The architect of the resort paradise: the legacy of Andrei Klepinin

The architectural appearance of the Caucasian Mineral Waters is frozen music, in which the melody of the creation of the turn of the XIX and XX centuries clearly sounds. The history of our resorts is inextricably linked with the names of masters who managed to combine the severity of the Caucasian landscape with the grace of European modernity. One of the main "conductors" of this stone orchestra was Andrei Nikolaevich Klepinin - a man whose creative thought turned Kislovodsk into a fairy tale city.

A graduate of the St. Petersburg school of architecture, Klepinin arrived at Kavminvody in 1898 to permanently change their visual code. His work fell on the golden age of the region, when resort towns became a showcase of domestic urban development.

Main narzan baths: Moorish mirage

The crown of creativity of Andrey Klepinin is a majestic building of the Main Narsan Baths in Kislovodsk. This monument of architecture of federal significance, erected to the centenary of the resort, still causes awe in everyone who passes along the former Poplar Alley.

Klepinin managed to accomplish the impossible: he created a building that seems to descend from the pages of Eastern legends, but at the same time is the most complex engineering structure of its time. Indian motifs, Moorish arches and unique majolica of the Abramtsevo workshop turned the hospital into an architectural masterpiece. Laconic inscription on the facade: "Designed and built engineer A. N. Klepinin. 1901-1903 is the best monument to the author, whose talent gave the city its main visual dominant.

Geography of Talent: From Grand Hotel to Failure

The activity of Klepinin was not limited to one object. He literally redesigned the landscape of Kavminvod, writing new meanings into it. It was he who brought to life the Grand Hotel (now the Narzan Sanatorium), which occupied almost half of Karl Marx Street.

In nearby Pyatigorsk, Andrei Nikolaevich also left an indelible mark: from the massive Novo-Sabaneevsky baths to light, almost airy pavilions and gazebos on Hot Mountain. Eye hospital, a house of diligence and original cottages in the area of Provala - each building Klepinin carried the features of a special "resort style", combining monumentality and coziness.

A century-long afterword

The fate of the architect, as well as the fate of many representatives of the Russian intelligentsia of that time, turned out to be dramatic. The civil war forced him to leave his homeland. The wanderings in Serbia and recent years in the suburbs of Paris did not erase its ties with the Caucasus - it remained here, in the strength of the foundations and the beauty of the vaults.

Andrey Klepinin died in 1952 away from Russia, but he returned to it with his creations. Today, when we admire the updated facades of the Main Narzan Baths or walk through the parks of Pyatigorsk, we see the world through its eyes. The honorary citizen of Kislovodsk left us not just buildings, but the very soul of resort towns, which continues to live in every carved cornice and every sunshine on the old masonry.

Earlier it was reported that Vladikavkaz will host the international architectural festival “EcoBereg”.