Nalchik.

History

In 1818 a fortress was built here on General Yermolov's orders, and a military settlement grew beside it in 1838. Over time the settlement turned into a resort. Nalchik became a city in 1921 as the centre of the Kabardin Autonomous Oblast. It was occupied and heavily damaged from October 1942 to January 1943 and rebuilt after liberation.

Culture & traditions

Nalchik has three drama theatres, Kabardian, Balkar and the Gorky Russian Theatre, plus a musical theatre and the open-air Green Theatre. The National Museum of Kabardino-Balkaria was founded in 1921 and the Museum of Fine Arts in 1959, and there is also a literary museum. In 2008 the city hosted the Women's World Chess Championship. Singer Dima Bilan and Nobel physics laureate Andre Geim were born here.

Sport

The city's main club is the football team Spartak Nalchik, founded in 1935, which played in the country's top division from 2006 to 2012. The city park, with its health trail and horse riding, also suits gentler activity.

Food & drink

Nalchik's table is Kabardian and Balkar home cooking. Look for it in cafés and at the market; the park also has restaurants with views of the mountain ridges.

Practical information

Nalchik International Airport serves the city, and the railway station links it with Moscow and other towns of the region. The Dolinsk resort district has about forty sanatoriums and holiday homes, and the city counts 18 mineral springs. July is usually +25 to +28 °C and January −3 to −5 °C. The best time to visit is from late May to mid-September.

What to see

• City Park (Atazhukin Garden) — one of Europe's largest, with lakes and a cable car
• Dolinsk — a resort district of sanatoriums and mineral waters
• National Museum of Kabardino-Balkaria — the republic's history and ethnography since 1921
• Museum of Fine Arts — the republic's art collection
• Green Theatre — an open-air summer stage