The name is derived from the fused Russian words "пять гор" (five mountains) and the city is so called because of the five peaks of the Beshtau (which also means five mountainsinTurkic) of the Caucasian mountain range overlooking the city. Founded in 1780,[2] it has been a health spa with mineral springs since 1803, as part of the Caucasian Mineral Waters.
Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov was shot by Nikolai Martynov in a duel at Pyatigorsk on July 27, 1841. There is a museum in the city devoted to his memory. The Zionist activist Joseph Trumpeldor was born in Pyatigorsk.
The writings of the 14th-century Arabian traveler Ibn Battuta included the earliest known mention of the mineral springs. Peter the Great (reigned 1682–1725) fostered the earliest scientific study of them, but the information collected on his expedition has not survived. Interest revived at the end of the 18th century with the foundation of the first Russian settlement (Konstantinogorskaya fortress), erected at Mt. Mashuk in 1780.[2][10]
The value of the Caucasian mineral waters led to the construction of a resort in 1803, and studies of their medical properties began thereafter: on April 24, Alexander I signed a decree which made the mineral waters state property. Many settlements developed near the springs: first Goryachevodsk (now part of Pyatigorsk) at the bottom of Mt. Mashuk, then Kislovodsk, Yessentuki, and Zheleznovodsk.[11] During the Russian Empire, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Pyatigorsky Otdel of the Terek Oblast.
During World War II the German Wehrmacht temporarily occupied Pyatigorsk. The Einsatzkommando 12 of Einsatzgruppe D had its headquarters in Pyatigorsk in 1942.[12] The German occupation resulted in the killing of many Jewish inhabitants of the region.[13]
The city is situated on a small plateau, 512 meters (1,680 ft) above sea level, at the foot of Beshtau, Mashuk, and three other outliers of the Caucasus Mountains, which protect it on the north. The snow-covered summits of Mount Elbrus are visible to the south.
The climate of Pyatigorsk falls within humid continental (Dfb) classification under the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system and is characterized by absence of sharp fluctuations of annual and daily temperatures. Summers are warm with the average July temperature of +21 °C (70 °F) while winters, lasting two to three months, are cold, with the average January temperature of −4 °C (25 °F). Spring is cool, with a sharp transition by the summer, and a warm, dry, and long fall. There are an average of ninety-eight sunny days in a year.
The industry of Pyatigorsk is primarily oriented towards service of the health resort. There is also food industry (a meat-processing plant, a winery, a dairy, a brewery, a confectionery), textiles (clothing, shoe plant, carpet factories), machine industry and metal working (PО Pyatigorskselmash specializes in machines and equipment for aviculture; a special automobile equipment works, an electromechanical plant, etc.); mining, a chemical factory and a ceramics factory who specialize in porcelain and ceramic gifts such as samovars, figurines, vases, and decorative ceramic wall hanging panels. In 1991, the Pyatigorsk health resort had ten sanatoria, four boarding houses and five sanatoria-preventoria.
Правительство Ставропольского края. Постановление №63-п от 4 мая 2006 г. «Об утверждении реестра административно-территориальных единиц Ставропольского края», в ред. Постановления №75-п от 5 марта 2015 г. «О внесении изменения в пункт 47 Раздела II Реестра административно-территориальных единиц Ставропольского края, утверждённый Постановлением Правительства Ставропольского края от 04 мая 2006 г. №63-п». Вступил в силу с 4 мая 2006 г.. Опубликован: "Сборник законов и других правовых актов Ставропольского края", №17, ст. 5609, 10 июля 2006 г. (Government of Stavropol Krai. Resolution #63-p of May 4, 2006 On the Adoption of the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units of Stavropol Krai, as amended by the Resolution #75-p of March 5, 2015 On Amending Item 47 of Section II of the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units of Stavropol Krai Adopted by Resolution #63-p of the Government of Stavropol Krai of May 4, 2006. Effective as of May 4, 2006.).
Государственная Дума Ставропольского края. Закон №88-кз от 4 октября 2004 г. «О наделении муниципальных образований Ставропольского края статусом городского, сельского поселения, городского округа, муниципального района», в ред. Закона №51-кз от 28 мая 2015 г. «О преобразовании муниципальных образований, входящих в состав Минераловодского муниципального района Ставропольского края (Минераловодского территориального муниципального образования Ставропольского края), и об организации местного самоуправления на территории Минераловодского района Ставропольского края». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ставропольская правда", №216, 6 октября 2004 г. (State Duma of Stavropol Krai. Law #88-kz of October 4, 2004 On Granting the Status of Urban, Rural Settlement, Urban Okrug, Municipal District to the Municipal Formations of Stavropol Krai, as amended by the Law #51-kz of May 28, 2015 On the Transformation of the Municipal Formations Within Mineralovodsky Municipal District of Stavropol Krai (Mineralovodskoye Territorial Municipal Formation of Stavropol Krai), and on the Organization of the Local Self-Government on the Territory of Mineralovodsky District of Stavropol Krai. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
[6])
Dilijan, Armenia
Hévíz, Hungary
Kochi, India
Panagyurishte, Bulgaria
Schwerte, Germany
Trikala, Greece
