Old Tbilisi

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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).^[1]

The district is located on the both sides of the Mtkvari 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.

[edit] References

^ Sites previously listed on the World Monuments Watch. World Monuments Fund. Retrieved on May 25, 2007.

Pickard, Robert (ed., 2001), Management of Historic Centres, pp. 93-112, 275-286. Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0419232907.
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.