Dadiani Palace is the most beautiful of the princely palaces of Georgia. Location, route, description

Going on a trip to Georgia, in a kaleidoscope of bright colors, cheerful feasts and the sea of the sun do not forget to give a little attention to the history of this amazing and hospitable country. Look in its far corners, provinces - and you will find there a lot of interesting. This is the town of Zugdili, which was once the winter residence of the oldest noble family of Dadiani.

About the city

Located in the western part of the country, the city of Zugdidi, Dadiani Palace can rightly be considered a visiting card by which it is recognized throughout the world. The settlement is located 30 km from the Black Sea coast and 318 km from the capital - Tbilisi. According to the latest data, the population is 42.7 thousand people. The city has long been the residence of local princes, the rulers of the so-called Megrelia - a historical region populated by Mingrelians (the nationality of the Colchis group). As a separate nationality, they were listed until the 30-ies of the last century, now they are ranked among Georgians.

Economy of the city

Zugdidi can be called promising. In addition to exclusively tourist facilities such as the Dadiani Palace, the ruins of the Rukh fortress in the vicinity, the botanical garden, there is a pulp and paper mill, canning, oil, grenadier, tea and machine-building plants, as well as two factories - furniture and silk-weaving. Many of them do not work in full force. The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and trade. In the center of the city there are a lot of restaurants, which is also to a certain extent designed to attract the tourist flow.

Dadiani Palace: history

In his notes on the trip to Georgia, the Italian missionary A. Lamberti wrote that the local prince has a huge number of palaces - more than 50, but the one that is located in Zugdidi is perhaps the most beautiful. He noted that the building is made of good stone, and the interior decoration is made in the spirit of Persia. And this is not surprising, because the project was engaged ED Rice, which was based on the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka. Dadiani Palace was erected in honor of the ruler of Mingrelia and the wife of the sovereign Prince Catherine Dadiani (pictured in the article). Princess, according to her contemporaries, was very beautiful and intelligent. After the peasant revolt in 1857, she left her home and departed for St. Petersburg, and then - to Paris. At the end of life the princess returned to her homeland - in Megrelia, but she already lived as a private person.

The Museum

In 1849, at the behest of the ruler of Mingrelia David Dadiani, a museum was founded in the palace. The basis of his collection were items from the prince's treasury and other Georgian antiquities. At the moment, the most beautiful palace of Dadiani (Georgia, Zugdidi) has more than 41 thousand exhibits. These include rare examples of national Georgian culture. For example, the inventory of the Tagilon warehouse, the icon of the 12th century of the mother of the Georgian queen Tamara, the weapons dated to the Middle Ages, the objects that fell into the country after the fall of Constantinople, one of the three posthumous masks of Napoleon and much more.

Botanical Garden

The most interesting museum and its unique expositions are far from the only treasure that the palace of Dadiani boasts. Around the majestic building is a spacious and beautiful botanical garden. This is one of the best places where you can study tropical plants. The area of green territory is 26.4 hectares. The founder of the garden can rightfully be considered the princess Catherine, it was from her filing from Europe, the best gardeners arrived.

In the 1990s, descendants of the prince, who arrived in Zugdidi for permanent residence, made attempts to return the patrimonial nest through the European Court. However, representatives of the Georgian Defense Fund of Dadiani's palaces indicated that in 1919 heirs officially signed a waiver of the rights to the palace building. President of Georgia in 2007, when visiting the complex, it was announced that restoration and restoration works will begin in the near future, the purpose of which is to restore the proper appearance of the building and make it a source of pride not only in Zugdidi but throughout the country.

Dadiani Palace: how to get there?

The architectural monument is located in the heart of the park of Zugdidi. Tourists will most easily get to the village from the capital of the country. There are several ways to get from Tbilisi. Firstly, by car: it is enough to "hammer" the route into the navigator or use the map, and the distance of 300 kms can be overcome in half a day. Secondly, a night or day train that departs from the railway station. It is also possible to depart from Kutaisi, Batumi or Mestia. From the capital, in addition, there is a minibus.

Dadiani Palace is located directly near the bus stop and railway station, so it is easy to walk to the city within easy reach. Do not forget about the opening hours of the museum. You can visit it any day, except Monday (closed), from nine in the morning to six in the evening. The cost of admission in local currency is 2 lari (with a guide - 5), which is less than 100 rubles when transferring.

Rukh fortress

If your trip to Georgia includes a trip to the city of Zugdidi, it will be completely unforgivable to leave aside one of the oldest historical monuments not only of the region, but of the whole country - the Rukh fortress. The ancient ruins are located 7 km from the village in the small village of Ruhi. The fortress was erected in the 17th century and, according to some historians, is part of the Kelasur Wall. In the history of Georgia, the place is famous for the battle between the local people and the Turks that took place here in 1779, the participation of Imeretian King Solomon I.