Adlersky City District (Russian: А́длерский райо́н) is the southernmost of four city districts of the city of Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, lying along the Black Sea coast near the southern Russian border with Abkhazia, Georgia. Population: 76,519 (2010 Census preliminary results);[1] 69,120 (2002 Census);[2] 68,827 (1989 Census).[3]
The historical center of the district is the resort of Adler (А́длер) – formerly classified as a town, but today a microdistrict of Adlersky City District – located at the mouth of the Mzymta River.
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Home to Adler-Sochi International Airport, Adler is also the effective southern terminus of the Russian section of the North Caucasian Railway, which has ceased to carry international traffic to Georgia since hostilities between Russia and Georgia closed the cross-border line in 1992. The summer months see direct train services bringing visitors to Adler from as far away as Berlin in the west (a journey of 3,714 km), Vorkuta in the north (4,286 km away, beyond the Arctic Circle), and Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East, with the 9,816 km of the latter journey taking eight days to complete.
The settlement was founded by Russians on 18 June 1837 as the fort of Svyatoy Dukh (Holy Spirit). However, this area had been inhabited long before the Russian arrival. During the Middle Ages, it was the site of Liesh, a Sadz Abkhazian village. In the 13th century, the Genoese merchants arrived to establish a factory which became known as Layso. At that time the upland area was controlled by the Sadz princes of Aredba, one of whose principal estates was located within the modern district boundaries. The current name was given to the area by the Ottoman Turks, who called it either Artlar or Artı.
The district covers an area of 1,352 square kilometers (522 sq mi) and has under its jurisdiction a network of mountain auls, the Estonian colony at Estosadok, and the ski resort of Krasnaya Polyana which will host the snow events (alpine and Nordic) of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Sochi Olympic Stadium and associated facilities will be located closer to the shore.
The landmarks of the former town of Adler include two Russian Orthodox churches, dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the Holy Ghost, as well as the Armenian Saint Sarkis Cathedral.
Apart from a pebbly and narrow beach backed by the railway line, the district also has a municipal historical museum and a dolphinarium, which makes it popular among tourists. It is also possible to visit the largest trout farm in Russia (founded in 1964) and a breeding nursery for great apes.
Among the natural wonders of the district is the Akhshtyr Gorge with a 160-meter-long cave which contains traces of human habitation about 30,000 years ago.
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