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 Essentuki is one of the largest and unique resorts in our country. The history of drinking springs goes back centuries. For the peoples of the Caucasus, the water of the springs gushing out of the ground was a refreshing drink, it increased appetite and gave health. The healing power of this amazing Essentuki water was manifested in the quick recovery of the soldiers and Cossacks who participated in the Caucasian War.
Three medicinal springs with sour-salty water were first discovered in Yessentuki by the doctor F.P. Gaaz in 1811. He has already discovered an iron hot spring, one of the most interesting in the world, on Mount Iron. Now he came to the Caucasian Waters to heal and continue further searches for healing springs. The Cossacks of the guard post of the Essentuki redoubt told him that their horses do not drink ordinary fresh water, but strive to get drunk near a small swamp. They called this spring "horse". Gaaz asked the Cossacks to show him this horse source. Thus, he discovered another mineral spring, which later became the beginning of the Essentuki resort.
In search of healing keys, the doctor was assisted by the Kabardian prince Izmail-bey Atazhukin. This is a man of difficult destiny. He secretly helped the mountaineers in their struggle for independence, although he himself was an officer in the Russian army. In M.Yu. Lermontov's poem "Izmail-Bey" he became the prototype of the hero.
A few years later, in 1823, Professor A.P. Nelyubin found more than twenty other sources in Essentuki. In terms of their healing properties, they were not inferior to the mineral waters of such European resorts as Selters and Vichy. Studying and describing the sources, Nelyubin assigned them numbers in order.
In 1825 Essentuki village was founded. But the Essentuki sources remained in the shadows for a long time. Residents and visiting patients drank water directly from a natural source and swam in pits that were dug nearby. Many took baths at home. Water was brought to them in barrels. At first, springs No. 2 and No. 23 were mainly used, and since 1840, the salt-alkaline waters of Essentuki No. 4 and Essentuki No. 17, called the "Pearl of the Caucasian Mineral Waters", became very popular and brought fame as a world resort.
Essentuki resort began to develop intensively since 1846. Essentuki village grew rapidly. Its inhabitants were engaged in trade, gardening and servicing "coursework". This was the name of the vacationers who came to the resort. Since 1860 bottles with Essentuki water began to be sent throughout Russia and abroad, where it was highly valued. The company, which exported mineral water, had its warehouses in London, Prague, Paris and other European cities.
The attendance of sick and vacationers increased rapidly. The popularity of the resort is growing, and it acquires the status of all-Russian and world significance. In the 1870s, the spa park became the main pastime. Its shady alleys are a favorite promenade.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Mechanotherapy Pavilion was opened, or, as it was called, the Zander Institute of Medical Gymnastics with special apparatus brought from Sweden. Many diseases were treated with these mechanical devices. They also helped obese people get rid of obesity. Therefore, Essentuki was not accidentally called the Essen-fat resort. These devices, purchased in 1901, are still in operation today. In 1903, on the outskirts of Essentuki, the first in Russia state hydroelectric power station "White Coal" was put into operation, which provided electricity to all resort towns.
One of the most remarkable and grandiose architectural structures of Essentuki is the mud baths named after Semashko.The famous healing mud is taken from Lake Tambukan, which is located in a picturesque place near the city of Pyatigorsk.
Locals say that Essentuki is a city where you want not only to relax, improve your health, but also live.
Minkina E. B.
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