Stavropol, Russia

Stavropol

Description of Stavropol

Stavropol (from the Greek. Σταυρός - "cross", πόλις - "city") - the city, the administrative center of the Stavropol Territory of the Russian Federation. Stavropol was founded in 1777 as a fortress on the Azov-Mozdok line. The name was proposed by Prince G.A. Potemkin, it is believed, by continuity from the fortress of Stavropol located in the Volga region - now it is the city of Tolyatti. By the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire had moved from the conquest of the Caucasus to its development: the Caucasian province was formed, the center of which was transferred to Stavropol in 1824, and in 1842 it was additionally “strengthened” by the creation of a separate diocese. Along with Vladikavkaz and Yekaterinodar, Stavropol becomes one of the main Caucasian cities. During the Civil War, there were battles near him, he twice passed under the control of the Volunteer Army. In 1935-1943 it was called Voroshilovsk. During the Great Patriotic War, the city fell under German occupation for more than five months.

Since the end of the 20th century, Stavropol has been associated with some ambiguous phenomena of Russian reality. The last ruler of the USSR M.S. began his political career in the city. Gorbachev; Andrei Razin, one of the organizers of the Mirage and Laskovy May pop groups, very popular at the end of the Union, was born and lived here for a long time; the cause and effect of this popularity was the simultaneous performances by several teams in different cities under one phonogram - Razin's know-how. In the 21st century, Stavropol became famous for the scandals surrounding the demolition of the monument to the heroes of the dovotors (which was restored 6 years later in a new place), photographs of the Perspektivny microdistrict as the quintessence of the “human village” district, and the episode with the distribution of pancakes with a shovel during the Maslenitsa celebration. On the other hand, Stavropol has repeatedly won the contest "The most comfortable city in Russia."

As a fortress, Stavropol is exceptionally well located: on a hill surrounded by steppes. The city is visible long before the entrance to it, and in Stavropol itself there are many places from where panoramas of not only residential buildings, but also the surroundings open. At the same time, forests with springs and rivers grow densely on the slopes of the hills - this is one of the few steppe cities where you can walk from the center to the forest.

 

When to come

The best time to visit is May and early June, when chestnuts and tulips are in bloom, the whole city is filled with the scents of flowers and herbs. Also, very pleasant weather usually occurs in early September and early October with the onset of Indian summer. At the end of June-July, the weather is less comfortable: hot days (36°C or more) are replaced by heavy rains, and even hotter (up to 39°C) and dry August is accompanied by an east wind bringing dust. Stavropol fogs can most often be observed from October to April, occasionally they visit the city in the summer, but it will not be possible to recommend a specific time for observing the Stavropol fog: it can last for weeks, it can come and go periodically, or clear weather can set in for a long time. With a good combination of circumstances, the most picturesque fog occurs in early January, if snow has fallen and there is no strong wind.

 

Orientation

The center of the city can be considered the vicinity of Lenin Square, the central park and Karl Marx Avenue. A broader interpretation is a part of the city bounded by the railway and the Bishop's Dacha forest from the north, Dovatortsev Street from the west, Lermontov Street from the south, and a conditional line from the railway station to Lermontov Street from the east. Most of the well-maintained places for walking and attractions are located here. Also in Stavropol there are three large residential areas (South-West, North-West and 204 quarter) and several smaller areas (Osetinka, Zh / K "Chocolate", Demino), the rest of the city mainly consists of the private sector with separate multi-storey buildings, as well as forests and several industrial zones. Communication between areas is rather poor, so neither a short distance nor a line of sight guarantees that it will be easy to walk from one point to another. Nevertheless, from many places in the city you can see its high-altitude dominants, which at least allow you to determine where you are:
Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God on Fortress Hill
Soldier on the fortress hill
Hotel "Continent"
Guliyev's mill and a residential complex near it
House on Lenina, 245 (next to DKiSP)
LCD "Vertical" - a house on Mira, 282/2 with a blue glass facade
LCD "Chocolate" (lane Krupskoy, 29)

 

Local Features

Stavropol is one of the few large Russian cities where outdoor water columns have been massively preserved; there are even specimens that have become monuments.
Although Stavropol is not as foggy as the Far Eastern cities, in the European part of Russia it occupies one of the first places in this indicator: fog here occurs more than 60 days a year, and often very dense, prolonged and can be combined with wind, and in winter - with little frost. Many residents believe that this is not fog at all, but a cloud that has flown onto the slope of the Stavropol Upland. Sometimes the fog is so dense that you can't see the opposite side of the street. Near stadiums, for example, near a cadet school, one can observe an interesting effect when powerful lamps are turned on there: it seems that the air around is glowing.
In Stavropol, much attention is paid to landscaping. Almost throughout the city you can find well-groomed alleys, flower beds, hedges and beautifully trimmed trees. Many streets are densely planted with trees. But, of course, the city center stands out. Stavropol is especially impressive in May, when trees bloom and tulips bloom. At this time, the city is filled with the smells of flowers. In autumn, the city is decorated with red and yellow leaves, but even in winter, spruces and evergreen shrubs turn green in the city.
Stavropol does not belong to the North Caucasus, but it is the nearest large city to the Caucasus. For all the services that are not available in the North Caucasian republics - educational, medical and household - residents of these regions usually go to Stavropol. In good weather, Elbrus and other mountains of the Main Caucasian Range can be observed from the high points of the city.
There are several universities in Stavropol that accept students from India, Africa and Arab countries, so do not be surprised to meet young people of exotic appearance in the city.

 

Getting here

Stavropol is located away from the main routes, such as the Black Sea coast and the North Caucasus, so land communication sometimes leaves much to be desired, but planes fly relatively regularly.

By plane
There are two airports in the Stavropol Territory, and the larger Mineralnye Vody airport is considered the main one. If there is no direct flight to Stavropol, there is often a choice between a direct flight to the Mineralnye Vody or a flight with a transfer to Stavropol, but this choice is not entirely obvious, since you will then have to get from the Mineralnye Vody to Stavropol by waypost.

1 Stavropol International Airport (Shpakovskoye, IATA:STW). ☎ +7 (8652) 24-55-57. The airport receives flights from Moscow (6-8 times a day), during the season also from St. Petersburg, Makhachkala and Sochi. International destinations are Yerevan and Istanbul, both not every day. Minibus No. 120 runs from the airport at intervals of 10-15 minutes, passing through the railway station, the central bus station, the Vostochnaya and Yuzhnaya bus stations, as well as the bus station in the city of Mikhailovsk. The reception area has a coffee shop, buffet, snack machines and gift shop. The clean area is not very spacious, but passengers of a couple of flights will fit, there is also a small cafe. In October-November it is sometimes closed due to fog. In 2023, they promise to open a second terminal.
2 "Mineralnye Vody" International Airport (IATA:MRV) (in the city of Mineralnye Vody, 160 km from Stavropol). ☎ +7 (87922) 2-73-05. One of the main airports in the Caucasus has a wider map of flights - both domestic and international. On the other hand, a trip from Mineralnye Vody to Stavropol can take a long time: buses from Mineralnye Vody to Stavropol usually do not stop at the airport, and the local minibus No. 11 serving the airport does not, in turn, go past the Minvod bus station. Taxi to Stavropol costs from 3000 rubles. The airport itself is somewhat overloaded: the terminal is larger than in Stavropol, but the flow of passengers is even greater, which is why even in the check-in area it is quite crowded. In addition, there are a large number of shops selling souvenirs and alcohol.

By train
Stavropol is the terminus of an inactive branch line from the city of Kropotkin (Kavkazskaya station). It runs a long-distance train from Adler (every other day) and a daily suburban train from Kavkazskaya. Plans were voiced for the resumption of railway communication to Elista. In addition, there are non-stop carriages running every two days from Moscow. It takes more than a day to go to the capital, which makes no sense, but it is convenient from Rostov: exactly at night.

The most popular railway route to the city is to the Nevinnomysskaya station, through which all trains of the North Caucasian direction pass. It takes 4.5-6 hours to go to Rostov from here, and the resorts of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody are generally within easy reach; there are also direct trains to the Black Sea coast (Sochi, Novorossiysk, Anapa). Nevinomyssk is located 45 km from Stavropol, sometimes direct buses to Stavropol leave directly from the station square, but you may first have to get to the Nevinomyssk bus station by minibus. Taxi to Stavropol costs from 1000 rubles.

3  Railway station (Stavropol-Rostovsky) , st. Vokzalnaya, 17. ☎ +7 (8652) 28-08-40. During the war, the Stavropol railway station was destroyed, after the war it was rebuilt. A beautiful building in the Stalinist Empire style, quite spacious and empty most of the day. Several bus routes stop at the station square, a fixed-route taxi No. 120 (to the airport), here is the final stop of trolleybuses No. 1,2,4,9. Yermolov Boulevard ends at the square.
4  Nevinnomysskaya station, city of Nevinnomyssk, Privokzalnaya sq. 1.

By car
Stavropol is located away from the federal highway P217 "Caucasus", you can drive off the highway to it on three roads. When driving from the north, the first turn to Stavropol is located immediately after Rostov (the road through Yegorlykskaya, Krasnogvardeyskoye, Donskoy: this way you bypass the toll section of the highway), and the second is before reaching Kropotkin (through Novoaleksandrovsk). The third exit, more convenient when driving from the south, is located in the Nevinnomyssk area. From Rostov 350-400 km, from Krasnodar 300 km, from Nalchik 280 km.

The road to Elista (270 km) goes to the northeast.

The situation on all these roads, both in Stavropol itself and in the suburbs, strongly depends on the time of day and day of the week; sometimes one is faster, sometimes the other.

By bus
All major cities of the South of Russia and all cities of the region have a bus connection with Stavropol. In addition, long-distance private buses to Moscow and even Yerevan are in use. The most popular destinations are Nevinnomyssk (up to 30 flights per day), Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody and Cherkessk (15-20 flights per day). Due to the large flow of students, it is better to avoid flights on Friday evening and Saturday morning from Stavropol, and on Sunday evening and Monday morning - to Stavropol.

Stavropol has a central bus station and three bus stations:
5  Central bus station, st. Marshal Zhukov 27. ☎ +7 (8652) 23-47-41. 4:30–23:00. Serves flights to Rostov-on-Don, Elista, Yeysk, Svetlograd, Budyonnovsk, as well as more distant destinations.
6 Bus station "Yuzhnaya" (Bus station No. 1), st. Dovatortsev, 80A. ☎ +7 (8652) 57-38-88. 5:30–23:00. Serves flights to Nevinnomyssk, Mineralnye Vody, Kislovodsk, Cherkessk, Nalchik, Makhachkala, Vladikavkaz, Armavir, Krasnodar.
7  Severnaya Bus Station (Bus Station No. 2), 18A Kulakov Ave. ☎ +7 (8652) 38-65-66. 7:00–19:00. Part of the buses of the northern direction depart from here - to Rostov-on-Don, and private carriers also work at the bus station.
8 Bus station "Vostochnaya" (Bus station No. 3), st. Civil, 2. ☎ +7 (8652) 28-39-26. 7:30–19:00. Suburban bus station, from where minibuses depart to the city of Mikhailovsk and the surrounding villages.
Private buses to Moscow leave from the railway station square, as well as from the Sapozhok studio.

 

Around the city

The location on a hill with sharp elevation changes and landslide slopes led to a strong fragmentation of the city. It is divided into several separate regions, the boundaries of which do not always correlate with administrative ones. The districts are connected to each other by a relatively small number of streets, so it is possible to move freely within each district, but getting from one district to another can be difficult, especially during peak hours. The busiest street is Dovatortsev Street, seven kilometers of which accumulates so many traffic jams that it can take more than an hour to get from one end to the other.

Public transport is represented by buses, trolleybuses and fixed-route taxis. Almost all of them finish their work shortly after the evening rush hour, as a result, the only way to get to some areas of the city in the absence of a personal car is a taxi. The fare in the city for 2021: a trolleybus - 15 rubles, a bus - 23 rubles, a fixed-route taxi - 25 rubles. Pay on exit. A minibus from the airport costs 40 rubles to the Intourist Hotel, or 80 rubles if you go further around the city. Flights to the suburbs (numbers from 100) have different costs and are usually paid at the entrance. There are no conductors even in trolleybuses, terminals for paying with a bank card are not everywhere, some drivers accept a surrogate in the form of a transfer from card to card, but it is better to have cash with you.

 

Sights

Fortress hill

1 Fortress Hill (Komsomolskaya Gorka), the beginning of Karl Marx Avenue. The most popular place for walking in Stavropol. It was here that since 1777 the Stavropol fortress was located, which laid the foundation for the city. By the end of the 19th century, the fortress was dismantled, now only a not very expressive wall of one of the barracks remains of it. There is an observation deck along the slope of the mountain, from where you can see the northern part of the city: the Tashly district, the North-Western district, as well as the neighboring city of Mikhailovsk.
2  Monument to the liberation of the city from the Whites (Soldier). One of the symbols of the city, installed on top of the fortress hill.
3  Monument "Khopyor tent". A monument in the form of a tent, inside which is a symbolic key to the city.
4  The building of the Alexandrovskaya Women's Gymnasium, Sovetskaya st. 1. The first female gymnasium in the Caucasus (1849). Previously, the corner of the building was crowned with the dome of the house church, damaged during the war and later replaced by a turret with a spire and a red star. Everything else has also undergone significant changes: for example, one floor was added, giving the building a post-war and “Stalinist” look.
5  Monument to the first city water pipeline, corner of Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya Ave. and st. Soviet. The existing water column reminds us that a similar form of water supply has been preserved and is still functioning in the city. Speakers are found not only on the outskirts, but also in the center; in their number, Stavropol noticeably surpasses other large cities. There is even a fountain in the form of a water column in the square near the building of the city water utility.
6  Small observation deck. A small platform near the Kazan Cathedral.
7 Kazan Cathedral. It was built in 1847 on the occasion of the creation of the Caucasian diocese with the center in Stavropol. In the 1930s, the cathedral was destroyed, and in 1943 its unique 98-meter bell tower was also blown up. The current cathedral is a remake, built in the 2010s “based on” the old one; the bell tower is also similar to the previous one, but “cut down” to 78 m. Thanks to this bell tower and its location on the mountain, the cathedral is visible from almost everywhere: this is one of the high-altitude dominants of Stavropol.
8  Monument to General Apanasenko. The place where, after the war, the ashes of a native of the Stavropol province, commander Joseph Apanasenko, the commander of the Voronezh Front, who died in 1943 near Belgorod, were transferred. Sometimes this memorial is called a mausoleum, since there is no actual monument (sculpture) here - only a small bas-relief on an expressive concrete cube.

After the Fortress Hill, Karl Marx Avenue descends sharply. Two stairs lead from the fortress hill:

9  Staircase at the Eternal Flame (Kazan Staircase). A wide staircase with a square on which the memorials "Eternal Flame" and "Wall of Memory" are located. There is a cascade of fountains on the stairs.
10 Staircase with a monument to Pushkin. The staircase also leads to the Kazan Cathedral. At the beginning of the stairs there is a small platform on which a monument to Pushkin and an arch are installed. At the foot of the stairs on Yermolov Boulevard, there is a fountain in the Art Nouveau style. Also next to the stairs is the oldest stone house in the city, built in 1799.

 

Center

11 Tiflis Gate (Triumphal Arch), Karl Marx Ave. Another fragment of the provincial Stavropol is the triumphal arch, originally erected in 1841 for the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. Then the gate was located at the end of the Nikolaevsky tract, now Karl Marx Avenue. In Soviet times, they were destroyed, and in the late 1990s they were rebuilt and moved a little.
12 Assumption Church, per. Fadeeva, 1. Cemetery church 1847-49. the buildings. During the years of Soviet power, it was not closed and largely retained its original decoration, however, from the Civil War to the Great Patriotic War, it was in the hands of the Renovationist community. It does not have its own bell tower.
13 Guliyev steam mill, Apanasenkovskaya st. 12. A dilapidated pre-revolutionary building (1908) is clearly visible in the eastern part of the city beyond Dostoevsky Street, from Obyezdnaya and Grizodubova streets, and a fixed-route taxi from the airport also passes by it. The whistle of this mill once sounded over the entire city, during the war it was used to warn of air raids, but then, with the mass distribution of alarm clocks in the mid-1960s, the whistle was no longer used. During the war, the elevator was damaged by an air raid and was replaced with a standard concrete one. When the mill was demolished in the 2010s to build a new residential complex, the original walls were exposed under the concrete. The protests of the townspeople stopped the demolition, but the building has not yet become an architectural monument.
14 Bayger Pharmacy (Lower Pharmacy, Peisakhovich House), Karl Marx Ave., 50a. ☎ +7 (8652) 26-73-12. The oldest pharmacy in the city, built in 1912. With the outbreak of the First World War, exhibits of the Tiflis Armory Museum "Temple of Glory" were transferred to the building, which were lost after the revolution. Now inside the pharmacy the interiors of the early 20th century have been restored and a small exhibition of medical equipment is presented. In addition, the sign "Baiger's Pharmacy" hangs on another so-called "Upper Pharmacy" (Makar Popov and Co. Banking House) at the corner of Dzerzhinsky and the October Revolution, which has nothing to do with Bayger.
15  Aleksandrovskaya Square (“drunken corner”). The square with the sculpture "Guardian Angel" and a media screen, a pedestrian street with a cascade of fountains departs from it towards October Revolution Avenue and Yermolov Boulevard. After the reconstruction in 2017, various festivals and events began to be held on this square. From a certain angle, you can see that Lenin looks at the local angel incredulously from Lenin Square.
16  Lenin Square. The central square of the city is located across Dzerzhinsky Street from Aleksandrovskaya Square, to which an underground passage leads. A monument to Lenin is erected on the square, surrounded by sculptural groups. In the place where the Dom Knigi store is now located (in which not a single bookstore is left), in the 19th century there was the house of the commander of the Caucasian line and in the Black Sea coast (aka the house of General Petrov). It was a nondescript one-story house, but A.S. Griboyedov, M.Yu. Lermontov and even Emperor Nicholas I. In the early 1970s, the house was demolished.
17  House of trusts (House with a spire), st. Lenina, 282. A post-war building in the Stalinist Empire style, the brightest building of that era in Stavropol. It was built for a very long time, it took a lot of time to complete and correct, and after the collapse of the Union, the building was in very poor condition. Since 1965, this building has housed a television relay station for a long time. In 2017, the building was renovated, while sacrificing part of the decoration. Although there are many other buildings with spiers in the city, when the locals say “under the spire” or “in the area of the spire”, this is the house they are referring to.
18 Grechishkin Art Gallery (former mosque), st. Mikhail Morozov, 12. One of the most unusual pre-revolutionary buildings in Stavropol is the mosque of 1913-1915, decorated in the Azerbaijani style. Now there is an art gallery.
19  The building of the Agrarian University on the Zootechnical (Women's Diocesan School), st. Mira, 347/1. A three-story stone building built for the women's diocesan school (1887).
20 Former building of the seminary, st. Pushkin, 1. The seminary was organized in Stavropol in 1846 shortly after the creation of the diocese. In 1880-83. a three-story building in the eclectic style was built for the seminary, now it has been given over to one of the buildings of the North Caucasian Federal University. The three main universities of Stavropol (NCFU, the Agrarian University and the Medical Academy), as well as several smaller educational institutions, are compactly located in this area, between Lomonosov, Dzerzhinsky, Artyom and Lermontov streets.
21 Haunted house, Komsomolskaya st. 100. Notorious Pseudo-Gothic Mansion (1914). However, now it is in a state of protracted restoration: there is only a box of walls, it is impossible to approach.
22 Former plant "Strizhament", Chernyakhovsky avenue, 2. A complex of buildings built in 1868, which housed a distillery. In 2006, the plant "Strizhament" finally moved to the North-Western region, and part of the territory that belonged to it was given for construction with residential buildings. The facades of the buildings overlooking Chernyakhovsky Street were restored; now they house shops, cafes and various government agencies. In addition, due to the location next to this building of several secondary specialized educational institutions, in which predominantly girls study (a medical college, a cooperative technical school, a cultural and educational school, as well as a communications college that trains, among other things, postal workers), an indecent name was assigned to the intersection of Serov and Chernyakhovsky.

 

In the woodlands

23  German bridge. In the thicket of the forest, rising above the tops of the trees, there is one of the bridges of the disassembled section of the Armavir - Stavropol - Staromaryevskaya Tuapse railway. The bridge is unusual in that it is built of yellow shell rock. The Tuapse road itself was launched shortly before the October Revolution and during the Civil War became the site of fierce battles, as a result of which it was severely damaged. In 1922, the section of the road from Stavropol to Armavir was dismantled after less than six years. You can often see climbers and rope jumpers on the German bridge.
In addition to the German bridge, the following remains of the Tuapse railway in the city: the Small German and Chapaevsky bridges, as well as the old station building. Jul 2021 edit

24  Tatar settlement. Located between Stavropol and the village of Tatarka. Archaeological and natural museum-reserve. The largest archaeological monument of Ciscaucasia, miraculously preserved among the relic forest, surrounded by urban, rural and country buildings, fields and roads.
25  Memorial "Cold Spring". Established on May 9, 1975 in memory of the victims of the Civil War and citizens - victims of the Nazi occupation during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Other
26 Stavropolsky Dairy Plant, st. Dovatortsev, 36. In Soviet times, it was an ordinary factory building, but in the late 90s, the owner of the factory added decorative turrets to it. Maybe the factory building is not an example of high architectural taste, but it still stands out among the surrounding buildings, resembling something between an old Russian tower and Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. In front of the entrance there is a small square with many statues of cows.
27 Street 45 parallel. Stavropol is located in the middle of the way from the north pole to the equator. In honor of this, one of the streets of the city is named, which nevertheless does not run exactly along the 45th parallel, but crosses it at a slight angle.

 

What to do

1 Botanical Garden. V.V. Skripchinsky, st. Lenina, 478. ☎ +7 (8652) 56-03-71. Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 (break 12:00–13:00), Sat–Sun 10:00–17:00. 100 rub. A large botanical garden with an area of 132 hectares with a greenhouse of approx. 800 m², in the territory of the Kruglenky forest. More than 5,000 plant species are represented, including 21 from the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

 

Museums

2 Local Lore Museum, st. Dzerzhinsky, 135. Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00. The exposition of the museum has a skeleton of a rare southern mammoth. The museum also contains many archaeological monuments found on the territory of the Stavropol Territory, related to the Scythian, Khazar, Alan and other cultures.
3 Stavropol Regional Museum of Fine Arts, st. Dzerzhinsky, 115-119. Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00. 150 rub. Paintings by local artists are exhibited here.

 

Theaters and other cultural institutions

4  Stavropol Regional Philharmonic (former Mesnyankin Brothers Theatre), 61 Karl Marx Ave. ☎ +7 (8652) 26-52-26. Initially, the Philharmonic and the Passage store adjacent to it were one building built in 1912. Before the revolution, it belonged to the Mesnyankin brothers, it housed a theater, a Modern cinema, shopping galleries and restaurants. During the Great Patriotic War, a bomb hit the left wing of the building, and after the war, this part of the building acquired a portico in the Stalinist Empire style.
5 Concert Hall of Music School No. 1 (Capella "Cantabile", organ hall), st. Dzerzhinsky, 87. There is a small organ; in addition, students of the music school give concerts in the courtyard in the summer.

 

Parks and squares

6  Park of Culture and Leisure "Central" (Babina Grove). Unlike the Victory Park, it is considered a calmer and more cultural place of rest.
7 Victory Park (Kruglenkiy Forest). In the Victory Park, there are significantly more attractions, as well as cafes and bars, than in the Central. In addition, various equipment is installed on pedestals in the eternal parking lot, including the Il-18 aircraft.
8  Theatrical square. It is sometimes called the "small botanical garden" for the variety of flora. Ensembles of string and wind instruments sometimes perform here.
9 General Yermolov Boulevard. In fact, it is an alley along the entire length of Karl Marx Avenue. The boulevard begins with a cascade of fountains "Dolphins" and a fountain "bathing children". In addition to the monuments to Lenin, Karl Marx and General Yermolov, there is also a monument to the Ossetian poet Kosta Khetagurov with a small fountain on the boulevard, as well as the coat of arms of the city surrounded by sculptures of peasant women. The Tiflis gates are installed near the square in front of the circus. The boulevard ends at the railway station, where a monument to General Nikiforaki is erected.
10 October Revolution Avenue. Pedestrian (from Dzerzhinsky St. to Lenin St.) street, which overlooks the central park and the alley of honorary citizens.

 

Springs

In the forests of Stavropol there are many springs equipped for swimming.
11  Cold springs (in the Taman forest). The largest spring complex in the city.
12  Spring "Bowl" (in the Mamai forest). The bath is equipped in the form of a round bowl.
13  Koryta spring (in the Mamai forest). In the XVIII - early XIX century, the southern part of the city was supplied with water from this spring.
14  A source at the church of St. Seraphim of Sarov (in the Chlin forest).
15  Travertine waterfall. Not far from the Tatar settlement. Salts dissolved in water lead to the formation of the white mineral travertine.
16  Mikhailovsky spring. Another spring in the Taman forest.

 

Ponds

17  Komsomolsky pond. Since there are no large rivers in the city, swimming in the icy spring water is not suitable for everyone, and it’s still a long way to go to the sea, in hot weather the Komsomolsky pond is especially popular. In 2020-2021, it was cleaned and improved, a sandy beach, jogging paths, and drinking fountains were installed. The main disadvantage of this place is that there are always a lot of people here, and it is difficult to get to it: public transport does not go to it, and by car you can only drive along the narrow serpentine of Kavaleriyskaya Street, where it is then difficult to park.
18  Rtishchev Pond (Rtishcheva Dacha, Emmanuelevsky tract). A quiet, cozy pond with an ecological trail around it.

 

Purchases

1  Shop "Passage". It is located in the preserved part of the house of the Mesnyankin brothers.
2  Lower market. One of the oldest markets in the city, located immediately behind the "Passage". In 2021 it was renovated.
The most famous branded products of Stavropol are Strizhament balms and bitters. They include herbs growing in the foothills of the North Caucasus.

 

Eat

The city has a large number of chain catering establishments, as well as individual cafes and restaurants. Caucasian, Greek and Turkish cuisine are quite widely represented.

1  Kashtan Restaurant, 107 Karl Marx Ave. 🕑 12:00–24:00. Located on Ermolov Boulevard in the city center. Previously, this place was located cafe "Snezhinka", nicknamed by the people "snowdrift".
2  Blinnaya on Karl Marx, Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsii Ave., 4. 🕑 9:00–22:00. One of the oldest establishments in the city.
3 Confectionery "Dakhanago", Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsii Ave., 30. 8:00–21:00. Located in the "house under the spire", overlooking the October Revolution Avenue
4  Culinary at Bulkina, st. Bulkina, 8. 8:00–22:00. A fairly well-known culinary art that has existed since Soviet times. And
5  Teatralnoye Cafe, st. Mikhail Morozov, 1. ☎ +7 (968) 267-17-77. 8:00–23:00. Mid-priced cafe across from the drama theatre. In Soviet times, one could often meet black marketers and sellers of foreign music there.
6  Vegetarian cafe "Sandal", Karl Marx Ave., 84. ☎ +7 (962) 001-22-24. 11:00–21:00. Indian Vegetarian Cafe. Yoga classes are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
7  Teahouse "Barkhan", st. Dovatortsev, 39D. ☎ +7 (8652) 22-11-44. 12:00– 1:00. Restaurant of Uzbek cuisine, quite richly furnished. There is hookah and karaoke.
In terms of pizzerias and inexpensive cafes, Pushkin Street from Morozov Street to Lermontov Street can be noted. Since the main universities of the city are located in these places, along it and in the vicinity you can find many pizzerias, inexpensive cafes and canteens: large chains (Subway, Cinnabon, KFC, Echte Döner), local (Diner's, MaxiPizza, Stoloffka), and non-chain ( "Chief Pushkin", "Signora", "Boulevard"). You can note:

8 Diner's. A cafe decorated in the style of an American diner from the 50s.
✦  Coffee table. around the clock. Inexpensive 24-hour establishments, designed primarily for students. The dining room on Pushkina 25 is combined with a grocery store.

 

Night life

Bar "dry law", 50 years of VLKSM 18B. ☎ +7 (8652) 93-93-60. 🕑 Fri, Sat 19:00 − 05:00. A small basement bar depicting a speakeasie, but like a parachute dragging behind Shtrilitz, the entrance group gives it away.

 

Hotels

Cheap
1   Mini-hotel "Admiralskaya", Ushakov Ave., 36. ☎ +7 (962) 450-60-36. from 960 rub. It is located in the Tashly region. There is a sauna.
2  Hostel Good Luck Central, st. Lenina, 392. ☎ +7 (928) 005-85-24. from 1100 rub. Hostel in the area of the regional hospital, close enough to the city center.

Average cost
3 Hotel "Stavropol" (former "Tourist"), st. Lenina, 273 (in the city center, not far from DKiS). ☎ +7 (8652) 36-00-00, +7 (8652) 36-00-02. from 2300 rub.
4 EuroHotel (former Kavkaz), st. Marshal Zhukov, 1. ☎ +7 (8652) 37-32-32. It is located in the very center of the city, near the central square.

Expensive
5  Intourist Hotel, 42 Karl Marx Ave. ☎ +7 (8652) 94-24-89, +7 (8652) 94-69-46. A very comfortable hotel in the historical part of the city. It is worth noting that it was built at the height of the campaign to combat architectural excesses, but this did not prevent the building from getting a fairly rich finish, typical of the Stalinist Empire style.
6  Hotel "Continent", st. Dzerzhinsky, 114. ☎ +7 (8652) 94-75-75. Also located in the center. For a long time it was the second tallest building in the city, so almost the entire city and its surroundings are visible from the upper floors.
7 Park Hotel Stavropol, st. Dovatortsev, 47B. ☎ +7 (8652) 55-21-22. 3200-9500 rub. Hotel with restaurants, gyms and a terrace, but located in the South-West region, relatively far from the center.

If you are going to rent an apartment for the duration of your stay in the city, avoid the Demino microdistrict (aka the “old military town”). Despite the fact that administratively this is the city of Stavropol, and the Leninsky district is the same in which the city center is located, Demino is a distant suburb, further than the villages of Tatarka and Nadezhda. There is no direct road to the center from here.

 

Connection

Cellular operators Beeline, Megafon, Yota and MTS operate in Stavropol.

Wireless Internet in the city is a rarity, and you should not count on the fact that you can use it.

Landline telephones of the city have six-digit numbers, the area code is +7-8652.

 

Precautionary measures

There are several districts in Stavropol that are notorious. Among them are Tashla and Chapaevka (areas in the railway loop, visible from the observation deck on Fortress Hill), Mamaika (private sector in the area of the river of the same name) and Tuapsinka (eastern districts of the city, beyond Dostoevsky Street). Walking in these places at night is not safe. Also not considered safe enough are "human settlements", such as "Perspective"

In December-February, less often at other times of the year, there may be stormy winds in Stavropol. Do not go outside if a storm warning has been issued. The strongest winds are in the center, South-Western and North-Western regions, and the regions of Tashly and Tuapsinka, as a rule, are not affected by the storm.

When traveling by car, beware of heavy fogs, especially in autumn and spring in the morning. In winter, in fog, there is also a high risk of ice formation on the road. If you suddenly get into a cloud of fog, you should turn on all the fog lights, slowly reduce the speed to a safe one without sudden maneuvers and follow the markings. In no case do not stop during the fog in the middle of the street and even more so do not get out of the car. Among the most dangerous streets in terms of fog is the South bypass at the exit from the city.

Despite the rather mild winter, sometimes a combination of strong winds, a large amount of supercooled moisture in the air and negative temperatures can lead to frostbite, so gloves and a hat should not be neglected in winter.

Weather-sensitive people and people with diseases of the cardiovascular system should remember that abrupt weather changes are not uncommon in Stavropol: in the off-season, almost summer heat can be replaced by frost in 2-3 days.

 

Neighborhood

1 Mount Strizhament (several tens of kilometers south of Stavropol). The highest point of Ciscaucasia, 831 meters above sea level. This is the only place in the Stavropol Territory where rare landscapes are found: meadow steppe (almost completely destroyed in Russia), various variants of other steppes (almost completely plowed in the North Caucasus) and beech forest (the only northeastern massif in the country, significantly cut off from the main area ). It maintains a rich gene pool of flora and fauna with many rare and endemic species. In Soviet times, this territory was used as a place of recreation and hunting for high-ranking party leaders. One of these complexes is popularly known as "Gorbachev's dacha"; even now there are barriers on some of the roads leading there. From Mount Strizhament, a view of the Kochubeev windmills opens.
2  Sengileevskoe reservoir (Sengileevskoe lake)  Wikidata item (18 km west of Stavropol). The bottom of Sengileevsky Lake is located in a deep basin at an altitude of 200 meters above sea level. From the east, the basin is limited by the Stavropol heights, reaching a height of 660 meters at the Wolf Gate. From the north, in the area of the Molochny farm, the hollow is closed by a high ledge, rising above the surface of the water by more than a hundred meters. From the west, the gently sloping Sengileevskaya mountain, 400 meters high, approaches the lake. From the south, the basin is bounded by the vast plain of the Grusheva River and Mount Astrakhanka lying behind it, which serves as a watershed of the lake with the non-watered part of the Egorlyk River. The Sengileevsky reservoir is included in a special water protection zone, since it is the main source of drinking water for Stavropol and its suburbs. Free passage to the lake is closed, however, there are several hiking trails leading to the lake, bypassing the guard posts. In addition, the top view from the observation deck at the Wolf Gate will leave a lot of impressions, especially at sunset.
3 Shaggy mound (forest road - right turn on the 4th km of Nevinnomysskoe highway; on foot you can also get along the clearing (5.5 km) from Industrialnaya street). One of the mountains surrounding the basin of the Sengileevsky reservoir. The mound got its name from the shaggy tulips growing on it. The northern slope of the mountain is covered with forest (Russian Lesnaya Dacha), the southern slope is covered with steppe forbs, descending directly to the water surface of the reservoir. At the foot of the northern slope, the Lipovka River flows, originating from springs near the Georgia restaurant on Nevinnomysskoye Highway. The mound has the status of a nature reserve. From its top, a wonderful panorama of the Sengileevsky reservoir and the forest framing the Novomaryevsky (Hare) glades opens up.
4 Besputsky meadows. Another observation deck overlooking the Sengileevsky reservoir. At the top of the mountain there is a cross and a small monument to aviators. There are a lot of foxes in the area.
5 Novokavkazsky bridge. A dilapidated bridge across the Yegorlyk River, similar in appearance to the German one, only it is located not in the thicket of the forest, but in an open field. There are conflicting data about the destroyed span of the bridge: some sources claim that it was blown up during the Civil War, others that the bridge was never completed due to a landslide, and the railway track was temporarily bypassed along the bottom of the Yegorlyk River valley across a small bridge (of which only the supports remained).
6  Bakhcha Ponamarevs  , Stavropol Territory, Nagorny farm, Oktyabrskaya st. 49 (from Stavropol to the Nadezhdinsky circle on the P216 highway, then 22 km towards Svetlograd to the fork on Aleksandrovskoye, then - 8 km along the P262). ☎ +7 (918) 758-04-80. 200 rub. During the watermelon season, you can visit the Ponomarev melons, where there is a small zoo, a concert venue, exhibitions of straw sculptures, and an ostrich farm. You can buy souvenir watermelons - square or triangular.
7  Kravtsovo lake. The peculiarity of the lake is that it has a “floating island” made of peat, held together by plant roots and algae. On the shore of the lake there is a popular restaurant "Volchi Vorota". ☎ +7 (8652) 69-50-29. 12:00-02:00.

 

History of Stavropol

It was founded on October 22, 1777 following the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 as a military encampment, and was granted city status in 1785. Prince Grigory Potemkin, who founded Stavropol as one of ten fortresses built between Azov and Mozdok at the request of Catherine the Great, played a leading role in the creation of the city. Don Cossacks, particularly those from the Khopersky Regiment, settled the area in and around the cities of Stavropol and Georgiyevsk with a mission to defend borders of the Empire.

Alexander I in 1809 invited several Armenian families to settle by the fortress, in order to encourage trade in the region.

Stavropol's strategic location aided in the Russian Empire's conquest of the Caucasus. By the early 19th century the city grew into a busy trade center of the North Caucasus. In 1843, an Episcopal see of the Russian Orthodox Church was established in Stavropol and in 1847 the city became the seat of Stavropol Governorate.

During the Russian Civil War the city changed hands several times and finally was captured by the Red Army from the Volunteer Army of general Anton Denikin on January 29, 1920. The city was renamed Voroshilovsk on May 5, 1935, after Kliment Voroshilov, but the original name was restored in 1943. The Great Patriotic War took a heavy toll on the city and between August 3, 1942 and January 21, 1943 Stavropol was occupied by the Germans and its airport was used as a base for the Luftwaffe (German air force) to bomb Soviet oil supplies in Grozny. The city was recaptured by the Soviet Army in January, 1943. Since 1946, natural gas has been extracted near the city; later on, a pipeline to supply Moscow was built.