Lipetsk

LIPETSK, a balneological and mud health resort in the Yelets District of the Central Black Earth Region. It is located on the right bank of the Voronezh River, at an altitude of 127 m above sea level, 2 km from the station of the same name on the Oryol-Stalingrad line of the Southeastern Railway. Lipetsk is one of the oldest Russian resorts, its establishment dating back to the time of Peter the Great. Under Soviet rule, until 1925, Lipetsk was on the list of resorts of national importance. At present, the resort is under the jurisdiction of the Health Department of the Central Black Earth Region. The climate of Lipetsk is moderate, mild, with no sharp temperature fluctuations. Summer is warm, with an average temperature of 18.1° in June, 20.4° in July, and 18.4° in August. The absolute maximum temperature is 37.0°. Relative humidity is about 60% in May, from 65% to 70% from June to August, and 75% in September. Summer precipitation is sparse (150 mm), mostly in June (65 mm). In total, there are no more than 35 cloudy and rainy days during the summer months. The therapeutic resources of the resort consist of ferruginous mineral springs and peat mud. The springs emerge in the western part of the Lower Park. For internal use, there are: the Albini spring, containing 0.248 g of ferrous carbonate per liter, with a yield of 3,000–3,500 liters per day and a temperature of 6.4°; and spring No. 7, an alkaline carbonate spring with a yield of 2,000 liters per day. Both springs are capped and have pump rooms. The remaining springs are connected into a single concrete collecting gallery and serve to prepare mineral ferruginous baths. The bathhouse building contains 18 cabins for mineral baths and 19 for general mud baths; in addition, there are departments for local mud compresses. Lipetsk mud resembles Franzensbad mud in its composition and lies in layers from 60 to 90 cm thick along the northern and northwestern shores of Peter's Pond, as well as along its bottom. Next to the bathhouse building is a water treatment facility for administering artificial mineral baths, with a shower department and an electro-phototherapy room. To accommodate resident patients, sanatoriums with 400 beds are open, while outpatients are served by boarding houses and private dachas. Outpatient patients are served by the resort polyclinic and corresponding balneological and diagnostic institutions. Lipetsk has two parks. The Lower Park, covering an area of 26 hectares and consisting of centuries-old oaks, poplars, and conifers, is beautifully laid out; it houses sanatoriums, balneological institutions, the spring pump room, a bandstand, grounds for recreation and sports, and a restaurant. In its eastern part, the Lower Park adjoins Peter's Pond, from which one can take a boat to the Upper Park, located on Cathedral Hill, offering a view of the city, the Voronezh River, and the vast pine forests surrounding the city on two sides. The season runs from May 26 to September 26. The following conditions are indicated for treatment in Lipetsk: blood diseases—chlorosis, anemia developing independently or following severe illnesses; heart and vascular diseases—functional disorders of cardiac activity, myocarditis, compensated heart defects, initial forms of vascular sclerosis, phlebitis, and thrombophlebitis; diseases of the digestive organs—intestinal atony, catarrh of the gallbladder and biliary tract, chronic atonic gastritis without sharp changes in secretory functions, and colitis; metabolic diseases—uric acid diathesis, gout, obesity (exudative diathesis and rickets); diseases of the organs of motion; gynecological diseases; diseases of the male reproductive sphere—prostatitis, funiculitis, orchitis, epididymitis (of non-tuberculous origin); neuralgia, neuritis, polyneuritis.