Street Name Commemorates German Heritage in Georgia
The Union for the Protection of German Cultural Heritage in the South Caucasus has announced that Joseph Stalin Street in Asureti is now called Schwabenstrasse (Schwabian Street).
Around 1400 German families settled in Kvemo Kartli in Georgia after the Russian Tsar Aleksandr I invited foreigners to live in Transcaucasia.
His 1804 law allowed foreigners to make use of land plots and cultivate them. They were also tax-exempt and not required to complete military service.
The German families settled in Elizabethal settlement, named after the Russian Tsaritsa Elizabeth Alexeievna. Many of the families who emigrated to Georgia were Swabians. They also settled in Tbilisi and Abkhazia.
Source: Georgiatoday.ge, By Amy Jones
Photo: Georgiatoday.ge
Bagrati Cathedral: a landmark of Georgian architecture
In this episode of ‘Postcards’, we discover Bagrati Cathedral, the symbol of the city of Kutaisi, nearly 250 kilometres west of Tbilisi.
It was built under the first Kingdom of Georgia, a period of political and economic strength for the country.
“The cathedral is one of the main tourist attractions of the city,” said ‘Postcards’ reporter Claudio Rosmino.
“It is named after King Bagrat III, who commissioned its construction in the early years of the 11th century. Since then, it has become a landmark of Georgian architecture.”
The cathedral suffered heavy damage throughout the centuries and was gradually renovated from 1952 to 2012.
“Bagrati Cathedral is in a 3,500-year-old city, one of the oldest in the world,” explained Sulkhan Kuprashvili, a professor of history from Kutaisi State University.
“The construction of this church started a golden age for Georgia. For centuries, Bagrati has remained a symbol of the country with its high standards of education and culture.”
Bagrati Cathedral is now of only limited use for services of worship.
Source: Euronews.com