Artek (camp)

Artek (camp)

Artek (Cyrillic: Арте́к) is a former Young Pioneer camp today is an international children center near Gurzuf, Ukraine. It was established on June 16, 1925 on the Black Sea in the town of Gurzuf located on the Crimean peninsula, near Medved Mountain, Ukraine. The center is part of the State Management of Affairs.

The camp first hosted only 80 children but then grew rapidly. In 1969 it had an area of 3.2 km². The camp consisted of 150 buildings, including three medical facilities, a school, the film studio Artekfilm, three swimming pools, a stadium with a seating capacity of 7,000, and playgrounds for various other activities. Unlike most of the young pioneer camps, Artek was an all-year camp, due to the warm climate.

Artek was considered to be a privilege for Soviet children during its existence, as well as for children from other communist countries. During its heyday, 27,000 children a year vacationed at Artek. Between 1925 and 1969 the camp hosted 300,000 children including more than 13,000 children from 70 foreign countries. After the breaking up of the Young Pioneers in 1990 its prestige declined, though it remained a popular vacation destination.