Narzan gallery in Kislovodsk is one of the main attractions of the city. Located in the center, on Kurortny Boulevard, it attracts attention primarily due to its unusual architecture. Serrated turrets and lancet windows adorn a 19th-century monument of architecture. The magic castle is surprisingly reminiscent of the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea. And it turns out there are reasons for this.
Kislovodsk Narzan
The Arab traveler Ibn Batut, who lived in the 14th century, describes the “foamy water” that he saw in the Caucasus. He was shown a healing drink by local residents who from time immemorial have used it for medical purposes. The name of the water “drink of the heroes” (nart-sane) was transformed later into the easier pronounced “narzan”.
Having been on the waters abroad, the Russian emperor Peter I ordered to find the same sources in his homeland. The sovereign's life doctor, Gottlieb Schober, wrote in 1717 in his report: “There is a pretty sour spring in Cherkasy land.” This was the ancestor of the modern narzan gallery in Kislovodsk.
The first capture in Kislovodsk
Investigation of the source resumed at the end of the 18th century, and water was recommended for treating soldiers. And already in 1803, by order of Emperor Alexander I, the construction of a fortification near the "sour well" began. This step was very important. Firstly, the extension of borders was thus approved. Secondly, among the hostile mountaineers, the fortress ensured the safety of local residents and guests who visited the source. So the city of Kislovodsk arose.
There were many who wanted to improve their health on the waters. But at first the conditions were the most primitive. The first capture, a complex of structures for lifting water to the surface, appeared in 1823. An ordinary wooden well from which people took water. To comply with the doctors ’prescription, one had to drink a lot of water, resting and walking between receptions. The treatment period was prescribed for a long period of several months.
To protect from the scorching sun or bad weather, canopies were adapted, which were later replaced by wooden ones. In addition, demand creates supply, the first hotels began to appear next to the narzan gallery in Kislovodsk. This complex lasted thirty years.
Palace for Narzan
To build a worthy building covering the magical spring was entrusted to the Caucasian governor M.S. Vorontsov. Count oversaw the construction, made additions in accordance with his taste. It is not surprising that the similarity of the two palaces - in Kislovodsk and the Crimea - is so striking.
Samuel Ivanovich Upton, an English architect, worked on the project. Ten years later, in 1851, a stone pool was built on the site of the first capture well. The source itself was inside an unusually beautiful, majestic building in the style of "Gothic romanticism". Turrets, arches, battlements and windows adorned the facade of the palace.
For the convenience of vacationers, the source, the bathhouse and the gallery were covered by one roof. Now, for the reception of water and walks between receptions, the most comfortable conditions have been created. Places of concentration of vacationers automatically became the center of spa life. Concerts began to take place here, exhibitions unfolded, film screenings were held.
Upton Key
The gallery over the years has retained its appearance. Neither time nor people have made great changes in its external and internal appearance. The reconstruction of the building was carried out in compliance with the standards and with a careful attitude to the architectural monument.
If you look at the building of the narzan gallery in Kislovodsk in the photo below, you can see that its shape is the key. The head of the key is a bath, a bathtub compartment. A long transition is like a rod. The beard is formed by two pavilions, diverging in both directions. At the intersection of the rod and the barb, there is a source in which water is supplied to a stone pool from a depth of 6.5 meters. This is the pearl for which the palace was built.
What did the architect want to say to the descendants, erecting a structure of such an outlandish form? This is a double message. The key is a synonym for the source of mineral water. And this is the key that opened the city of Kislovodsk.
The first reconstruction of the gallery
In 1893, due to the floor that failed in the gallery, the reconstruction of the captation was carried out under the direction of the mining engineer K. F. Rugevich. The well deepened to 6.5 meters was made in the form of an octagon, the walls of which were laid out in white marble. Cranes in the form of lion heads were located on the walls.
Two years later, a transparent cap was mounted over the capturing in order to comply with sanitary conditions and to collect the emitted carbon dioxide. A window was made in the roof over the source. Daylight, falling inside, was reflected in the faces of the glass dome, creating beautiful highlights. The "boiling" of water due to the formation of carbon dioxide bubbles is a bewitching picture. In 1894, electric lighting appeared here.
Later, several repairs of the captation were carried out, but the appearance of the main narzan gallery of Kislovodsk remained unchanged.
Visitor service in the 19th century and in the Soviet years
In the round part of the gallery a bath was arranged. On the ground floor, eight installed bathtubs allowed vacationers of the male and female departments to take treatment with comfort. Wealthy clients rented rooms for rest or accommodation on the second floor.
In the drinking room, special servants distributed water. They stood below floor level where cranes were installed. Pouring water into glasses, they put them three in a palm and held up. The girls were jokingly called nymphs. Reconstruction of the cranes was done later, in the socialist sixties, and then the time of self-service came to the narzan gallery of Kislovodsk.
At first, narzan was served cold, but then boilers were installed in the courtyard for heating water. They were immediately nicknamed samovars. In a long through passage, the public was walking, having a rest from drinking water, there were benches and the orchestra was playing continuously.
Since taking narzan was taken very seriously, self-medication was not welcome. In the narzan gallery of Kislovodsk, the regimen for water intake was prescribed by a doctor who consulted patients here, in a separate office. Printed goods kiosks worked in the gallery, as well as imported mineral water from other sources and koumiss.
Kislovodsk with its healing springs was one of the favorite places for workers to rest. During the Soviet period, many sanatoriums and hotels were built near the narzan gallery. In Kislovodsk, the structure was always maintained in good condition. The window openings were completely glazed, the floor was tiled in a checkerboard pattern. The interior design was slightly changed.
Part of the premises was transferred to the city library. Citizens and vacationers willingly visited her reading and concert halls. Later, already in the 90s, where they listened to concerts and watched films, shopping malls were placed. Now they are gone.
Drinking pump rooms in the narzan gallery of Kislovodsk
The walls of the gallery, lined with marble, create a cool inside even on a hot summer day. The first capture well now carries not only an aesthetic load, the water in it is not potable, but is used for bathing.
Now, along the entire length of the walking corridor, dispensers with cranes are arranged, water into which is supplied from artificially drilled wells. Each such counter is decorated with a decorative table lamp with views of Kislovodsk and other cities of the region.
Three types of narzan are fed into the pump rooms: sulfate, which rises from a depth of more than 200 meters, dolomite - from 65 meters and general. Water may be cold or warm. Work narzan gallery Kislovodsk year-round.
Bather
In the middle of the walking gallery there is a swimming pool with a marble figure of a bather. The author of this sculpture is unknown. But the female figure on the edge of the marble pond has become so popular in the city that a plaster copy of it can be seen in many resorts.
Guided by a beauty carved from a single piece of stone, the guides like to show the visitors. They call her Aphrodite and assure that only the narzan baths helped her beauty remain for so many years. Everlasting youth and health await women who live and receive narzan.
Admission Rules
It is believed that narzan appeared during the growth period of Mount Elbrus. The cracks formed gave healing water. Passing underground through various natural filters, it leaches various salts and microelements from rocks, and is saturated with them. Accumulating in deep reservoirs, pure and enriched mineral water is poured onto the surface.
You need to know that narzan treatment, like any treatment, should be prescribed by a doctor. It determines how narzan should be administered, what is the number of single doses and the duration of the course, how to prepare for water intake. During this period, a special diet should be observed.
The primary consultation can be carried out by the gallery’s medical staff, and they will provide first aid if necessary. The mode of operation of the narzan gallery of Kislovodsk corresponds to a three-time intake of water. It is open in the morning from 7 to 9, in the afternoon from 11 to 14 and in the evening from 16 to 19.
Bottled Narzan
Industrial bottling of narzan was started in 1894. A modern factory is located outside the resort area. Water is produced through wells that are fully automated. The degree of mineralization, temperature, water level in the source is determined by the devices. Before being fed to the bottling plant, the water is cleaned.
Bottling is carried out in glass and plastic containers. The new technology used at the enterprise since 2012 allows the entire process to be carried out without contact with air and humans. The quality of the incoming water at all stages is controlled by the laboratory staff. Demand for Kislovodsk narzan is high; it is supplied to many regions of the country.
Reviews
Visitors say that the narzan gallery is a very beautiful and interesting place. They celebrate many virtues. The gallery is large, many entrances and exits. You can purchase souvenirs and sign up for an excursion. There are sofas, you can sit down and relax. The drawback is that visitors consider scheduled work.