Church of St. Nicholas in Yessentuki

The Church of St. Nicholas in Yessentuki is the oldest church in the city. It is located 2 kilometers from the entrance to the Resort Park. It is far enough for walking, but a taxi drive will take no more than 5 minutes. It is worth coming here to see the beautiful blue church made of wood. 

The Church of St. Nicholas was built in 1826. The Church of St. Panteleimon, which is more famous nowadays in the Yessentuki Resort Park, was built much later, in 1898. At the same time as the Church of St. Nicholas in Yessentuki, an Old Believer church was built, since the Cossacks who founded the village of Yessentuki were Old Believers. However, this church has not survived to this day. 

The Church of St. Nicholas in Yessentuki was built according to the project of the Bernardatsi brothers. Brothers Giovanni and Giuseppe came from Italy to Russia in the early 19th century. One was an architect, the other a bricklayer. In Russia, they are better known by the names Ivan and Joseph. In the Medical Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they signed a contract for the construction of buildings in the Mineral Waters region, so the houses they built can be found both in Yessentuki and Pyatigorsk.  

The Church of St. Nicholas in Yessentuki was called by many Cossacks "Italian". Perhaps this is due to the kinship of the architects who built it, but the appearance of the church is also not similar to the traditional Russian churches of the first half of the 19th century. The church is built of wood, without nails, in a tent style. It is painted in a sky blue color and looks very beautiful.    

A small necropolis has been preserved in the courtyard of the church, where famous Cossacks are buried. Memorial plaques have also been preserved in the temple itself, where the names of Cossacks who distinguished themselves in the war with Turkey of 1875-77, as well as in the war with Japan of 1904-05 are marked.