Pyatigorsk
Encyclopedia
Pyatigorsk is a city in Stavropol Krai
on the Podkumok River
, about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from Mineralnye Vody
. Since January 19, 2010 it has been the administrative center of the North Caucasian Federal District
of Russia
. Population:
The name Pyatigorsk is derived from the fused Russian words "" (five mountains) and the city is so called because of the five peaks of the Beshtau
(which also means five mountains in Turkic
) of the Caucasian mountain range overlooking the city. It was founded in 1780, and has been a health spa with mineral spring
s since 1803. The Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov
was shot in a duel
at Pyatigorsk on July 27, 1841. There is a museum in the city devoted to his memory. The Zionist activist Joseph Trumpeldor
was born in Pyatigorsk.
The first mention of the mineral springs is found in the writings of the 14th-century Arabian traveler Ibn Battuta
. Scientific interest in them was first shown by Peter the Great, 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 I
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 Kislovodsk
, Yessentuki, Zheleznovodsk
. Pyatigorsk
During World War II
Pyatigorsk was occupied for a while by the German Wehrmacht
. The Einsatzkommando
12 of Einsatzgruppe D had its headquarter in Pyatigorsk in 1942. Many Jewish inhabitants of the region were killed.
, a dairy
, a brewery
, a confectionery
), textiles (clothing
, 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 ten sanatorium
s, four boarding houses and five sanatoriums-preventoriums. The number of people who stayed at the health resort within a year totalled about 170,000.
, Mashuk
and three other outliers of the Caucasian mountain range, which protect it on the north. The snow-covered summits of Mount Elbrus
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.
(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).
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 necropolis
, Lermontov's small house, Verzilin's houses, the house of Alexander Alyabyev
, the Lermontov square, and monument.
The Aeolian harp
is a small stone pavilion in the classical style, constructed by the brothers Bernardacci
in 1828.
Diana's grotto was built in 1830, in honour of the first ascent of Mount Elbrus
.
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".
Pyatigorsk is a sister city of Dubuque, Iowa, United States
.
2192 Pyatigoriya
discovered in 1972 by Soviet
astronomer Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova
is named after the city.
with: Schwerte
in Germany
Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol. Population: -Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the northern slopes of Caucasus Major...
on the Podkumok River
Podkumok River
Podkumok River is a river in Stavropol Krai, Russia, right tributary of the Kuma River. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is 2,220 km² . The Podkumok River originates in the Greater Caucasus....
, about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from Mineralnye Vody
Mineralnye Vody
Mineralnye Vody is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, which lies along the Kuma River and the main rail line between Rostov-on-Don and Baku . Population:...
. Since January 19, 2010 it has been the administrative center of the North Caucasian Federal District
North Caucasian Federal District
North Caucasian Federal District is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. It is located in the extreme southwest of Russia, in the geographical area of the North Caucasus...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Population:
The name Pyatigorsk is derived from the fused Russian words "" (five mountains) and the city is so called because of the five peaks of the Beshtau
Beshtau
Beshtau is an isolated five-domed igneous mountain near Pyatigorsk in the Northern Caucasus....
(which also means five mountains in Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five 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...
) of the Caucasian mountain range overlooking the city. It was founded in 1780, and has been a health spa with mineral spring
Mineral spring
Mineral 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 Lermontov
Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", became the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837. Lermontov is considered the supreme poet of Russian literature alongside Pushkin and the greatest...
was shot in a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
at Pyatigorsk on July 27, 1841. There is a museum in the city devoted to his memory. The Zionist activist Joseph Trumpeldor
Joseph Trumpeldor
Joseph Trumpeldor , was an early Zionist activist. He helped organize the Zion Mule Corps and bring Jewish immigrants to the Land of Israel. Trumpeldor died defending the settlement of Tel Hai in 1920 and subsequently became a Zionist national hero...
was born in Pyatigorsk.
History
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
. Scientific interest in them was first shown by Peter the Great, 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 I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
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 Kislovodsk
Kislovodsk
Kislovodsk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, which lies in the North Caucasian region of the country, between the Black and Caspian Seas. The closest airport is located in the city of Mineralnye Vody. Population:...
, Yessentuki, Zheleznovodsk
Zheleznovodsk
Zheleznovodsk is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. Population: The name of the town literally means iron-water-place, as the mineral waters springing from the earth in Zheleznovodsk were believed to have high content of iron. Zheleznovodsk, along with Pyatigorsk, Yessentuki, Kislovodsk, and...
. Pyatigorsk
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Pyatigorsk was occupied for a while by the German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. The Einsatzkommando
Einsatzkommando
During World War II, the Nazi German Einsatzkommandos were a sub-group of five Einsatzgruppen mobile killing squads—up to 3,000 men each—usually composed of 500-1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to kill Jews, Romani, communists and the NKVD collaborators in the captured...
12 of Einsatzgruppe D had its headquarter in Pyatigorsk in 1942. Many Jewish inhabitants of the region were killed.
Economy
The industry of Pyatigorsk is primarily oriented towards service of the health resort. There is also a food industry (a meat-processing plant, a wineryWinery
A 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. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
, a dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
, a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at 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 confectionery
Confectionery
Confectionery 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...
), textiles (clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
, 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 ten sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
s, four boarding houses and five sanatoriums-preventoriums. The number of people who stayed at the health resort within a year totalled about 170,000.
Geography and climate
The city is situated on a small plateau, 512 metres (1,679.8 ft) above sea-level, at the foot of the BeshtauBeshtau
Beshtau is an isolated five-domed igneous mountain near Pyatigorsk in the Northern Caucasus....
, Mashuk
Mashuk
Mashuk 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....
and three other outliers of the Caucasian mountain range, which protect it on the north. The snow-covered summits of Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus
Mount 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 peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
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 metres (65.6 ft) deep dolineDoline
Doline 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
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
, Lermontov's small house, Verzilin's houses, the house of Alexander Alyabyev
Alexander Alyabyev
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev, also rendered as Alabiev or Alabieff was a Russian composer. He wrote seven operas, twenty musical comedies, more than 200 songs, and many other pieces. His most famous work is The Nightingale, a song based on a poem by Anton Delvig. It was composed while...
, the Lermontov square, and monument.
The Aeolian harp
Aeolian harp
An aeolian harp is a musical instrument that is "played" by the wind. It is named for Aeolus, the ancient Greek god of the wind. The traditional aeolian harp is essentially a wooden box including a sounding board, with strings stretched lengthwise across two bridges...
is a small stone pavilion in the classical style, constructed by the brothers Bernardacci
Brothers Bernardacci
The 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 Elbrus
Mount Elbrus
Mount 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 peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
.
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
People watching
People watching or crowd watching is the act of observing people and their interactions, usually without their knowledge. This differs from voyeurism in that it does not relate to sex or sexual gratification...
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".
Pyatigorsk is a sister city of Dubuque, Iowa, United States
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
.
Honors
An asteroidAsteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
2192 Pyatigoriya
2192 Pyatigoriya
2192 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 Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
astronomer Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova
Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova
Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova was a Russian 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.
International relations
Pyatigorsk is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Schwerte
Schwerte
Schwerte is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Schwerte is situated in the Ruhr valley, at the south-east border of the Ruhr Area...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...