(Source: http://www.stapravda.ru/projects)

Stavropol is traditionally called the “Gates of the Caucasus”, although nowadays this title is more suitable for any of the resorts in Mineralnye Vody.

The old railway station of the city is a dead-end station, where the only long-distance trains from the capital come every day. For travelers it is easier to go by road.

However, Stavropol is one of the most important cities in the region. Its significance is evidenced at least by the fact that, among other things, the Institute of Friendship of Peoples of the Caucasus works in the city, and the city’s main university - North Caucasian Federal University - has recently united Stavropol, North Caucasian and Pyatigorsk universities.

Only part of the wall remained from the Stavropol fortress, besides, one fragment was recreated. The Fortress Hill is the very heart of Stavropol. Today it is a square with various monuments, from the historical Kazan Cathedral to the extremely expressive walking cavalryman of Budyonny’s army.

There is a stone cross in honor of the foundation of the city. According to legend, the ancient stone cross was dug up during the construction of the fortress. Genuine ancient stone crosses can be seen in the Stavropol Local History Museum which is incredible in scope and richness of the items collection. It occupies a huge building of the shopping arcade on Dzerzhinskogo Street, and it is the oldest museum in the North Caucasus.

The exposition is truly amazing, so you should allocate special time for visiting it. There is everything you wanted to know about the Stavropol Territory, from mammoths to ethnography and an intricate layout of the fortress. The Fortress Hill offers a wide panorama - a very hilly city that is literally drowning in green in summer, with a very diverse building system. The historic pre-revolutionary centre is quite well preserved, it looks solid and well-kept.

There are many churches, both restored old and new ones. There are also interesting buildings of Stalin era, there are semi-rustic streets, as well as good new buildings. This mixture, where it is impossible to identify one urban style, is a distinctive feature of Stavropol. Even the monument to Lenin in the company of working people is located not far from the austere angel with a cross; a cavalryman from Budyonny’s army with a rifle stays next to the head of Suvorov; the Governor-General Nikiforaki on Karla Marksa Prospect reminds of southern Russian Greeks, and the entrance to the North Caucasian University is guarded by the Egyptian pharaohs.

There is a relaxed young Pushkin, a purposeful Lermontov, a very concerned Gorky, as well as classical Soviet urban statues with a special southern flair - a girl without a paddle, but with a basket of grapes. The southern flair is the brightest feature of Stavropol. The streets descend from the hills with stairs, chestnut trees in the old Central Park are blooming, and even a local mammoth in the Museum of Local History is not just a mammoth, but a saber-toothed “southern elephant”.

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