have been operated in Kaunas. Currently, the feasibility study for Kaunas Public Logistics Centre is being prepared by the national state-owned railway company Lithuanian Railways. The "Margasmiltė" company currently has been working on a project that concerns exploitation of Pagiriai anhydrite deposit. The project includes mining of anhydrite, a mine with underground warehouses, building the overground transport terminal, as well as an administrative building. The Pagiriai anhydrite deposit is located 10.5 km (6.5 mi) south from the downtown of Kaunas, at a 2.2 km (1.4 mi) distance to the southwest from the Garliava town. The resources of thoroughly explored anhydrite in the Pagiriai deposit amount to 81.5 million tons.

Source: Wikipedia

Lithuania Sights

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Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County.

The city has a complex recorded history, partially due to the combined regional importance of the usually ice-free Port of Klaipėda at the mouth of the Akmena-Danė River. It was controlled by successive German states until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. As a result of the 1923 Klaipėda Revolt it was added to Lithuania and has remained with Lithuania to this day, except for the period between 1939 and 1945 when it returned to Germany following the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania.

The population has shrunk from 207,100 in 1992 to 157,350 in 2014. Popular seaside resorts found close to Klaipėda are Nida to the south on the Curonian Spit, and Palanga to the north.

Klaipėda's climate is oceanic (Köppen Cfb), but quite close to being humid continental (Köppen Dfb). In July and August, the warmest season, high temperatures average 20 °C (68 °F), and low temperatures average 14 °C (57 °F). The highest official temperature ever recorded was 36.6 °C (97.9 °F) in August 2014. In January and February, the coldest season, high temperatures average 0 °C (32 °F) with low temperatures averaging −5 °C (23 °F). The coldest temperature ever recorded in Klaipėda is −33.4 °C (−28.1 °F) in February 1956. The wettest month is November with a mean total precipitation 90 mm (3.5 inches). August through November is the wettest season because of the warmth of the Baltic sea in relation to the continent and the westerly winds. The driest month is February averaging 31 mm (1.2 in) of total precipitation. Spring is not particularly wet.

Klaipėda is a windy city with many stormy days per year. In autumn and winter, gales are not unusual. Sea breezes are common from April to September. Snow can fall from October to April and a phenomenon resembling lake-effect snow is frequent. Severe snowstorms can paralyze the city in winter.

Klaipėda has unsettled weather all year round. One winter can be cold and snowy, similar to that in Moscow, while another one can be mild, windy, and rainy, similar to the weather in Scotland. August 2005 was very rainy, while August 2002 barely had any precipitation at all.

The Port of Klaipėda is the principal ice-free port on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. It is the most important Lithuanian transportation hub, connecting sea, land and railway routes from East to West. Klaipėda is a multipurpose, universal, deep-water port. Nineteen big stevedoring companies, ship-repair and shipbuilding yards operate within the port and all marine business and cargo handling services are rendered.

The annual port cargo handling capacity is up to 40 Mt. The port operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round.

Source: Wikipedia

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Šiauliai is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.

Šiauliai Žemaičių located in eastern part of the northern plateau, Mūša, Dubysa and Venta River divide. Distance of 210 kilometres (130 miles) to Vilnius, Kaunas – 142 km (88 mi), Klaipėda – 161 km (100 mi), Riga – 128 km (80 mi), Kaliningrad – 250 km (155 mi). The total city area 81.13 square kilometres (31.32 sq mi), from the green areas 18.87 square kilometres (7.29 sq mi), water – 12.78 square kilometres (4.93 sq mi). Urban land outside perimeter of the administrative 70,317 kilometres (43,693 miles).

In 1795, there were 3,700 people living in Šiauliai, rising to 16,128 by 1897, when it was the second most populous city in Lithuania after Kaunas. The Jewish population of Šiauliai rose steadily through the second half of the nineteenth century, from 2,565 in 1847 to around 7,000 at century's end. By the outbreak of World War I, 12,000 of the town's inhabitants were Jews, making Šiauliai majority Jewish. A particular Jew called Shauli Bar-On had encouraged the Jews of Europe to come to Lithuania because he saw enormous potential for success. A battlefield during the Great War, Šiauliai saw thousands of its denizens flee, never to return.

In 1923, Šiauliai population's was third to that of Kaunas and Klaipėda.

Beginning in the 19th century, Šiauliai become an industrial center. During the Russian Empire period, the city had the largest leather factory in the whole empire, owned by Chaim Frenkel. Šiauliai contributed to around 85% of all leather production in Lithuania, 60% of the footwear industry, 75% of the flax fiber industry, and 35% of the sweets industry. During the Soviet years, the city produced electronics, mechanical engineering, wood processing, construction industry. Most of the industrial enterprises were concentrated in urban areas.

According to the population census of 2001, ethnic Lithuanians comprise 93%, Russians – 5%, and the remaining 2% consist of Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews, Roma, Latvians, Armenians and other ethnic groups. About 94% of the city's population consider Lithuanian their native language, 5% are Russian speakers and the remainder speak Ukrainian, Belarusian, Latvian, Roma, Armenian etc. About 80% of those older than 20 have a command of the Russian language, while only 17% can speak English and 7% – German.

Source: Wikipedia

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Riga is the capital and the largest city of Latvia. With 696,593 inhabitants (2015), Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states and home to one third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the Daugava. Riga's territory covers 307.17 square kilometres (118.60 square miles) and lies between one and ten metres (3 feet 3 inches and 32 feet 10 inches) above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain.

Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture during 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, and the 2006 IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. It is home to the European Union's office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). Riga is served by Riga International Airport, the largest airport in the Baltic states.

Riga is a member of Eurocities, the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) and Union of Capitals of the European Union (UCEU).

The climate of Riga is humid continental (Köppen Dfb). The coldest months are January and February, when the average temperature is −5 °C (23 °F) but temperatures as low as −20 to −25 °C (−4 to −13 °F) can be observed almost every year on the coldest days. The proximity of the sea causes frequent autumn rains and fogs. Continuous snow cover may last eighty days. The summers in Riga are cool and humid with the average temperature of 18 °C (64 °F), while the temperature on the hottest days can exceed 30 °C (86 °F).

Riga is one of the key economic and financial centres of the Baltic States. Roughly half of all the jobs in Latvia are in Riga and the city generates more than 50% of Latvia's GDP as well as around half of Latvia's exports. The biggest exporters are in wood products, IT, food and beverage manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transport and metallurgy. Riga Port is one of the largest in the Baltics. It handled a record 34 million tons of cargo in 2011 and has potential for future growth with new port developments on Krievu Sala. Tourism is also a large industry in Riga and after a slowdown during the recent global economic recessions, grew 22% in 2011 alone.

With 704,476 inhabitants in 2017, Riga is the largest city in the Baltic States, though its population has decreased from just over 900,000 in 1991. Notable causes include emigration and low birth rates. Some have estimated that the population may fall by as much as 50% by 2050. According to the 2017 data, ethnic Latvians made up 44.03% of the population of Riga, with the percentage of ethnic Russians at 37.88%, Belarusians at 3.72%, Ukrainians at 3.66%, Poles at 1.83% and other ethnicities at 9.10%. By comparison, 60.1% of Latvia's total population are ethnic Latvians, 26.2% are Russians, 3.3% are Belarusians, 2.4% are Ukrainians, 2.1% are Polish, 1.2% are Lithuanians and the remaining 4.7% are accounted for by other ethnicities.

Upon the restoration of Latvia's independence in 1991, Soviet era immigrants (and any of their offspring born before 1991) were not automatically granted Latvian citizenship because they had migrated to the territory of Latvia during the years when Latvia was part of the Soviet Union. In 2013 citizens of Latvia made up 73.1%, non-citizens 21.9% and citizens of other countries 4.9% of the population of Riga. The proportion of ethnic Latvians in Riga increased from 36.5% in 1989 to 42.4% in 2010. In contrast, the percentage of Russians fell from 47.3% to 40.7% in the same time period. Latvians overtook Russians as the largest ethnic group in 2006. Further projections show that the ethnic Russian population will continue a steady decline, despite higher birth rates, due to emigration.

Source: Wikipedia

Latvia Sights

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Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some 230 kilometres (143 miles) to its north-west. Daugavpils is located relatively close to Belarus and Lithuania (distances of 33 km (21 mi) and 25 km (16 mi) respectively), and some 120 km (75 mi) from the Latvian border with Russia. Daugavpils is a major railway junction and industrial centre and lies approximately midway between Riga and Minsk.

The city is surrounded by many lakes and nature parks. It is also known for its overwhelmingly Russian-speaking population.

Daugavpils is an important cultural centre in eastern Latvia. There are 22 primary and secondary schools, four vocational schools, and the Saules College of Art. More than 1,000 teachers and engineers graduate from Daugavpils University (formerly Daugavpils Pedagogical University) and the local branch of Riga Technical University annually. There is also one Polish school, the only in the city, on Varšavas iela (Warsaw Street). Unity House contains Daugavpils Theatre and a recreation centre.

Daugavpils Theatre was restored a couple of years ago. There is also one cinema as well as other cultural institutions. The city exhibition center offers many cultural activities.

There are also several architectural, historical, and cultural monuments in Daugavpils. The most prominent is the Daugavpils fortress dating mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries. In April 2013 the Mark Rothko Art centre was opened in fortress.

The historical centre of Daugavpils city is an architectural heritage of national importance (the construction work was carried out in the 19th century according to the project endorsed in St Petersburg in 1826). The historical centre is the greatest attraction of the city and one of the most successful examples of balancing the aspects of ancient and modern times. Daugavpils is one of the few cities in Latvia which can pride itself on a unified ensemble of both classic and eclectic styles. The cultural heritage of architectural, artistic, industrial, and historical monuments combined with the picturesque surroundings create the essence of Daugavpils’ image and endow it with a special charm.

Source: Wikipedia

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Liepāja is a city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region and the third largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-free port, although its harbour is not deep. In 1875 its population was 10,000 As of 1 July 2011, Liepāja had a population of 83,500.

In the 19th and early 20th century it was a favourite place for sea-bathers with the town boasting a fine park and many pretty gardens, and a theatre. Liepāja is however known throughout Latvia as "City where the wind is born", likely because of the constant sea breeze. A song of the same name (Latvian: "Pilsētā, kurā piedzimst vējš") was composed by Imants Kalniņš and has become the anthem of the city. Its reputation as the windiest city in Latvia was strengthened with the construction of the largest wind farm in the nation (33 Enercon wind turbines) nearby.

The Coat of Arms of Liepāja was adopted four days after the jurisdiction gained city rights on 18 March 1625.[3] These are described as: "on a silver background, the lion of Courland with a divided tail, who leans upon a linden (Latvian: Liepa) tree with its forelegs." The flag of Liepāja has the coat of arms in the center, with red in the top half and green in the bottom.

Liepāja enjoys a semi-continental climate noted as "Dfb" in the Köppen classification. The major factor influencing the weather in the region is the Baltic Sea, providing a relatively mild winter for its high latitude (although snowy) and a relatively cool summer. During the winter the sea around Liepāja is virtually ice-free. Although occasionally some land-fast ice may develop, it seldom reaches a hundred meters from the shore and does not last long before melting. The sea warms up fully only in the beginning of August, so the best bathing season in Liepāja is from August to September. Summers are more affected by the marine climate than east-facing cities on similar latitudes in opposite Sweden, but winters are milder than inland areas to the east. Regular meteorological observations in the city have been conducted from 1857.

Liepāja is situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the south-western part of Latvia. The westernmost geographical point of Latvia is located approximately 15 km (9 mi) to the south thus making Liepāja Latvia's furthest west city. Liepāja is situated between the Baltic Sea and Liepāja Lake with residential and industrial areas spreading north of the lake. The Trade Channel (Tirdzniecības kanāls) connects the lake to the sea dividing the city into southern and northern parts, which are often referred to as the Old Town (Vecliepāja) and the New Town (Jaunliepāja) respectively. The city center is located in the southern part and, although called the Old Town, is relatively more developed. Most of the administrative and cultural buildings are found here as well as the main leisure areas. Along the coast the city extends northwards until it reaches the Karosta Channel (Karostas kanāls). North of the Karosta Channel is an area called Karosta which is now fully integrated into Liepāja and is the northernmost district of the city. Liepāja's coastline consists of an unbroken sandy beach and dunes as does most of Latvia's coastline. The beach of Liepāja is not as exploited as other places (e.g. the Gulf of Riga, Jūrmala and Pärnu in Estonia) but also lacks the tourist infrastructure needed for a fashionable, modern resort.

85,345 inhabitants in 2007, Liepāja is the third-largest city in Latvia. Its population has declined since the withdrawal of Soviet military forces; the last of which left in 1994. In addition, many ethnic Russians, emigrated to Russia in 1991–2000. More recent causes include economic migration to western European countries after Latvia joined the EU in 2004, and lower birth rates.

According to the 2017 census, ethnic Latvians make up 55.5% of the population of Liepāja (in comparison, the proportion of native Latvians nationwide is 62.1%). Ethnic Russians make up 30.3% of the population.

Source: Wikipedia

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