Pyatigorsk Museum of Local Lore is more than 110 years old. The beginning of the tradition to collect and store the artifacts found in the region was given by Prince Vorontsov, who in 1844-1854 held the post of viceroy in the Caucasus. By his order in 1850 the museum of antiquities in the open air was created. Its main exhibit — a granite statue of warrior «Duka-Bek» with a height of more than 2.5 meters — has been kept in the State Historical Museum in Moscow since 1881. Its copy is exhibited in the Pyatigorsk Museum of Local Lore. An open-air mill, a plate with drawings of the 4th millennium BC and many other antiquities are exhibited.
The Museum of Local Lore was opened in Pyatigorsk in 1903, and in 1962 it moved to the historic building on the Brothers Bernardazzi Street. The first floor of the museum acquaints with the peculiarities of the nature of the region. Here one can study the relief maps of the Mashuk and Beshtau mountains, see the minerals and parts of the fossil skeleton found on the slopes. The historical part of the museum is interesting with rare weapons of the XVIII — early XX century, objects of everyday life, coins, ornaments and photographs. The exposition of the second floor is dedicated to the area of the Caucasian Mineral Waters during the Great Patriotic War.
A cascade of fountains with musical accompaniment was created in 2015 in front of the building of the Museum of Local Lore. The square in front of the museum is a favorite vacation spot for residents of Pyatigorsk.