Altai has attracted attention of Russian and foreign travelers since XVIII century. They often visited Zmeinogorsk with its the local big silver mine and a smelting plant, leaving some descriptions for descendants. The analysis of the works of ten authors who visited Zmeinogorsk from 1771 to 1877 (eight Russians and two foreigners) made it possible to establish that their testimonies have a lot in common. This is the list of images which is found almost everywhere: “big settlement”, “mountainous territory”, “rich ore deposits”, “important industrial complex”. Much less common are such images as “a beautiful, cozy place”, “the center of technical progress”. So visitors did not consider Zmeinogorsk to be an important political and cultural or trade center. Differences between images had a private character and refer to the description of the appearance or lifestyle. The perception of Zmeinogorsk in XVIII–XIX centuries, based on the given records, is generally true.