Murmansk, the largest city in the world located beyond the Arctic Circle, and the last founded in the Russian Empire. It is situated on the eastern shore of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea and is one of the largest ports in Russia. Thanks to the warm North Atlantic Current, the waters of the port do not freeze, which favorably distinguishes it from other northern ports in the country. The idea of creating a port city beyond the Arctic Circle emerged in the 1870s, and the first explorers arrived in Murmansk in 1912. On April 3, 1915, during the height of World War I, the Murmansk Sea Port and the port settlement of Semyonovsky were established on the eastern shore of Kola Bay, named after the bay where the docks were built. The creation of the port was linked to Russia's need to gain access to the Arctic Ocean through an ice-free bay for uninterrupted delivery of military cargo from the Allies of the Entente, considering the blockade of the Black and Baltic Seas. Minister of Transport A.F. Tryopov proposed to create the city of Romanov on Murman, and this idea was approved by Emperor Nicholas II, who on July 6, 1916, confirmed the name of the new city. The official date of Murmansk's founding is considered to be October 4 (September 21 in the old style), 1916. On this day, on the hill where the S.M. Kirov Palace of Culture and Folk Art now stands, a ceremony was held to lay the foundation of a church in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors. Six months later, on April 3, 1917, after the February Revolution, the city received its current name, Murmansk.