Walk to the mountain Mashuk in Pyatigorsk. Caucasian Mineralnye Vody. Mount Mashuk Monuments of the Great Patriotic War and the Civil War

We chose the longest way to the top. We walked from Proval along an asphalt road. The duration of the route is about 9 km. On the diagram, our path to the top is marked in blue. And we went down the forest path, directly, on the diagram the path of descent is marked in red.

At the foot of Mashuk, the grass was green in the forest.

There are walking paths for walking.

Someone walks on foot, someone rides a bike or roller skates.

Here we have reached the place of Lermontov's duel.

A beautiful glade, and on Mashuk you can see the inscription Pyatigorsk.

We go through the pine forest to the gates of love.

From the place where the gate is installed, a beautiful view of Mount Beshtau opens, on which.

Almost all the way to the top of Mashuk we were accompanied by a stray dog.

And now we have already reached the figure of the Red Army soldier, a little more and we will reach the top.

Finally we made it to the TV tower.

We are on the top of Mount Mashuk!

There are signs with the names of cities and the distance to them.

Upper station of the cable car. Now the equipment is being replaced on the cable car, it is promised to open in April-May.

From Mashuk, very beautiful views open up that cannot be conveyed through photographs. For example, in this photo you can see Mount Yuttsa and Dzhutsa. The day was cloudy and we never managed to see Elbrus and the Caucasus Range.

Here is Beshtau again. Someone takes pictures against the backdrop of mountain peaks. And we studied the signs installed on the top of Mashuk.

We went down this path. The descent took much less time.

While walking, beautiful views of Pyatigorsk opened up. Went straight down to the Fall.

For two days in Pyatigorsk we were a little tired. After descending from Mashuk, we went home to Stavropol.

Basic moments

Mashuk is distinguished by a cone-shaped shape with a truncated top, the diameter of the cone is 4 km. It is surrounded by even smaller "growth", but the same majestic neighbors - the mountains Hot and Kazachka, as well as the Mikhailovsky spur. 558-meter Hot, being a spur of the southern slope of Mashuk, is a historically significant place, because it was from it that the city of Pyatigorsk began. Also next to it is Mount Britaya, which became famous thanks to Lake Proval.

Mount Mashuk is a property not only of Pyatigorsk, but of the whole of Russia. In the 19th century, springs of five types of mineral water were found on its slopes. After that, the people began to call her "the giver of healing waters", with which the aristocracy rushed to be treated. Numerous sanatoriums subsequently opened at the foot of Mashuk, in which everyone has the opportunity to improve their health. Vacationers and tourists walk with pleasure in the parks, also located along the foot of the mountain, getting a huge boost of energy and vivacity.

At one time, Mashuk was also chosen by fans of hiking, since then this hobby has remained one of the most popular among tourists. There is something to see here: on the slopes, including satellite mountains, there are caves and grottoes, places with found remains of prehistoric settlements and ancient plants turned into stone, not to mention churches, galleries, gazebos and cemeteries. In order to capture the attention of all this natural, historical and cultural heritage, you will need more than one day.

Flora and fauna

In the Mashuk forest park - it, as if hugging, encircles the foot of the mountain and connects with the Beshtaugorsky forest park - mainly ash and oak grow. On the north side is the Perkal dendrological nursery, which contains a very large and valuable collection of rare plants from different parts of the world. In total, over 80 species grow in the nursery, and many of them are endangered plants. There are also such rare ones as the Mashuk hawk, narrow-leaved snowdrop, Pyatigorsk hawk, dwarf euonymus and rocky spurge. 25 species of plants are considered reference, as they were discovered here for the first time.

Some 100 years ago, the slopes of Mount Mashuk were literally “overpopulated” - it was noisy from the singing of birds and the cries of animals. However, civilization did not have the best effect on the local fauna. Birds, animals and reptiles are becoming less and less here. You will no longer see badgers and graceful wild forest cats, bats are on the verge of extinction. Hares, foxes and hedgehogs are rare.

Recreation and entertainment

Tourists are well aware of the local cable car, which bears the name of the mountain itself - "Mashuk". However, this is not surprising, because it has existed since 1971. Its length is 964 m, two trailers with a capacity of up to 20 people each move along it. They move at a speed of 8 m per second, which is quite comfortable. You can reach the top of the mountain in less than 3 minutes. The cable car operates according to the schedule: the movement starts at 10 am, the last landing is at 17:30.

For those who are fond of mountain biking - this is an independent type of mountain biking - there is a separate track on the slopes. Every year, fans of downhill (bike racing), as well as fans of freeride - descents from natural hills, hone their skills here.

Sights of Mount Mashuk

The Mashuk mountain observation deck is one of the most popular places; it gives vacationers the opportunity to admire the surroundings of the city from a height and look at Beshtau. In clear weather, when the peaks of the massifs are not hidden under a veil of fog, you can see part of the plains of the Stavropol Territory, the Caucasus Range and even the famous Elbrus.

The Pyatigorsk people are proud of the TV tower. It can be safely entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the highest located in Europe. When viewed from afar, it resembles an arrow, giving the impression that the mountain, like a space rocket, rushes far into the sky. The TV tower itself is not high, its “height” is only 113 m. But since it is not on the ground, but on the top of Mashuk, it de facto rises above sea level by as much as 1069 m. “Our Eiffel Tower” is what they call it local residents. There is a similarity with the Parisian celebrity, it is especially noticeable at the moment when evening twilight begins to thicken over the TV tower.

At the end of the 18th century, a vertical 41-meter funnel-shaped cave was discovered on the slope of Mashuk, at the bottom of which there is a whole karst lake. It turned out to be quite large: in diameter - 15 m, depth - 11 m. Due to such an unusual location, the reservoir was called Proval. In its bright blue water, the temperature of which varies between +26 ... +41 ° C, hydrogen sulfide was found and bacteria live. In the middle of the 19th century, Prince Golitsyn instructed to break through a 58-meter tunnel there, the entrance to it was laid out with a stone and provided a descent down to Proval. Then the tunnel was consecrated, and in a niche near the water they placed the icon of the Mother of God, which was replaced several decades later with the image of the Great Martyr Panteleimon.

Another attraction of Mashuk - the sculpture "Eagle" - is considered a symbol of the Caucasian mineral waters. A visit to this huge stone bird, holding a snake in its claws, symbolizing the ailments that it conquers, is included in all excursion programs. This unusual sculptural composition was discovered in 1901, and since then interest in it has not dried up.

Legend of Mashuk

Do you know that for a very long time there were no Caucasus Mountains and the area under them was occupied by fertile plains? So, at least, says one of the local legends. Narts lived in these parts - mighty heroes, whose leader was Prince Elbrus. His son Beshtau fell in love with a beauty named Mashuko and decided to marry her. But the prince himself was in love with her and decided to interfere with the wedding by sending his son on a campaign. To lead Mashuko down the aisle, he started a rumor about the death of Beshtau. The girl was very sad, but Elbrus forced her to marry him and decided to imprison her in the tower. However, the son, alive and unharmed, returned from the campaign and, having stolen his chosen one, fled with her. The prince and his retinue set out in pursuit and soon overtook the fugitives.

The young prince and his comrades resisted as best they could, but the prince's warriors were stronger. As a result, everyone died, except for Elbrus and Beshtau. And so they got into a duel. Beshtau waved his sword and cut his father's head in half. Before expiring, the prince found the strength to swing and cut his son's head into five parts. Crying Mashuko, in front of whom her beloved died, grabbed his dagger, plunged it into her chest, and then threw it away. The grief of the dead girl was so great and deep that everything around turned to stone. The soldiers who died in battle and Mashuko herself turned into mountains ...

Those who watched the comedy "The Twelve Chairs" or read the novel by Ilf and Petrov probably remember the episode in which Ostap Bender tried to raise money supposedly for the repair of the Pyatigorsk Proval. Subsequently, it was decided to perpetuate the image of the Great Combinator here - a sculpture of a Turkish citizen, who was embodied on the screen at different times by such outstanding actors as Andrei Mironov, Archil Gomiashvili and Sergei Yursky, was installed right at the entrance to Proval. Each visitor can take a picture with Ostap and even sit on one of the chairs from Kisa Vorobyaninov's set.

Mount Mashuk is closely connected with the name of Mikhail Lermontov. It was at its foot that on July 15, 1841, a duel took place between the 26-year-old poet and Major Martynov, who mortally wounded him. Where the tragic duel took place, a monument was erected, to which fans of Lermontov's immortal work come. By the way, Mikhail Yurievich was first buried in Pyatigorsk, not far from the place where he shot himself. But a year later he was reburied next to his mother's grave in his ancestral village of Tarkhanovo.

How to get there

Mount Mashuk is a symbol of Pyatigorsk, and to see it in all its glory, you need to come to this wonderful city in the Stavropol region.

There is no airport in Pyatigorsk itself, the nearest air harbor is located 25 km away, in Mineralnye Vody. It accepts aircraft from Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, Rossiya, Taimyr, Donavia, Siberia, Red Wings, Nordstar and UTair.

The cost of a ticket from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody is about 4 thousand rubles. Flights to Mineralnye Vody are carried out from all airports in the capital of Russia.

And not to visit the top of the mountain Mashuk. On our website, we have repeatedly written about our ascents to the top of Mashuk and described walks around the mountain along the path. In this topic, we will try to collect all the available information and help the tourist.

Mashuk is a mountain of igneous origin in the center.

Mashuk height- 994 meters. Some sources give more accurate data - 993.7 m. However, we will not be able to verify these figures, because the peak is surrounded by a fence, behind which there is an edge repeater with a television tower.

The legend of the name of the mountain. Mashuk is a local toponym, left to the descendants of the peoples who lived in the region until the end of the 18th century. From any guide you can hear a beautiful story about the beautiful girl Mashuko, who turned into stone, mourning the murdered groom. In this version of the story, everyone died, turning into mountains. There are other, more prosaic translations of the name. Some attribute the name of the mountain to the name of some person, others find roots in Turkic and translate the name as “cat”. On old maps and ancient documents of the first half of the 19th century, the mountain is sometimes called Mechukha or Mashukha.

Underground lake "Proval"

Geological structure of Mashuk. Briefly about we wrote in a separate article. Considered what can happen in the resort town. We will not dwell on the scientific description of the geological structure of the mountain. Perhaps we will write about this later. Mashuk is an outlier mountain of igneous origin. It is precisely its origin that betrays what its bowels hide. At a time when the Caucasus was shaking strongly and Elbrus was an active volcano, magma from the depths rose along the cracks, intruding into sedimentary rocks. The magma solidified and could not break through the cover of sedimentary rocks. The top of the mountain is composed of Upper Cretaceous limestones and marls, and on the slopes clayey rocks, marls and, less often, sandstones are more common. The vigorous activity of mineral springs for thousands of years at the foot has created a powerful layer of travertine rocks. The Mikhailovsky spur, the Perkalskaya rock and the Hot Mountain are completely made of travertine. The magmatic core of the mountain is located at a depth of about 1.5 km.

How to get to Mashuk

• ring road and
• Old wheel road to the top of Mashuk
• Road to the top of the mountain
• mountains on the southern slope

Attractions on Mashuk

An old mansion on the resort boulevard. In the background is the peak of Mount Mashuk

• Monument at the burial place of topographer A.V. Pastukhova (top of Mashuk)
• and old resort buildings: Pirogov baths and old private mansions (and one more)
• Rock portrait of V.I. Lenin
• Resort parks with architectural monuments: Elizabethan flower garden with the Academic Gallery; the arbor of the Aeolian harp and the grotto of Lermontov in Emanuelevsky park.
• Small architectural form "Gate of the Sun" (Gate of Love)

Kurortny boulevard them. Yu.A. Gagarin

A lot of useful links and articles about the sights of Mashuk can be found in the drop-down list at the end of the article.

The history of Pyatigorsk began in 1803, with the signing by Emperor Alexander I of the decree "On the recognition of the state significance of the Caucasian Mineral Waters and the need for their construction." The resort of federal significance Pyatigorsk opened the history of domestic balneology at the moment when in 1863 the first balneological center was created here. The city in the Stavropol Territory is truly a real oasis of health: more than 40 healing springs, a climatic zone with a therapeutic effect, all this is known far beyond the Caucasus. However, as well as cultural values, events in the life of the city, captured in its architecture, natural monuments, chronicles and legends. The places sung in the works of Lermontov attract both admirers of the great poet's talent and simply lovers of beautiful landscapes to take a walk. There are also special places that should be noted in advance in a personal travel map. Let's talk a little more about the sacred corners of Pyatigorsk.

Mount Mashuk

A landmark place for Pyatigorsk is Mount Mashuk, 994 meters above sea level. From its top, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the city; in clear weather, you can enjoy views of Elbrus and the Main Caucasian Range. Memorable photos from the top of Mount Mashuk will be a worthy reward from a walk along a beautiful natural site.

Getting to the top of the mountain is easy. Fans of hiking can climb to the top along the health path, the route will be about 5 kilometers with a climb of just over 200 meters. And you can use the "lazy", but in such a comfortable way - with the help of a cable car. The Pyatigorsk cable car is located at Gagarin Boulevard, 2. The price of a one-way ticket for an adult is 210 rubles, for both directions - 360 rubles, children under 5 years old - free of charge. Opening hours on weekdays from 10:00 to 19:00, on weekends from 10:00 to 20:00. It does not hurt to learn beautiful legends associated with Mount Mashuk and other local mountains. An audio guide can be rented at the cable car ticket office.

Lake Proval

Another iconic place for those who once visited Pyatigorsk is a walk to Proval Lake and buying a ticket from Ostap Bender "so that Proval does not fail." Lake water has an amazing blue color and a specific smell, which is explained very simply. Getting an answer about the color of the water, and at the same time the opportunity to admire the underground cave will be a well-deserved bonus for those who get here. The attraction is located at the end of Gagarin Boulevard, you can get to Proval by bus number 1.

Interesting information sounds from the repeaters, which are located at the entrance to the Proval. The horizontal entrance to the cave was cut in 1858, and until that moment, brave and inquisitive citizens were lowered to the lake from above in a special basket. The height of the karst cave is 41 meters, and the natural entrance can be seen at the top if you raise your head. The lake itself and the cave were explored much earlier, this was done by the German scientist Peter Simon Pallas in 1793. Currently, Proval Lake is of a demonstration nature, so access to it is limited by a grate.

Shameless baths

Take a dip in shameless baths, how to buy a ticket from Ostap Bender to the lake, throw a coin into the hat of the unforgettable Kisa Vorobyaninov and go through the "Gate of Love" - ​​in the "list" of mandatory attributes of a walk around Pyatigorsk. This open-air spa is also called folk baths. Since the source of hydrogen sulfide baths has not been officially defined in any way, it is periodically closed. And society periodically returns to "public use" a year-round source of pleasure. Winter bathing in hot baths delivers special bliss. But the healing effect that visitors of such baths want to achieve is called into question by the lack of control and prescriptions from doctors. Here, every swimmer is his own doctor and independently regulates the degree of immersion and the time of taking baths.

To be sure of the therapeutic effect of the procedure, it is better to visit the Pirogov baths, located on Gagarin Boulevard, 4. The building was erected in three months in 1914 and originally bore the name of the director of the resort - Tilicheev, after the revolution it was already Provalsky baths, and they became Pirogovsky in the middle of the twentieth century, the renaming was timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great physician Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov. The baths operate to this day, water for procedures is taken from the same sulfur spring, from which folk baths are filled behind the building of the Pirogov baths.

Arbor "Aeolian harp"

The gazebo supported by eight white stone columns, located on a high mountain cliff, was built according to the design of the Italian architect Joseph Karlovich Bernardazzi in 1831. For more than 30 years, “wind music” has sounded here due to a special aeolian harp that responds to the movement of air. In honor of her, the gazebo got its name. She is mentioned in "A Hero of Our Time" by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. Today, there is a modern musical arrangement, independent of the wind. But the views and beauty from the site where the Aeolian Harp gazebo is located have been preserved in their originality.

Grotto of Lermontov

The theme of Lermontov for Pyatigorsk is the main leitmotif for all excursion programs, walks of citizens and guests of the city. Lermontov fell in love with one of the most beautiful natural grottoes with the name Calypso and ennobled by the creators of the Aeolian Harp pavilion, the Bernardazzi brothers. He liked to retire to contemplate the magnificent views, and who knows, maybe it was here that the scenes from the dramatic poem "Mtsyri" originated?

Park "Flower Garden"

The flower garden park is especially symbolic for the city. A resort town developed from this place, the first drinking pump room was opened here. Initially, the park was named after the then ruling Tsar Nikolaevsky. The area ennobled on the site of swamps was planted with flowers, and later with exotic trees. The park has become one of the visiting cards of the city; at its entrance, vacationers are greeted by a sculptural image of Kisa Vorobyaninov, who, according to the plot of the comedy, told visitors to the park that he had not eaten for 6 days.

Noteworthy is the openwork structure of Alexander Gukasov's coffee house. The Art Nouveau building was built in 1909, the tradition of the coffee house has been preserved, and today vacationers can drink coffee on the second floor at 23 Kirov Avenue.

Lermontov Gallery

A walk through the Flower Garden park, if you follow its main alley, will lead to an openwork building made of glass and metal. Lermontov Gallery - a building built at the turn of the century in the Art Nouveau style with elements of Gothic and Romanticism, today remains a venue for concerts and exhibitions. Officially, it has the status of a philharmonic society. It is curious that the ballerina Isadora Duncan danced here in 1923, dedicating her composition to the memory of Lermontov. The voices of the famous opera singers Fyodor Chaliapin and Leonid Sobinov sounded within the walls of the Lermontov Gallery. The great actress Maria Nikolaevna Yermolova performed here.

Grotto of Diana

The grotto in the rock, named after the ancient Greek goddess Diana, is associated with several historical events, and quite positive ones. This natural grotto was decorated and reinforced with columns in honor of the first ascent of Elbrus. Later it was given a different name - the Grotto of Diana, the name has been preserved to this day. Another historical fact that makes us perceive this place somewhat differently is associated with Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. Here he was the organizer of a ball for ladies exactly a week before his tragic death. Apparently, this contrast in life - a ball and a duel make us especially perceive this amazing place, from where you can admire the views of nature and think about the vicissitudes of fate, such an unusually short step separating life and death, fun and duel.

Chinese gazebo

Pavilions in Pyatigorsk seem to specifically emphasize the status of a resort town - as a place designated for leisurely walks, admiring the scenery, visiting pump rooms and reflecting on the richness of the culture of Pyatigorsk's past. One of these places is the Chinese gazebo. If you look at her, it becomes clear why she was called that. A whimsical metal openwork ornament, created according to the project of the sculptor Shakhovskaya in 1974, will not let you make a mistake. Previously, there were other pavilions and other themes of their design in this place, in accordance with the trends of the times. In 1862, there was a musical rotunda, from where music for vacationers sounded. Later, at the beginning of the 20th century, according to the project of the sculptor Klepinin, a wooden arbor in the style of a Chinese pagoda was equipped, it was then called “Tsvetnoy”. In the Soviet period, in accordance with the spirit of the time, the gazebo was called "Freedom". In its modern version, it was created already in 1976. And one thing remains unchanged for any historical period - the beauty of the panoramic views opening from it, the breath of the spirit of freedom and spaciousness. Everything that makes up the feeling of originality of the Caucasus.

Pump rooms of Pyatigorsk

The pump room for Pyatigorsk means the same as the tea ceremony in Beijing. This is a symbol of the city. You can drink healing water in the Caucasian resort in several pump rooms. Each place has unique characteristics, both of the most mineral-saturated water, and the history of the discovery and design of the source. A tradition that has developed over almost two centuries makes itself felt. The reception of mineral water in the pump room is a whole ceremony. Pyatigorsk narzan is bottled in pump rooms, which is used for drinking treatment. In most cases, carbonic water from a well is heated by special automatic devices in the pump room, so next to the taps you can see signs - cold, warm or hot narzan. There is a special sulfate narzan in Pyatigorsk, which differs from other types in the rich smell of hydrogen sulfide or, as the people say, the smell of rotten eggs. Drinking a glass of such narzan will be unpleasant, but it is this type that has the greatest therapeutic effect.

In general, it makes sense to visit each of the pump rooms and combine the therapeutic benefits of taking one of the types of medicinal water with the process of enriching one's knowledge from familiarizing with the treasures of the Pyatigorsk culture. This will become a kind of tasting tour, which cannot be found anywhere else in Russia.

Pyatigorsk is called a natural museum of mineral waters. Not without reason, at the time of the emergence of a settlement in the North Caucasus, this place was called Hot Waters. Pyatigorsk is associated with the name of the great Russian poet Lermontov, who praised the city as a place of amazing natural power, in which there are resources not only for physical, but also for spiritual recovery. The sights of Pyatigorsk create an aura of an amazing historical city for it, it must be on the travel map of a self-respecting connoisseur of culture.
The visit to the Lermontov Museum and the place of the duel of the poet in Pyatigorsk are described.

Mashuk mountains - satellite mountains, spurs and slopes

slopes Mikhailovsky spur - out of the north Eastern sides (of Inner ridge) from the main cone of Mashuk; The Mikhailovsky slopes run parallel to and above (to the north of) Mount Goryachaya, the western direction (from east to west) is replaced by a small turn to the northwest, resembling a coil of a spiral arc. Both of these spurs form a narrow valley-gorge (hollow), which in the past was called Goryachevodskaya. The valley was inhabited in the first half of the 19th century, before the construction of the Pushkin (Sabaneevsky) baths. On the site of the Sabaneevsky baths was the house of E. A. Khastatova (Lermontov's grandmother's sister), where in 1825 M. Lermontov (a ten-year-old boy) came with his grandmother to Hot Waters. On Mikhailovskaya Hill stretches the Emmanuel Park with the Mikhailovskaya Gallery (c); located aeolian hill(614 m), on which the Aeolian harp rises, and a little lower under it - Lermontov's grotto. The upper parts of the Goryachevodsky and Mikhailovsky spurs are, as it were, connected by an architectural ensemble - the Academic Gallery. Museum "Lermontov's House" is located on the southern slope of Mikhailovskaya Hill (Lermontov Street).

slide Shaved(see below Failure) And Percale rocks(see above)

satellite mountains Dubrovka(690 m), Cossack(633 m), Fast(555 m) and Picket(565.3 m).
The spur "Mountain Hot", as well as the Mikhailovsky spur, and the mountain Cossack located directly at the foot of Mashuk, in its upper belt. Dubrovka, Fast And Picket- respectively, a little further away, in the lower zone (in the lower city). All four mountains with Mashuk make up a kind of backbone - " Five Mountains". All other mountains, hills, spurs, slopes, rocks within Pyatigorsk are little mentioned in the literature and guidebooks, they are unfamiliar to the townsfolk and (in fact) are not considered mountains. Therefore, most often the conversation about mountains is about these “five mountains”.
Mashuk itself is a satellite mountain of the five-domed Beshtau, which, in turn, also has four satellites (see Pyatigorye Mountains).

Cossack is located between the northern side of the Mikhailovsky slope and the southwestern slope of Mount Mashuk. Around Mount Cossacks are: the Memorial of Military Glory (old cemetery), Lazarevskaya Church, the general resort House of Culture, the sanatorium "Lenin Rocks", nearby is the lower station of the Cable Car, a little higher, on the slopes of Mashuk - "Gate of the Sun" (viewing platform).

Failure

On the southern (south-eastern) slope of the mountain is the famous Pyatigorsk Proval - a deep natural well-cave with an underground lake (of karst-tectonic origin; also known as Karst cave "Big Proval"), a kind of creation of nature, which appeared during the formation of Mount Mashuk as a result of the impact of ground and subsoil waters on calcareous rocks. It has a [total] depth of 42 m and a diameter of up to 15 m. Its bottom part is occupied by a lake of warm (26-42 ° C) mineral hydrogen sulfide water with an area of ​​190 m² and a depth of about 8 m.
Proval was first explored in 1793 by Academician P.S. Pallas (the first attempts to study the lake were made as early as 1773 by Guldenstedt). In 1837, a wooden hanging platform with a special mechanism for descending to the lake in a specially equipped basket was arranged above the funnel-well. Wishing swam in the lake in floating bath, and on the site on a wooden platform, young people arranged dances. Batalin (in the middle of the 19th century) for the first time scientifically examined the underground lake Proval, descending to a depth of 26 m. Interest arose again in using the lake, in 1858, at the expense of the Moscow merchant P. A. Lazarik, a horizontal tunnel about 58 m long was laid to it, and a road was drawn to it from the Mikhailovsky Gallery.
The level and composition of the waters of the lake fluctuate in accordance with the change in the regime of underground mineral waters of the Kavminvod hydrological basin. According to observations since 1830, they are influenced by the change of seasons, the amount of precipitation, earthquakes and human activities. Therefore, Provalnoye Lake is used as an important natural indicator of the state of underground mineral waters in the resorts of KavMinVod. The water in it has healing properties, and until 1859 (when the tunnel was made), people descended into it for swimming and bathing on a rope in a special basket. Bathing [internal] was stopped only in 1880. In the story by M.Yu. Lermontov's "Princess Mary" about the Failure says that "according to the local scientists, this failure is nothing more than an extinct crater."

A plot is connected with the failure, widely known from the novel by I. Ilf and E. Petrov "The Twelve Chairs".

Next to the Failure, directly above it, at the top of the well is Britaya hill(690 m). Its appearance resembles an earthen rampart (parapet), as if poured from an allegedly artificially dug cave (Dip). Britaya Hill, together with Proval, is actually located on the Mikhailovsky slope.
Also, route No. 3 of the health path passes to Proval [along blvd. Gagarin, Mashukogorsky ring highway] with a length of about 3 km.

Ecology

Concerns of environmentalists and citizens

• The development of the mountain can harm the underground mineral springs of the resort.
• Plants, animals and birds may die, including rare ones listed in the Red Book.
• The development will forever change the landscape and appearance of the mountain.
• The appearance of a complex of cottages will not have a positive effect on the transport problem.
• Possible activation of exogenous geological processes
• The very legitimacy of the deal to sell the land raises doubts.

Mount Mashuk was recognized as a natural monument back in 1961, in 1972 - a state reserve, and in 2004 the Ministry of Culture of the Stavropol Territory gave it the status of a state historical and cultural reserve.

Sale of land

In 2005, a 37.5-hectare site of a walnut grove on the western slope of Mount Mashuk, located in the 1st and 2nd nature protection zones, was excluded from the boundaries of a natural monument of regional significance and transferred from the category of forest lands to non-forest lands, and then privatized by LLC "Kavminekotsentr" on the basis of the decision of the Arbitration Court of the Stavropol Territory. The land went to the buyer for 346 thousand 890 rubles, that is, at a price of about 90 rubles per hundred square meters. Territory from st. Kuchury do Polyana songs was subsequently resold and divided into small plots, which began to be sold in parts. In 2009, the “General Plan for the Development of Pyatigorsk until 2030” was published, developed by CJSC “Kurortproekt”, Pyatigorsk, according to which all land sold was scheduled for “ … construction of high-tech sanatorium-resort complexes with a limited number of storeys of 3-5 floors for 2.4 thousand vacationers". It is worth noting that this master plan was at odds with the development concept developed in the Soviet years, and, in fact, legitimized all decisions by the city administration on the sale and re-profiling of protected areas, taken without an environmental impact assessment and comprehensive studies on possible consequences for the resort from changes in anthropogenic load and construction in the zone of formation of mineral springs.

Start of development

The first attempt to start developing the site was made in 2010, when the city administration was negotiating with Chinese investors about the construction of the Sana complex, but the project stalled. The second attempt to start construction on another part of the territory with an area of ​​​​5.29 hectares was carried out in April 2011, when, at the initiative of the developer, a project for developing the territory in the area of ​​​​ul. Kuchury. By August, geodetic measurements and marking of the land began, and already in September, cutting down of vegetation began. By November 2011, 162 trees and 83 shrubs had been cleared and the area had been fenced off with concrete blocks.

Society reaction

Symbolism of the protest action

At the end of September 2011, public figures and environmentalists of Pyatigorsk demanded to stop any work on Mashuk, having collected more than 100 signatures under an appeal to the head of the city. With the filing of the initiative group "Solar Patrol" in social networks, the action "Stop sawing Mashuk!" in defense of the natural monument. At the first stage, collective official requests were initiated through the Democrator system to various departments. Appeals to the prosecutor's office and supervisory authorities were supported by more than 600 people. Deputies' requests were also formed. The problem was supported by other environmental organizations of the Stavropol Territory.

The next step of the activists was a rally in front of the administration building on November 27, 2011. The notice of the rally was submitted to the Pyatigorsk administration on November 15 within the time period established by law, but the city administration, having violated the law and, despite the court decision in favor of civil activists, tried to prevent it holding. Nevertheless, on November 27, 2011, according to various estimates, from 200 to 500 people gathered in front of the city administration, since the police, at the direction of the administration, prevented the rally from taking place, the action took place in the form of a meeting of citizens. It began collecting signatures in defense of Mashuk. The action did not go unnoticed by TV channels and the press .

After the rally, the collection of signatures continued. Activists and environmentalists of Pyatigorsk took to the streets every week, coordinating actions in social networks. In just a month, more than 4,500 signatures from Pyatigorsk residents and resort guests were collected, under an appeal to Medvedev, Putin and Khloponin. .

Reaction of departments

In January 2012, the Stavropol Environmental Prosecutor's Office responded to public concerns and found violations in the developer's activities. According to the results of his consideration of the case, 2 employees of Kavzhilstroy LLC were brought to disciplinary responsibility. The prosecutor's office also ordered the developer "Kavzhilstroy" to pay the cost of cut down trees in the amount of 350,750 rubles, and the Municipal Unitary Enterprise of the city of Pyatigorsk "Gorzelenstroy" to carry out work to restore green spaces in the city of Pyatigorsk.

In February 2012, the response to an appeal to Plenipotentiary Khloponin was forwarded to higher authorities: the Prosecutor General's Office for the North Caucasus Federal District and Rosprirodnadzor for the North Caucasus Federal District. There was also a response to an appeal from the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, in which it is reported that the appeal of citizens was sent for investigation to the Prosecutor General's Office.

On February 7, the head of the city, Lev Travnev, communicated with the townspeople in a direct line. Questions were received by phone, e-mail and mail, and a number of questions related to the clearing of the western slope of Mashuk.

On February 20, the Pyatigorsk prosecutor's office filed a protest against the construction of a boarding house on Mount Mashuk. According to the supervisory authority, the Pyatigorsk administration violated the requirements of the Russian Urban Planning Code - it issued Kavzhilstroy LLC a permit to build a boarding house near Kuchura Street in the absence of a positive conclusion from the state environmental review, which, as noted, has not yet been completed.

Mineral water

In the travertine ring of Mashuk, in the past, about 40 sources of mineral waters self-flowed, near which the famous Lermontov, Pirogov, Pushkin, Ermolovsky, Narodny and Teplosulphuric baths, Academic and Mikhailovskaya drinking galleries were built. Currently, medicinal waters are taken from wells and adits. They are divided into four main balneological types:

1. carbonic warm, hot and cold (Pyatigorsk narzans), which are used for drinking;
2. carbon dioxide hydrogen sulfide with a complex ionic composition, with a temperature of 42-48 ° C (the second Pyatigorsk type), are used for baths, less often for drinking;
3. radon waters with radon concentration up to 274 nCi/l are used for baths;
4. hydrochloric-alkaline carbonic and carbonic-hydrogen sulfide (Essentuki type) are used for drinking treatment.
   In addition, nitrogen-carbonate and methane waters with a high content of iodine and bromine and weakly carbonic chloride-sodium waters of the "Arzni" type are used to a limited extent.

Vegetable world

Most of the slopes are occupied by natural ash-hornbeam sudubrava, which is part of the Mashuksky forest park (connects with the Beshtaugorsky forest park). The glades are covered with rich meadow vegetation, with changing phytocenoses from meadow-like steppe to subalpine meadows. The flora includes more than 80 species of rare and endangered plants, of which 25 were first described on Mashuk and are reference. Extremely rare are: dwarf euonymus, Mashuk and Pyatigorsk hawksbill, proleskovidnaya pushkinia, bract-shaped poppy, narrow-leaved snowdrop, as well as a number of xerophytes on limestone slopes - Crimean asphodelina, rocky euphorbia, blackheaded lamira, drooping symphiandra. 29 plant species are listed in the Red Books of Russia and the Stavropol Territory.

On the northern slope, 42 hectares are occupied by the Perkal dendrological nursery (1830s, 1879) with an ecological and botanical station - 11.5 hectares. On their territory there is a unique botanical collection, consisting of (550) over 800 species of shrubs and trees and about 700 herbaceous plants; the flora is represented not only in the CMS region and the North Caucasus, but also in different parts of the world - Transcaucasia, Europe, Central and Central Asia, the Far East and North America. They include about 100 species of medicinal and 120 species of rare and endangered plants.

Near the forest nursery there is Komsomolskaya glade (north-eastern slope), on the western slope of Mashuk there is a Nut grove and a Glade of Songs. The arboretum together with the Mashuk forest park are natural monuments.

Monuments of archeology, history and culture

There are numerous archeological monuments on Mashuk dating back to the Neolithic, IV millennium BC. e., Koban and Scythian cultures of the VIII-V centuries. BC e., the beginning of our era and the Middle Ages. There are especially many cultural layers on travertine ledges and terraces on Goryachaya Gora, Perkalsky rocks, Komsomolskaya glade, in the area of ​​​​the meat-packing plant (a plateau above the Konstantinovsky highway).

On the Mashuk southeastern slope, which gradually turns into a plateau, these Mounds on the Konstantinovsky Plateau(good view - from the ring road Mineralnye Vody - Nalchik - the highway "Kavkaz"). Dozens of centuries ago, one of the busiest roads ran through the Konstantinovsky Plateau, along which nomadic tribes passed - Scythians, Polovtsy, Khazars. In those mounds that were explored in the second half of the 19th century and in our time (late 20th - early 21st centuries), ancient burials, weapons, household and religious items were found. Finds made on the Konstantinovsky Plateau are kept in the Pyatigorsk Regional Museum and in the museums of the Stavropol Territory, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Nearby on the eastern slope along the Mashukogorsk ring road (it is also a health path-ring - route No. 1 "around Mashuk" [about 10 km long]: Gagarina boulevard - Proval - Komsomolskaya glade - Perkalsky arboretum - to the place of Lermontov's duel and the Pesen glade) behind A failure, higher above these mounds is the Obelisk on the mass grave of the victims of the Nazi occupation.

There are many monuments of history and culture on the mountain, of which Lermontov's places are a true national shrine: "Lermontov's House" (in the urban area, in the upper city), the place of the duel (a monument at the place of death - on the northwestern slope) and the initial burial place (Military Memorial Cemetery), a monument to the poet (city square [Lermontovsky (?)] between Oktyabrskaya and Krasnoarmeyskaya streets), Lermontov's grotto, Aeolian harp.

On the top of the mountain, from an observation deck a few tens of meters down the southern slope [according to the will - with a view of Elbrus], there is an obelisk monument at the burial site of the military topographer A. V. Pastukhov.

In terms of significance and value of natural, historical and cultural sites, Mount Mashuk meets the criteria of a world heritage site.

nature management

A cable car with a length of 964 meters leads to the top; located at the very top one hundred and twelve- a meter-long TV and radio broadcasting tower with a radio relay node (with Base Stations of mobile operators; the tower is also a topographical landmark) and an observation deck.
The length of the hiking route to Mount Mashuk (one way, to the top) is about 4 kilometers. There are several "savage" trails: from Mount Kazachka upwards, or from the medical campus (city hospital No. 1) and the Student Town (Kuchura St.) passing through the Walnut Grove, through the "Gate of the Sun" and directly along the western slope; two beaten paths from the Mass grave along the eastern gentle slope; from Proval along the southeastern slope - the shortest, but also the steepest ascent. It is also possible to climb along the old wheeled road, which runs along the northern side of the mountain (from Komsomolskaya Polyana, camp "Rainbow"). Terrenkur route number 2: st. Lermontov - Gagarin Boulevard - in front of the Upper Radon Baths up to the right - "Gate of the Sun" and the Forester's House - and further along the serpentine - we go up to the top of Mashuk, from where an amazing panorama of Pyatigorye opens - the length of the route is about 7 km.
A car serpentine road with a length of up to 10 km leads to the top of the mountain - a popular wedding route. Entrance to the automobile Mashukogorsk ring highway (to Gagarin Boulevard) from the center - from Lermontov, Pastukhov, etc. [from the southwest] and to the Upper radon clinic (along the route of the health path described above), you can also climb from the side of the meat processing plant - Fabrichnaya [southeast], Teplosernaya [from the south past People's baths] and again to the hospital, or from the avenue Kalinin at the northern entrance to the city - Arch (pylons) at the road to the duel site [from the north-west], bypassing the place of Lermontov's duel. All of them lead to the "Gate of the Sun" and to the cherished peak.

Attractions

The mountain is a regional complex [landscape, geological and geomorphological] monument of nature - a complex object of natural and historical and cultural heritage, combined with monuments of archeology, architecture, as well as with Lermontov places (Resolution of the Bureau of the Stavropol Regional Committee of the CPSU and the Executive Committee of the Regional Council of Workers' Deputies of September 15 .1961, No. 676 "On measures for the protection of nature in the region").

Sport events

A 3.5-kilometer mountain bike trail runs along Mashuk. Every year, the Russian championships in freeride (free descent), downhill (downhill) and biker cross are held here.

Notes

1. Caucasian Mineralnye Vody. Federal resorts of Russia. 2nd edition, anniversary, bookstore. 2003 . ISBN 5-87777-019-5 (EAN 4-607023-490182). page 26.
   More precisely, they clearly originate almost in the same place (as described below, in Hot) - from the Pirogov baths.
2. in fact - from the Proval area, below the source No. 24, from the descent [at the Center of prof. Mishagin] on Konstantinovskoe highway [st. Factory], on the right (lower) side of the descent; above, on the left side of the descent (going down), there are rocks of the Mikhailovsky spur
3. : Karst cave "Big failure"
4. City of Pyatigorsk. Kovalenko A. N. Stavropol chronograph for 2005. Stavropol, 2005. S. 209-226.
5. All health path routes start from the pump room of the source number 1 on the street. Lermontov.
6. Dying Mashuk
7. Pyatigorskaya Pravda (No. 28 of 03/21/2009)
8. News of Pyatigorsk Pravda
9. News of Pyatigorsk Pravda
10. Development and cutting down still threaten Mashuk - Aif-North Caucasus
11. Caucasian Knot | Residents of Pyatigorsk demand to stop construction work on Mashuk
12. Destruction of a section of the nature protection zone on Mashuk - Demokrator
13. In Pyatigorsk, participants in the action "Stop sawing Mashuk!" will picket the City Hall building - Caucasian Knot
14. Stop sawing Mashuk! / Pyatigorsk echo / Portal blogs / NCFD - Portal of the North Caucasian Federal District
15. Enough Sawing Mashuk (Vesti Rossiya 1, Pyatigorsk) - YouTube
16. Environmental activists ask Dmitry Medvedev to stop deforestation and construction on Mount Mashuk - Ecoprogress
17. Ringing all the bells
18. Stop sawing Mashuk! (No. 3 (110) dated January 24, 2012)