Old Tbilisi

File:View of Tbilisi, in the early 1900s, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii.jpg

View of Old Tbilisi in the early 1900s

View of Old Tbilisi in 1868, by Ivan Aivazovsky.

Old Tbilisi (Georgian: ძველი თბილისი, dzveli t'bilisi) is an administrative district (raioni) in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. Although the term "Old Tbilisi" has long been used to denote a historical part of the city, it was only in 2007 that it became a distinct administrative entity to incorporate several historical neighborhoods formerly included in the districts of Mtatsminda-Krtsanisi, Isani-Samgori, and Didube-Chughureti.

Old Tbilisi is principally centered on what is commonly referred to as the Tbilisi Historic District, which, due to its significant architectural and urban value, as well as the threat to its survival, was previously listed on the World Monuments Watch (1998, 2000, 2002).

The district is located on the both sides of the Kura River and is dominated by Mount Mtatsminda, Narikala fortress and the Kartlis Deda monument. It chiefly represents a 19th-century urban fabric with largely eclectic architecture which includes the buildings and structures from the 5th to the 20th century. However, most of the pre-19th century city did not survive due to the devastating Persian invasion of 1795. The district houses a bulk of the tourist attractions in Tbilisi, including churches, museums, sulphur bathhouses, and peculiar wooden houses with open, carved balconies. In the 19th century, the core territory of the modern-day district of Old Tbilisi was tentatively subdivided into ethnic neighborhoods such as Avlabari with its Armenian and Georgian quarters, Alexanderdorf German quarter on the left bank of the Kura River and the Persian Quarter (Said-Abad) on the right bank of the Kura River.

New Life of Old Tbilisi

In 2010, the government of Tbilisi started a program initiated by Mayor Gigi Ugulava. The idea was to renew old and damaged houses and cobbled streets to make Old Tbilisi more attractive for tourists and visitors.

References

• Pickard, Robert (ed., 2001), Management of Historic Centres, pp. 93–112, 275–286. Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-419-23290-7.
• Urban Rehabilitation Policy in Tbilisi (Georgia): Document. prep. by the Technical Co-operation and Consultancy Unit, Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage, Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg 2002, ISBN 92-871-4944-5.

External links

• Old Tbilisi Official Website
• (Georgian) Old Tbilisi. The Government of Tbilisi.
• Tbilisi Project. Heritage and Modernity Association.
• Tbilisi History Museum. Georgian Art Portal.
• Old Tbilisi (vintage photos). Georgian Photographical Heritage Research Center.
• GWS official web page
• The Economist, A new look for Old Tbilisi,