The city of Zheleznovodsk is a small, picturesque city in the Stavropol Territory. This is the northernmost, greenest resort town of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, located in the valley of the Dzhemuk and Kuchuk rivers on the southern slope of Mount Zheleznaya, 5 km from the Beshtau railway station, 19 km north of Pyatigorsk, 21 km from the Mineralnye Vody station. The population of the city is 23.8 thousand people, excluding the village of Inozemtsevo and its suburbs (2008). The total number is 52.7 thousand people. Area - 93 sq. km.
Where is Zheleznovodsk located?
The city of Zheleznovodsk is located in the Caucasian Mineral Waters region. Along with neighboring Pyatigorsk, Essentuki and Kislovodsk, it is one of the 4 resorts of the KMS. However, people who do not drink mineral water often ask, “Where is Zheleznovodsk?” So, the city of Zheleznovodsk is the Stavropol Territory. The city and region is located in the southwest of Russia. Time in Zheleznovodsk is Moscow time.
From here, in a couple of hours you can get to Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and North Ossetia. It will take a little longer to travel to Ingushetia, Chechnya, Adygea, Dagestan and the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory. You can find Zheleznovodsk on the map below.
- You can book a room in a sanatorium with treatment on the websites sanatoriums.com and sanatory.ru
- How to get to Zheleznovodsk
- Where to buy a tour to Zheleznovodsk
Home\Stavropol Territory\Administrative-territorial division\City and municipal districts
Resort city Zheleznovodsk, Stavropol Territory
Status: municipality
Official website: www.adm-zheleznovodsk.ru
City area: 93.13 km
Population: 52.41 thousand people.
Address: City Administration 357400, Zheleznovodsk, st. Kalinina, 2.
Phone: (87932) 3-28-24, 4-23-14, fax: (87932) 4-18-93
e-mail: admzhv @ mail . ru
Official website: www.adm-zheleznovodsk.ru
Head of the resort city of Zheleznovodsk, Stavropol Territory
BAKULIN Evgeniy Evgenievich
The term of office is 5 years. Election date: 12/14/2021
Chairman of the Duma of the resort city of Zheleznovodsk, Stavropol Territory
RUDAKOV Alexander Anatolievich
The term of office is 5 years. Election date: 10/08/2021
Deputies:
number of deputies - 20, of which 20 are active
The term of office is 5 years. Date of election: 09/29/2016.
address: 357400, Zheleznovodsk, st. Kalinina, 2;
telephone: 8 (87932) 3-21-55, fax: 8 (87932) 3-30-05.
BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Zheleznovodsk is the northernmost, smallest and most picturesque resort of the Caucasian Mineral Waters. The population of the city is more than 50 thousand people. At the same time, Zheleznovodsk is the largest city in Caucasian Mineralnye Vody in terms of territory (93 hectares). The administrative boundaries of Zheleznovodsk include: the village of Inozemtsevo, the Beshtau microdistrict, residential areas - Kapelnitsa and Rosa Luxemburg.
On the one hand, it is a modern resort with developed infrastructure, on the other hand, it is a small and cozy town, glorified in the works of our great compatriots. “Little Switzerland” is also the name of the city, which is located in a picturesque valley formed by the Beshtau and Zheleznaya mountains in a natural forest at an altitude of 630-650 meters above sea level. Zheleznovodsk, in its meteorological conditions, approaches the climate of the middle Alps, and is quite favorable for treatment, both in summer and winter.
Beautiful deciduous forests have a very beneficial effect on the climate; the air is saturated with oxygen and phytoncides, which have a beneficial effect on the human body. About 1,350 plant species grow here, 125 of which are medicinal.
Of the 9,313 hectares of the total area of the city, 4,247 hectares are occupied by forests.
The Zheleznovodsk valley, overgrown with dense broad-leaved forest, resembles the dark green surface of the sea with dome-shaped and steep islands. The famous geologist V. Abikh, back in the mid-19th century, called this area a “rocky archipelago.” The mountains surrounding the valley are very similar to the islands - laccoliths (failed volcanoes) - Zheleznaya, Medovaya, Tupay, Ostraya, Razvalka, Beshtau.
The two components of Zheleznovodsk that brought it worldwide fame are its natural resources and the great people who visited the resort.
Zheleznovodsk owes its existence and recognition as a world resort to the main wealth exuding from the depths of Mount Zheleznaya - mineral waters and, first of all, Smirnovskaya and Slavyanovskaya.
In terms of the chemical composition, the waters of almost all Zheleznovodsk springs are of the same type and are classified as carbonic hydrocarbonate-sulfate-sodium-calcium.
A remarkable feature of the waters of Zheleznovodsk mineral springs is their temperature. High temperatures are absolutely not typical for calcium waters. Zheleznovodsk is a happy exception to the rule. These are the only high-temperature calcium waters in our country and Europe.
Currently, the flow rate of Zheleznovodsk springs reaches 2 million liters per day. Mineral waters from most springs in Zheleznovodsk are bottled in all regions of Russia, exported to the CIS countries and
Baltic states, Israel, Germany and the USA.
The first general acquaintance with Zheleznovodsk always amazes visitors with the abundance of healing capabilities of the resort. Many diseases of the stomach, intestines, liver and kidneys, biliary tract, the consequences of inflammatory processes in the abdominal cavity, diseases related to metabolism, urological and gynecological diseases are treated here.
Since the very inception of the resort, Zheleznovodsk has been a generally recognized children's resort, which occupies a leading position in the Caucasian Mineral Waters. In the anniversary book for the 100th anniversary of the Caucasian Mineral Waters it is written: “In Russia it is difficult to find a climatic point that would be more suitable for the goals of creating a children’s resort than Zheleznovodsk.” It is recommended to bring weakened children to Zheleznovodsk. Beautiful mountain air, mineral water, rich vegetation, an abundance of balneological remedies - all this, together with active games in the air, leads to the rapid restoration of the child’s body.
The area where the city is located has been inhabited by people since ancient times. Dozens of archaeological monuments have been discovered here: burial mounds of the Bronze Age, in particular the Maikop culture of the third millennium BC, burial grounds of the Koban culture, early Iron Age, Scythian and Sarmatian tribes, the Alan state, the remains of settlements and fortifications.
Since the 7th century, the northern branch of the Great Silk Road, connecting Europe and Asia, passed here. Caravans loaded with Chinese silk made a stop at Mount Razvalka before the last transition to the Black Sea ports of Abkhazia.
However, the history of Zheleznovodsk goes back only two centuries. But this not very long history is decorated with the best names of representatives of Russian science and culture. It is rare that any of the wonderful Russian people who have visited here have not added anything to the glory of the resort.
Academician P.S. Pallas was the first to report the existence of a healing spring behind Mount Beshtau in 1793. The hot spring under the Iron Mountain was discovered in 1810 by the famous ophthalmologist F.P. Haaz.
Following F.P. Haaz, professor of the Medical and Surgical Academy A.P. Nelyubin in 1823 discovered 7 more springs at the foot of Mount Zheleznaya.
Nowadays, 2 springs (hot and cold) at Mount Zheleznaya bear the names of the Nelyubinskys.
Initially, the Zheleznovodsk resort occupied a small area. On the site are the Group Office building, the local history museum, the building of the former New Baths and the resort laboratory. After the construction of a group office here, this site began to be called Kontorskaya.
In 1825, on the southeastern slope of Mount Zheleznaya, according to the design of the architects Bernardazzi brothers, a park was founded - another attraction of the resort city of Zheleznovodsk.
The medical park occupies an area of 57 hectares and is part of a forest park, which is laid out on the basis of a natural forest (the only one of the parks on the Caucasian Mineral Waters), has no boundaries and imperceptibly passes into the natural Beshtaugorsky forest, which occupies an area of more than 12 thousand hectares. A wide clearing was cut down and paths were laid. The central alley of the park ran past the main springs, enclosed in elegant drinking pavilions and galleries.
The park includes two elegant drinking pavilions and galleries. The park was divided into two sections - Lower and Upper. The upper park is laid out in an oak grove and consists mainly of oak and ash interspersed with elm, field maple, hawthorn and other species. The lower park is almost entirely covered by hornbeam and beech forest.
The Zheleznovodsk Forest Park was of great importance in the development of the Caucasian Mineral Waters parks. Planting material was exported from this park to other resort cities.
For many decades, Zheleznovodsk Landscape Park was the only center of culture for both resort visitors and local residents.
Currently, the park contains pump rooms of famous mineral springs: Slavyanovsky and Smirnovsky, architectural and historical monuments: Palace of the Emir of Bukhara, Lermontovsky Square, Sundial “Zodiac Signs”, Pushkin Gallery, Pushkinsky Square, Cascade Staircase - the best panoramic point in Zheleznovodsk and a favorite walking place for locals and vacationers, and many others. other.
The resort park has been repeatedly recognized as the winner of all-Russian and regional competitions for the title “Best Resort Park of the Year”.
Real fame for the Zheleznovodsk resort came at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, which brought significant changes to the further development of the resort, and Zheleznovodsk began to be compared with fashionable French resorts.
The Zheleznovodsk resort is distinguished by the fact that one of its territorial features is the separation of residential, resort and industrial zones. The complete absence of city noise and bustle, from which the sick are so eager to escape, the picturesque location, the favorable climate - all this contributed to its prosperity.
In the mid-19th century, a feature of iron waters was their low flow rate and lack of stability. In the 20th century, the first regime observations of the healing waters, their chemical composition, gas saturation and flow rate began at the resort. Such observations continue to this day.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, the city took on a new look. A magnificent building of the Ostrov Baths in the oriental style is being built, where mud therapy will subsequently become widely used. The Beshtau-Zheleznovodsk railway line is being built, electricity is supplied from the White Coal hydroelectric power station, fresh water is supplied to houses through a water supply system, new city buildings are being erected, private sanatoriums and clinics are being built.
At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1908, the first workshop for manual bottling of mineral water was created in Zheleznovodsk. The first thousand bottles were poured into it. Currently, 8 enterprises carry out bottling of mineral water.
Zheleznovodsk received its intensive development after 1920, when Soviet power was established and the city was recognized as a medical institution of national importance. All private dachas in the city were nationalized, and mansions and resort establishments were transferred to the resort management. In the summer, 8 sanatoriums operated, along with which new ones were built. New spring pump rooms are also appearing.
In 1938, the resort became year-round. By 1940, there were already 16 sanatoriums operating in the city.
In the 50s, a city lake was created. In the 70s, a new mud bath building was built. At the same time, comfortable sanatoriums were built, equipped with all the necessary medical equipment for successful treatment according to the resort profile.
In 1990, the city of Zheleznovodsk, Stavropol Territory, was recognized as historical and included in the List of Historical Populated Places of the RSFSR.
In 1992, Zheleznovodsk became part of the specially protected ecological resort zone of the Caucasian Mineral Waters.
In 1997, the city received the prestigious international Golden Mercury award in Italy for achievements in the field of architecture and urban planning.
In 2000, the European Association of Resort Cities recognized Zheleznovodsk as one of the best balneological health resorts in terms of natural factors.
For a unique project for the reconstruction of the oldest part of the city, Zheleznovodsk was awarded a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Leipzig.
In 2002, Zheleznovodsk took first place in the All-Russian competition for the title “The Most Comfortable City in Russia.”
In 2006, the resort town of Zheleznovodsk was recognized as a resort of federal significance.
On September 25, 2010, the resort town of Zheleznovodsk turned 200 years old.
On November 29, 2010, by decision of the City Duma, another official symbol of Zheleznovodsk was approved - the anthem.
In 2022, restoration work at the Pushkin Gallery was completed. At the historical site, hydro-steam insulation of the roof was installed, the wall coverings of gutters and overhangs were changed, as well as the installation of a roof on a solid wooden flooring. In addition, a new sheathing of beams was installed on the roof of the Gallery and the metal surfaces were painted.
On July 7, 2022, the Swifts aerobatic team performed aerobatic maneuvers such as the Nesterov Loop, synchronized Barrels, Bell and Fountain in the skies over the resort city of Zheleznovodsk.
In September 2022, the resort city of Zheleznovodsk gathered the best balloonists of the country, becoming the center of the XX International Festival on the Caucasian Mineral Waters “Pearl of Russia - 2018”.
On November 26, 2022, in Zheleznovodsk, after reconstruction, the Lermontov health path was inaugurated, which became the first facility in the country equipped exclusively with resort tax funds.
A gift for the New Year 2022 for residents and guests of the Zheleznovodsk resort was the opening, after a large-scale reconstruction, of the city palace of culture, which became the largest in the territory of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody. New equipment makes it possible to hold high-profile festivals and concerts, stage modern theater productions, and opens up many opportunities for all types of creativity.
Settlements included in the urban district
| № | Name | Number population | Number voters |
| 1 | Resort city Zheleznovodsk, Stavropol Territory | 24 900 | 16 218 |
| 2 | Inozemtsevo village | 27 500 | 20 313 |
Weather in Zheleznovodsk. When is the best time to relax?
People go to Zheleznovodsk on vacation all year round. As with most Russian resorts, the best time to travel here is summer . Summer in the city is warm, sometimes hot. However, June can be cool, varying from year to year. In addition, at the beginning of summer, cyclones often bring rain. In August, the sky clears up and you can even see the Caucasus Range if you climb higher.
The heat that comes to the city in the second half of summer is easily tolerated. In the resort park, in the shade of trees, the sun practically does not burn, but you can always go down to the resort lake to sunbathe and even swim. Of course, the best time for a holiday in Zheleznovodsk is July-August, but you need to take into account that during this period the prices are the highest.
Prices in sanatoriums are tied to the season. Along with the summer months, the price maximum can be observed during the May holidays and the New Year. But in the fall , on the contrary, prices begin to decline. In September it is still summer here, even with less rain on average than in August. Only during the day it is no longer hot, and the nights are cool. Children need to go to school, so the number of vacationers and prices begin to fall. October cannot be called rainy either, the days are still warm, almost Indian summer, but the nights are already cold. This is the best month for a budget trip, when you can have an inexpensive vacation. In November, daytime temperatures can already drop to zero. Rain is rare, but very cold, and the sky is often overcast. November and February are considered low season.
However, in winter it is not much better here. Snow does not fall at the resort every year and melts quickly. There is ice underfoot and freezing rains are frequent. The winters themselves are mild, and there are practically no serious frosts. But in February there are winds. Nevertheless, during the New Year holidays many vacationers come here. The nature here in winter can be fabulously beautiful. At this time, vacation prices are the lowest here, but the climatic conditions are not the best.
Photo: Oleg Mar / commons.wikimedia.org
Spring in Zheleznovodsk begins in March. Literally every day it becomes warmer. In March-April the first flowers appear and the trees turn green. There are still frosts at night, and during the day it can be already summer-like warmth, but it is not constant and quickly gives way to coolness. There are frequent fogs in the mornings, but rains only come in May. May is generally the rainiest month here. However, May can already be considered the summer months, with a slight stretch. After the May holidays, you will still be able to go on an inexpensive vacation for some time, and then the high summer season will come.
Below you can see monthly ticket prices to Mineralnye Vody.
Population
| Population | ||||||||
| 1959[8] | 1970[9] | 1979[10] | 1989[11] | 1990[12] | 1991[12] | 1992[12] | 1993[12] | 1994[12] |
| 23 997 | ↗34 972 | ↗41 292 | ↗45 334 | ↗45 849 | ↗46 349 | ↗47 219 | ↗47 502 | ↗48 109 |
| 1995[12] | 1996[12] | 1997[12] | 1998[12] | 1999[12] | 2000[12] | 2001[12] | 2002[11] | 2003[12] |
| ↗48 608 | ↗49 665 | ↗50 833 | ↗51 505 | ↗52 084 | ↗52 163 | ↘52 043 | ↗52 245 | ↗52 422 |
| 2004[12] | 2005[12] | 2006[12] | 2007[12] | 2008[12] | 2009[13] | 2010[14] | 2011[15] | 2012[16] |
| ↗52 672 | ↘52 660 | ↘52 565 | ↘52 553 | ↘52 528 | ↗52 542 | ↗52 831 | ↗52 834 | ↗52 866 |
| 2013[17] | 2014[18] | 2015[19] | 2016[20] | 2017[21] | 2018[22] | 2019[23] | 2020[24] | 2021[2] |
| ↘52 778 | ↘52 509 | ↗52 862 | ↘52 789 | ↘52 658 | ↘52 414 | ↗52 703 | ↗53 926 | ↗54 134 |
Where to eat in Zheleznovodsk
Most of those who come to Zheleznovodsk for rest and treatment are still accommodated in sanatoriums. The trip almost always includes 3 meals a day on a full board basis. The food is usually dietary and in most health resorts it is very meager, but you will not go hungry. If the sanatorium food completely tires you out, you can always find somewhere tasty to eat. In Zheleznovodsk, like in any other self-respecting resort, there are cafes, restaurants and even a pizzeria.
Finding them will not be difficult both in the resort area and in the residential sector of the city. It is worth noting that most of them start working around lunchtime, so it is unlikely that you will be able to have breakfast in a good cafe.
Among others, perhaps, we can mention the “Forester’s Hut” restaurant, a very atmospheric establishment. This restaurant is one of the oldest in the city. It is located outside the city limits, in the forest near Mount Razvalka. There is a permafrost cave nearby.
Those who prefer to rent an apartment usually cook on their own. For groceries they go or go to Magnit and other grocery stores on Lenin Street in a residential area. In the very center of the residential areas of Zheleznovodsk, on Engelsa Street, 35, there is the Slavyanka market. Mostly locals buy there. It is worth noting that in the resort area food prices are 20-30% higher than in the city.
For those who, for some reason, find it difficult to cook and have a limited vacation budget, we can advise you to pay attention to canteens. In the resort area, the “On the Waters” canteen is located in the hydropathic building, at Lenin Street, 9. Open daily from 8-30 to 19-00.
Dining room No. 2 is located in the city, at Lenin Street, 149B. Nearby is the kindergarten “Ivushka”. The dining room is delicious, the food is inexpensive, but work ends at 17-00, so you won’t be able to have dinner. In addition, Saturday and Sunday are days off here.
Local government
Heads of Administration
- from March 2001 to 2006 - Zubtsov Anatoly Semenovich
- until September 2009 - Lozovoy Viktor Ivanovich
- until December 17, 2012[25] - Rudakov, Alexander Anatolyevich
- from 03/10/2013[26] to 10/12/2013 (died in an accident) - Vladimir Valentinovich Silantiev[27].
- from 10/16/2013 and. O. — Brusentsov Yuri Vasilievich.
- from 01/28/2014 to 11/18/2016 - Vera Borisovna Melnikova
Heads of the resort city
- — 2022 Moiseev Evgeniy Ivanovich[28]
- from 2022 — Bakulin Evgeniy Evgenievich[29]
Chairmen of the Duma of the resort city
- Rudakov Alexander Anatolyevich[28]
What to buy in Zheleznovodsk
In Zheleznovodsk, next to the central entrance to the park there is a department store. Inside there are two very interesting souvenir shops. In one the prices are slightly lower, but the range is smaller, in the other the situation is the opposite. The choice is actually very large, for every taste, color and budget. Perhaps the CMS has the widest range of souvenirs. However, 90% of them are not directly related to Zheleznovodsk. As a souvenir, you can buy a wall calendar with photographs of Zheleznovodsk, other cities of the Caucasus or the Caucasus Mountains. Popular products include honey and churchkhela. All this can be easily found in a small market near the main entrance to the park.
If you want to bring a souvenir as a souvenir so that it is associated with the Caucasus and mineral waters, buy a drinking mug. Firstly, it has useful functionality and will be useful to you at the resort, and secondly, it is one of the symbols of the city of Zheleznovodsk.
In the resort park you can often see an exhibition and sale of paintings and other handicrafts. You can even order your portrait.
Those who understand painting will certainly be able to find something to buy as a souvenir.
Creams, soaps and other cosmetics created on the basis of therapeutic Tambukan mud are very popular at the resort. You can even buy the dirt itself. In addition, one of the main souvenirs of Zheleznovodsk is mineral water. You don’t even need to buy it, you can just type it at the source. But it will be problematic to bring it, they won’t let you on the plane with it, and after a day the living water already loses its original properties.
If you can’t imagine your vacation without shopping, from the railway station you can easily and quickly go to the famous markets of Pyatigorsk “Lira” and “Lyudmila” or to the “Upper” market. You can buy almost everything on Lira-Lyudmila; minibus No. 134 goes there.
The “upper” market is mostly grocery, route No. 113 goes there. Leaving will not be a problem, minibuses run every 15-20 minutes.
Foundation of the city
In 1810, the famous Moscow doctor Fyodor Petrovich Gaaz discovered the first mineral spring on the slope of Mount Zheleznaya. At the end of the Patriotic War of 1812, the first patients began to arrive at the resort. We went to Iron Waters through the Konstantinogorsk fortress, along the western slope of Mount Beshtau. The local mineral springs of these places had a reddish-rusty color, so the soldiers of the Constantinogorsk fortress called them iron waters. Since 1860, the Cossack settlement, located next to the springs, was named Zheleznovodsk.
Mount Sharp
We go up along a wide forest road, turn left and go out to the foot of Mount Ostraya. The height of Mount Ostroy is 871 meters.
She's from the peaks of Sharp Mountain
Mount Ostraya has two sharp peaks that look like gates.
Two peaks of Sharp Mountain. View from Dull Mountain in autumn
From the sharp peaks to the right there is an almost vertical stone wall,
to the left is a flat-topped mountain overgrown with an oak grove.
The left part of the Ostroy mountain massif
It's easy to climb to the oak grove. The view from this part of the Ostroy mountain massif is not so impressive, but still interesting.
The most difficult and dangerous climb is to the right side of the Ostroy mountain massif, to the stone wall. It is more correct to call this stone wall a rock cliff. This rocky cliff is more than one hundred meters long.
Cliffs of Sharp Mountain
Basically, there is a place on the right side of the mountain that is accessible to climb the ridge without climbing equipment. If you stand on the ridge facing the abyss you can see Small and Big Tau - the peaks of Beshtau. True, the view from there seemed gloomy to me. The descent increases adrenaline in the blood. I don’t consider myself a coward, but I only went up and down this stone wall three times. The first time was particularly memorable. She crossed herself when she found herself at the bottom. The path is steep, there is practically nothing to grab onto, the soil is rocky. You walk along the path almost on scree. This is a case that is well known to mountain lovers: when the ascent is much easier than the descent.
Medical base
The beneficial local climate, healing waters and Tambukan mud have made Zheleznovodsk a unique center for the treatment and healing of people of all ages. The springs “give out” mineral waters of different temperatures, which allows them to be used very widely (drinking, bathing, inhalation and other procedures).
Nowhere else in our country and in Europe is there such warm calcium water as here. In sanatoriums they help cope with nervous ailments, diseases of the respiratory and digestive organs, the musculoskeletal system, metabolism, gynecological, etc.
In addition to hydrotherapy, prescriptions include electro-mud procedures, physiotherapeutic and physical therapy activities, and dietary nutrition. Health resorts are mastering new working methods using computer and laser technology. The treatment regimen also includes walking on health paths.
Water intake for medicinal drinking is now carried out in the Slavyanovsky, Lermontovsky, Smirnovsky and Western pump rooms. The Lermontov spring is the one thanks to which Zheleznovodsk appeared. But this name was assigned to the source in 1964, in connection with the 150th anniversary of the poet. On the mountain terrace near its pump room there is a park of the same name.
Panorama from Mount Medovaya
From Mount Medova you can see the Razvalka and Zheleznaya mountains.
On the other hand, our next goal: the Tupaja and Ostraya mountains. The forest spread out like a beautiful carpet.
After enjoying the views from the mountain and taking pictures, we go down into the forest. We will see a forest road coming from Mount Medovaya.
It goes back behind Mount Medovaya to the Dubovaya Roshcha sanatorium, the Office of the President and the railway station. She leads us forward from Zheleznovodsk to Lermontov. Our immediate goal is to reach Mount Kabanka (Tupaya) along this road.
