Cascade Staircase (Zheleznovodsk)

The Cascade Staircase is a park ensemble in Zheleznovodsk, Stavropol Krai, on the eastern slope of Mount Zheleznaya. Some 860 metres long, it runs down from the Smirnovsky spring in the Resort Park to Lake Tridtsatka and is the best-known sight of the spa town. It is a regional cultural heritage site.

History

The Smirnovsky spring was discovered on the slope of Mount Zheleznaya in 1810; the upper part of the staircase now ends beside it. Unused mineral water was let run down the eastern slope, turning it into a marsh where malaria mosquitoes bred. The solution was to carry the water away through a cascade of flowing pools.

The upper section, 240 metres long, was built in 1931–1936 to a design by the architect Nikolai Papkov. It was then called the Alley of Cascades or the Waterfall and ended in a dead end on the lower paths of the park, by the Nezlobinsky spring. Lake Tridtsatka was dug further down the slope in 1954. Extending the staircase to the lake was part of the town's master plans of 1936 and 1966, but it only happened after Zheleznovodsk won the national small towns competition in 2018. About 600 more metres were completed in 2019.

What to see

Today the staircase has 574 steps and a drop of about 110 metres; the steepest stretch is the upper, historic one. It is two-sided, with water flowing in cascades through pools down the middle, now ordinary water rather than mineral. Along it are ten fountains, openwork railings, rows of thuja and flower beds.

The fountains carry sculptures of fairy-tale characters: the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, Danila the Craftsman, nymphs and the Frog Princess. The oldest sculpture, the Naiad with a Harpoon, has survived since 1938. The historic section ends on a terrace with an eagle tearing at a snake, the emblem of the Caucasian Mineral Waters.

About halfway down stands a pump room shaped like a book, engraved with passages from Mikhail Lermontov in his own handwriting; it serves Essentuki water. It was not part of the Soviet design: a well for the running water stood here. Near the staircase is a bust of Fyodor Haass, the doctor who studied the local waters, with quotes from his book My Journey to the Alexandrovsky Waters set into the steps.

At the bottom the staircase reaches the Floating Embankment and Ferrum Square, with a dry fountain and large letters Fe, and then Lake Tridtsatka. The upper terraces look out over Mount Beshtau, Mount Zheleznaya and the town.

Good to know

The staircase is open around the clock and free. It is lit in the evening; the reconstruction added benches and ramps for visitors with limited mobility. The nearest stop to the lake is Sanatorium named after the 30th Anniversary of Victory.