Historical museum "Fortress" is located in the preserved buildings Kislovodsk fortress, which is a monument of history and architecture, and which began life resort. It is the only Russian fortress, preserved in the North Caucasus.

First earthwork at the site of the fortress appeared in 1807, and after a short time there was built a small stone fort. Most of the fortresses of the province after the Caucasian wars were either demolished or disassembled. There was only this one, and that - not completely. Fortress stood for 60 years. Up to this day from her preserved gates, corner tower, the site of the fortress wall with loopholes and barracks. After the revolutionary era building belonged to the sanatorium "Fortress" - one of the first Soviet sanatoriums.

Historical museum "Fortress" was founded May 9, 1965 in the status of national. In 1971 he was declared the Stavropol branch of the museum. Independent municipal museum he began in 1998. In 2005 the museum moved to the regional property. Today the museum has more than 60 thousand. Pieces. The pride of the museum are its collections: the archaeological, ethnographic and a collection of porcelain Kislovodsk.

The museum tells about the different historical stages of life of the peoples of the North Caucasus, the role of the Cossacks in the development of the city development as a resort of Kislovodsk, search and study of mineral springs. A huge section dedicated to the city of Kislovodsk as the largest hospital-based during the Great Patriotic War. The museum also houses an exposition in the open air, the so-called lapidary. One of the departments of the museum is a department of the history of space exploration, dedicated to Soviet scientists and inventors FA Zander.

Before Kislovodsk Historical Museum "Fortress" you can see a memorial sign, which is a block of stone dolomite, established to commemorate the founding of the spa town of Kislovodsk 25 (13) June 1803