Artek was the All-Union and international camp in the Soviet Union. It was established on June 16,1925 near the sea in the town of Gurzuf. The camp first hosted eighty children but it grew rapidly. In 1969 it had an area of 3.2 km², there were 150 buildings, three medical buildings, a school, film studio Artekfilm, three swimming pools, sports stadium (7000 seats), playgrounds for other activities.

It was established on June 16, 1925 near the Black Sea in the town of Gurzuf located on the Crimean peninsula, near Medved Mountain, Ukraine. The camp first hosted 80 children but it grew rapidly. In 1969 it had an area of 3.2 km²; there were 150 buildings, including 3 medical buildings, a school, film studio Artekfilm, 3 swimming pools, a 7,000-seater sports stadium, and playgrounds for other activities.

Young Pioneer camp was the name for the rest place of Young Pioneers, in the 20th century they existed in many Socialist countries. Unlike most of the young pioneer camps, Artek was a year-round camp, thanks to the climate.

Structurally Artek was a group of 10 smaller camps. Each of them had its own name: "Morskoi", "Lazurny", "Kiparisny" etc. Four of these smaller camps ("Rechnoi", "Ozyorny", "Lesnoi" and "Polevoi") made up the notable "Pribrezhny" complex of Artek, built between 1960 and 1964. The group of architects led by Anatoly Polyansky which designed "Pribrezhny" was awarded the USSR Gold Prize in architecture in 1967. Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction.

Destination Artek was considered to be a honorable award for Soviet children as well as internationally. During its heyday, each year Artek gave 27,000 children vacations. Between 1925 and 1969 in the camp hosted 300,000 children including more than 13,000 children from seventy foreign countries. In July 1983 Artek was visited by a peacemaker Samanta Smith. Among honorary guests of Artek were Leonid Brezhnev, Yuriy Gagarin, Indira Gandi, Urkho Kekkonen, Nikita Hrushchev, Jawaharlal Neru, Otto Schmidt, Benjamin Spock, Valentina Tereshkova.

At present, Artek belongs to Ukraine and is known as the "International Children's Center 'Artek' ". 60% of visitors arrive on a state subsidized or free basis. The beneficiaries are children from low income and large families, as well as orphans, handicapped, and gifted children. In 2005, full prices were in range 3,000-5,000 UA Grivna, depending on the season and location.

In 2004 it was officially recognized by UNESCO as a site for implementation of international projects, in particular, during the UN Decade of Education (2005-2014). UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945.

In 2005, the year of Artek's 80th anniversary, Artek hosted about 13,000 children in ed camps under the supervision of about 2,000 of volunteer squad leaders managed by permanent pedagogical staff of over 200 in personnel.

Traditionally, Artek provided a base (known as School of Pedagogues-Organizers) for hands-on training of students of pedagogical schools. This tradition has been continued today, known as "Humanitary Institute Artek". You can get there by direct flight to Simferopol or through Kiev or Odessa.