Pyatigorsk is a
cityThe classification system of the types of inhabited localities in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared to the classification systems in other countries.-Modern classification in Russia:...
in
Stavropol KraiStavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol.-Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the Northern slopes of Caucasus Major...
on the
Podkumok RiverPodkumok River is a river in Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol Krai, Russia, right tributary of the Kuma River. The length of the river is 160 km . The area of its basin is 2,220 km² . The Podkumok River originates in the Greater Caucasus. It is widely used for irrigation...
in the
Southern Federal DistrictSouthern Federal District is one of the seven federal districts of Russia. It is located in the extreme southwest, between Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Its northern portions are part of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, while the southern parts include the North Caucasus...
of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, about twenty kilometers from
Mineralnye VodyMineralnye Vody is a town located in Stavropol Krai, Russia. It lies along the Kuma River and the main rail line between Rostov-na-Donu and Baku . Population: 75,644 .Mineralnye Vody serves as a gateway to Caucasian Mineral Waters...
. The name Pyatigorsk means "five mountains" in Russian and is so called because of the five peaks of the
BeshtauBeshtau is an isolated five-domed igneous mountain near Pyatigorsk in the Northern Caucasus. Its height is 1402 m. The slopes are forested with ash, oak, hornbeam, and beech, and the summit is treeless....
(which also means "five mountains" in
TurkicThe Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken by some...
) of the Caucasian mountain range overlooking the city. It was founded in 1780, and has been a health spa with
mineral springMineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce water containing minerals, or other dissolved substances, that alter its taste or give it a purported therapeutic value...
s since 1803. The Russian poet
Mikhail LermontovMikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", was the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death. His influence on later Russian literature is still felt in modern times, not only through his poetry, but...
was shot in a
duelAs practiced from the 11th to 20th centuries in Western societies, a duel is an engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with their combat doctrines. In the modern application, the term is applied to aerial warfare between fighter pilots...
at Pyatigorsk on July 27, 1841.
Pyatigorsk is a
cityThe classification system of the types of inhabited localities in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared to the classification systems in other countries.-Modern classification in Russia:...
in
Stavropol KraiStavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol.-Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the Northern slopes of Caucasus Major...
on the
Podkumok RiverPodkumok River is a river in Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol Krai, Russia, right tributary of the Kuma River. The length of the river is 160 km . The area of its basin is 2,220 km² . The Podkumok River originates in the Greater Caucasus. It is widely used for irrigation...
in the
Southern Federal DistrictSouthern Federal District is one of the seven federal districts of Russia. It is located in the extreme southwest, between Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Its northern portions are part of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, while the southern parts include the North Caucasus...
of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, about twenty kilometers from
Mineralnye VodyMineralnye Vody is a town located in Stavropol Krai, Russia. It lies along the Kuma River and the main rail line between Rostov-na-Donu and Baku . Population: 75,644 .Mineralnye Vody serves as a gateway to Caucasian Mineral Waters...
. The name Pyatigorsk means "five mountains" in Russian and is so called because of the five peaks of the
BeshtauBeshtau is an isolated five-domed igneous mountain near Pyatigorsk in the Northern Caucasus. Its height is 1402 m. The slopes are forested with ash, oak, hornbeam, and beech, and the summit is treeless....
(which also means "five mountains" in
TurkicThe Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken by some...
) of the Caucasian mountain range overlooking the city. It was founded in 1780, and has been a health spa with
mineral springMineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce water containing minerals, or other dissolved substances, that alter its taste or give it a purported therapeutic value...
s since 1803. The Russian poet
Mikhail LermontovMikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", was the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death. His influence on later Russian literature is still felt in modern times, not only through his poetry, but...
was shot in a
duelAs practiced from the 11th to 20th centuries in Western societies, a duel is an engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with their combat doctrines. In the modern application, the term is applied to aerial warfare between fighter pilots...
at Pyatigorsk on July 27, 1841. There is a museum in the city devoted to his memory.
History
The first mention of the mineral springs is found in the writings of 14th century Arabian traveller
Ibn BattutaIbn Battuta was a Moroccan berber scholar and traveller who is known for the account of his travels and excursions called the Rihla...
. Scientific interest in them was first shown by
Peter IPeter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V....
, but the information collected on his expedition has since been lost. Interest was revived at the end of the 18th century when the first Russian settlement was founded - Konstantinogorskaya fortress, erected at Mt. Mashuk in 1780.
The value of the Caucasian mineral waters led to the construction of a resort in 1803, and the first studies of their medical properties began thereafter: on April 24,
Alexander IAlexander I of Russia , also known as Alexander the Blessed served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and Ruler of Poland from 1815 to 1825, as well as the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania.He was born in Saint Petersburg to Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, later...
signed a decree which made the mineral waters state property. There are now many settlements near the springs. The first such settlement was Goryachevodsk (now part of Pyatigorsk) at the bottom of Mt. Mashuk, then
KislovodskKislovodsk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia. It lies in the North Caucasian region of Russia, between the Black and Caspian seas. The closest airport is located in the city of Mineralnye Vody. Population:...
, Yessentuki,
ZheleznovodskZheleznovodsk is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. It is located at around . Population: 25,135 .The name translates as Iron Waters as the mineral waters springing from the earth in Zheleznovodsk were believed to have high content of iron...
.
Pyatigorsk
Historical population
| Year |
Population |
Year |
Population |
| 1897 |
18,000 |
1926 |
48,000 |
| 1959 |
70,000 |
1974 |
100,000 |
| 1989 |
129,500 |
2002 |
140,559 (CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
) |
| 2005 |
139,729 (est.) |
|
|
Economics
The industry of Pyatigorsk is primarily oriented towards service of the health resort. There is also a food industry (a meat-processing plant, a
wineryA winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries...
, a
dairyA dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. Typically it is a farm or section of a farm that is concerned with the production of milk, butter and...
, a
breweryA brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made in the home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, a
confectioneryConfectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well. The word candy or sweets is also used for the extensive variety of candies that comprise confectionery...
), textiles (
clothingA feature of nearly all modern human societies is the wearing of clothing or clothes, a category encompassing a wide variety of materials that cover the body....
, shoe, carpet factories), machine industry and metal working (PО Pyatigorskselmash specialises in machines and equipment for aviculture; a special automobile equipment works, an electromechanical plant, etc.); a chemical factory and a ceramics factory (
TEMP Ceramics) who specialise in porcelain and ceramic gifts such as samovars, figurines, vases and decorative ceramic wall hanging panels.
In 1991, the Pyatigorsk health resort had 10
sanatoriumA sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, typically tuberculosis. A distinction is sometimes made between "sanitarium" and "sanatorium" .-History:The rationale for sanatoria was that before antibiotic treatments existed, a regimen of rest and good...
s, 4 boarding houses and 5 sanatoriums - preventoriums. The number of people who stayed at the health resort within a year totalled about 170,000.
Geography and climate
The town is charmingly situated on a small plateau, 1680 ft. above sea-level, at the foot of the
BeshtauBeshtau is an isolated five-domed igneous mountain near Pyatigorsk in the Northern Caucasus. Its height is 1402 m. The slopes are forested with ash, oak, hornbeam, and beech, and the summit is treeless....
,
MashukMashuk is an isolated mountain in the North Caucasus overlooking the city of Pyatigorsk in Stavropol Krai in Russia. The height of the mountain is 993 m. Mashuk is a laccolith with a crystal nucleus, buried under sedimentary rock . The top of the mountain is flattened and domelike...
and three other outliers of the Caucasian mountain range, which protect it on the north. The snow-covered summits of
Mount ElbrusMount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's highest peak is the highest mountain in the Caucasus and in whole Europe. Mt. Elbrus stands at and is the highest...
are visible to the south.
The climate of Pyatigorsk is moderately continental, without sharp fluctuations of annual and daily temperatures. The summer is steadily warm (average temperature of July +22°C), with a moderately soft winter (average temperature of January −4°C) lasting 2–3 months. Spring is early and cool, with a sharp transition by the summer, and a warm, dry, and long autumn. Relative humidity of the air varies from 54 to 80%. There is an average of 98 sunny days in a year.
Tourism
Pyatigorsk is a convenient starting point for numerous tourist routes. The southern slope of Mashuk has a 20 m deep
dolineDoline can refer to:* Doline , a village in the Kanjiža municipality, Serbia.* Sinkhole, a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water....
(the Proval), at the bottom of which there is a small lake. To climb Mashuk, there is a cable and a foot road. At the centre of the health resorts, on the slopes and at the bottoms of Mounts Beshtau, Mashuk, Zmeyka, Razvalka, Zheleznaya, Ostrov and Medovaya, there is a Mount Beshtau forestland (mainly ash, oak, hornbeam, and beech).
Points of interest
The state memorial estate of Mikhail Lermontov was founded in 1973. It unites all of the Lermontov memorial places in the region: the place where he fought his duel and was killed, a
necropolisA necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, meaning "city of the dead"...
, Lermontov's small house, Verzilin's houses, the house of
Alexander AlyabyevAlexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev was a Russian composer. He wrote seven operas, twenty musical comedies, more than 200 romances, and many other pieces. His most famous work is The Nightingale, a romance based on a poem written by Alexander Delvig.- Biography :Born to a wealthy family, he learnt...
, the Lermontov square, and monument.
The
Aeolian harpAn aeolian harp is a musical instrument that is "played" by the wind. It is named for Aeolus, the ancient Greek god of the wind.- History :...
is a small stone pavilion in the classical style, constructed by the
brothers BernardacciThe Brothers Bernardacci, Johann Karlovich and Joseph Karlovich , natives of Lugano , were architects who arrived in Russia in 1822...
in 1828.
Diana's grotto was built in 1830, in honour of the first ascent of
Mount ElbrusMount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's highest peak is the highest mountain in the Caucasus and in whole Europe. Mt. Elbrus stands at and is the highest...
.
Pyatigorsk is well known in the Caucasus region for its excellent restaurants and nightlife, as well as for its extremely large marketplace. A major thoroughfare is known to locals as "Broadway", which runs through the center of town, and on which most of the best restaurants, nightclubs, and attractions are located. Broadway is also a popular spot for people watching at young locals dressed in their best outfits and strolling along the middle of the street. The influence of the Caucasus region is felt here most noticeably in the music and cuisine, which incorporate aspects of many former Soviet republics such as Armenia.
Pyatigorsk features prominently in Jonathan Littel's 2009 novel, "The Kindly Ones".
Honors
A
minor planetAn asteroid group or minor planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid...
2192 Pyatigoriya2192 Pyatigoriya is a Main-belt Asteroid discovered on April 18, 1972 by T. M. Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.- External links :*...
discovered in 1972 by
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
astronomer
Tamara Mikhailovna SmirnovaTamara Mikhailovna Smirnova was a Russian-born astronomer.From 1966 to 1988 she was a staff member of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at Leningrad. She co-discovered the periodic comet 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh, along with Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh. She has also discovered various asteroids...
is named after the city.
Town twinning
Pyatigorsk is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with the following:
DubuqueDubuque may refer to:* Dubuque, Iowa* Dubuque County, Iowa* Dubuque, Kansas* University of Dubuque* USS DubuqueDubuque is the surname of:* Julien Dubuque, a French Canadian who arrived near what now is known as Dubuque, Iowa...
, USA.
External links