In Kislovodsk, nature trails and cultural sites are among the defining discoveries of a stay. The Terrenkur trail network offers an opportunity to get active outdoors; galleries, museums and memorial sites introduce visitors to the city’s architecture and history. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Kislovodsk, you can choose your destination based on a wide range of interests—from a walk in the greenery to art and music.
Terrenkur and Narzan
The Terrenkur trail network in Kislovodsk National Park is 24.3 kilometres long in total. This figure describes the length of the entire network, not a single hike. Plan your day accordingly, taking the route you choose into account rather than treating the total length as one leg of a journey.
Another distinctive place is the Narzan Gallery, a 19th-century architectural monument and a cultural heritage site of federal significance. Built to a design by architect Samuel Upton, the building is symbolically shaped like a key. Visitors can sample three varieties of Narzan there free of charge every day: regular Narzan, as well as dolomite and sulphate Narzan. The latter two varieties are served warm and cold. Check the current conditions before your visit.
Art and Historic Houses
The museum-estate of artist N. A. Yaroshenko is located in the house where he lived and worked. Yaroshenko (1846–1898) was a Russian Peredvizhniki artist; the collection includes works by him and N. A. Kasatkin. Guests and friends called the bright house “Belaya Villa” (“White Villa”). It reopened as an art museum in 1962—a historical milestone that does not determine its current opening arrangements.
The grounds cover about 1.1 hectares and include an orchard with a small arboretum, as well as a park with a fountain where visitors can stroll. Two outbuildings from the former estate are listed as historic buildings for protection as monuments of state significance. The visit can thus extend from the house and its collection to the green spaces and other historic buildings on the grounds.
Fortress and City History
Kislovodsk Fortress is considered the only military structure in the North Caucasus to have survived on this scale since the mid-19th century. Its features include a round tower, fortress walls with loopholes, weapons workshops, gates, barracks and an arsenal. The fully restored main buildings—including the southern and southwestern barracks, gates, weapons workshops, arsenal and tower—house exhibition rooms of the Krepost local history museum.
The museum opened on 9 May 1965. Its exhibition topics range from specific periods in the history of the peoples of the North Caucasus to mineral springs, the development of Kislovodsk and the role of the Cossacks in the founding of the health resort. Outside, at the museum entrance, visitors can see military equipment, stone sculptures and a model of the first Narzan bathing facility. A memorial marker made from a block of dolomite commemorates the founding of Kislovodsk on 13 (25) June 1803. The F. A. Zander Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, at 12 Zhukovsky Street, is also part of the museum.
The city’s earlier religious history has also been marked by upheaval: the stone Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker at 19 Mira Street was built in 1888 and completely destroyed in 1936. The fortress and the cathedral thus tell different chapters of the city’s history—from surviving military buildings to a church that no longer exists.
Memorial Sites and Music
The Zhuravli (“Cranes”) memorial complex commemorates residents of Kislovodsk who went to the front during the Great Patriotic War. Three flying cranes crown the twelve-metre-high obelisk. Another point of interest is the Geroiam-medikam (“Heroes Among the Medical Workers”) monument: a broad avenue lined with flowerbeds and benches leads to it; the memorial was opened in 1997. At the centre of Rebrov Square stands a 2.7-metre-high bronze statue of Alexei Fyodorovich Rebrov, created by sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov.
The North Caucasian State Safonov Philharmonic offers a range of cultural programmes, including symphony orchestras, organ concerts, chamber and children’s programmes, operas, operettas and plays. The programme also includes tours of the halls and traditional benefit events. These categories give an idea of the range on offer, but are no substitute for a schedule: check current dates for specific performances and tours.
Discover more destinations: Donskoye, Stavropol, Kazinka, Kursavka, Zheleznovodsk, Novaya Proletarka, Georgiyevsk, Pyatigorsk.
Go to the main travel overview: Stavropol Krai.
