Red Stones (Kislovodsk)

The Red Stones, also called the Red Rocks, are a group of red-brown sandstone outcrops in the lower part of the Resort Park in Kislovodsk, Stavropol Krai, near the park's lower entrance and the Krasnye Kamni sanatorium. They are among the best-known sights of Kislovodsk: one rock carries a relief of Lenin, the next one a sculpture of an eagle, the emblem of the Caucasian Mineral Waters. The rocks are part of Kislovodsk National Park.

The rocks

The stones are made of sandstone laid down in an ancient sea and later lifted to the surface. Iron oxides give the rock its brick-red colour, which glows on a sunny day against the green of the park. The oddly shaped outcrops stand in several groups among spruces and birches. The sandstone is soft and weathers easily, which shaped the fate of the sculptures here.

History

In 1924 two students from Baku, Vladimir Ingal and Ruben Shkhiyan, carved a high relief of Lenin, about three metres tall, into one of the outcrops. It soon crumbled because of the soft rock and the effects of an earthquake, and was replaced by a metal bas-relief of Lenin in profile, regarded as one of the first sculptural images of Lenin in the USSR. A plaque beside it carries the text of the decree on resorts that started Soviet spa treatment at the waters.

In the late 1950s a sculpture of an eagle was placed on top of the neighbouring outcrop. The eagle became the symbol of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, playing on the Latin words aqua (water) and aquila (eagle), and today it is what most visitors come up to photograph.

What to see

A massive stone staircase leads up to the monument, with a flower bed at its foot and benches opposite, a good place to rest on the walking trail. Two viewing platforms look out over the town and the park. The colonnade of the Cascade Stairs, built in the mid-1930s, is close by.

A local legend links the Red and Grey Stones to Amazons: warrior women who killed their enemies, until one of them fell in love with a captive and spared him, which began the reconciliation.

Getting there

The Red Stones are at the start of the Resort Park. The usual way is the walking trail from the lower park, which passes right by them; you can also climb the Cascade Stairs from the centre of Kislovodsk. The climb is easy and the stop is short. The park is open all year. From the Krasnye Kamni sanatorium a hiking path continues to the upper part of the park.