Sightseeing in Yessentuki - what to see. Complete travel guide

Yessentuki is a miniature resort town, which, nevertheless, is known far beyond the borders of the country. On the territory of the resort there are a lot of healing mineral springs, which made this city famous, it is worth mentioning that they are all located on the territory of only one hollow. The resort is largely unique. It was visited by many scientists and researchers, who wrote many scientific articles and monographs about Yessentuki. Here, mine workings and wells have been lost for a long time, and all of them were drilled with only one purpose - to provide the city and tourists with therapeutic mineral water in optimal quantity.

After numerous scientists explored this region and its medicinal springs, the first Cossack villages appeared on these lands, and they protected priceless deposits of healing water. Soon the first churches, schools and libraries appeared here, and the city became a real resort in 1845, when the governor of the Caucasus was Prince Mikhail Vorontsov. It was thanks to his efforts that the small settlement turned into a real world-class resort.

Vorontsov bought valuable lands from the Cossacks and began to improve them. The resort continued to actively develop and during the Soviet era, health resorts were built here, including the famous "Moscow", "Yunost" and "Smenu". On the outskirts of the city an artificial lake was built, equipped with comfortable beaches and a boat station. Townspeople and vacationers were very fond of the place where they could spend the hot summer days. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

At the end of the 20th century, Yessentuki became the largest mineral water resort in the country. Here, new sanatoriums were built and the old ones were repaired, the infrastructure was also developed. Nowadays Yessentuki is a rather visited resort, most of the guests come for relaxation with the sole purpose of improving their health. To call the resort noisy and young is impossible, as main part of its guests is people of old age. However, the resort cannot be called boring. Many travelers perfectly manage to combine health-improving procedures with active recreation. The resort is not rich in noisy entertainment, but it is sure to please those who love nature and walks in picturesque places. Yessentuki is suitable for recreation with children, and many local health resorts are focused on those who prefer to relax with the whole family.

Not only healing mineral springs attract tourists to this resort. The Yessentuki guests’ favorite place for walking is the wonderful Resort Park. It is difficult to imagine that once there was big marsh here that didn’t dry out even in summer. Upon the order of count Vorontsov, the marsh was drained and the beautiful park with lush flower beds, pavilions, and shaded alleys was founded here. Then, the theatre was opened in the park and turned it into a real culture center. Now, the park is thoroughly cared for. Every year, new landscape decorations are installed here.

In the city, there is the interesting Local History Museum named after V. Shpakovsky. This museum occupies the beautiful mansion built in the late 19th century. The museum collection started to be formed in 1963. Most of its present exhibits are dedicated to the history of the resort development. The mansion houses antique furniture, important historical documents, and collections of old black-and-white pictures. You can also see here exhibits dedicated to flora and fauna of the resort area.

On the territory of the city, there are a lot of old pavilions, most of which were built over a hundred years ago. Every pavilion is unusual in its own way. In the Resort Park, you should find the music pavilion called Rokoko. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century. Musical performances were regularly held here at that time. This kind tradition was revived several years ago.

In 1912, the Oreanda pavilion was built. The telescope was installed here and, for the first five years of its existence, everyone could visit the pavilion and admire stars. Now, there is no telescope here and people visit the pavilion to admire the views of the mountains.

Another beautiful religious monument of Yessentuki is the Church of St. Panteleimon. It was built in the 1980s and distinguished by its exquisite exterior and rich interior. In the Soviet period, the church was completely destroyed. It started to be restored only in 1992. The religious monument was rebuilt almost in its original form.