Gurjaani ( ka, გურჯაანი) is a town in
Kakheti, a region in eastern
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and the seat of the
Gurjaani Municipality
Gurjaani ( ka, გურჯაანის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Gurjaanis municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is an administrative-territorial unit in eastern Georgia, Kakheti region. Until 1917, the territory of Gurjaani municipal ...
. It is located in the
Alazani River Plain, at an elevation of 415 m above sea level.
Gurjaani is first recorded as a village in a historical document of the early 16th century. It acquired the status of a town in
Soviet Georgia
The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц ...
in 1934. As of the 2014 census, Gurjaani had the population of 8,024. The town is the center of the largest wine-making region of Georgia.
Background
Gurjaani is situated in the fertile Alazani Plain, at 415 m above sea level, and 110 km east of Georgia's capital of
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
. It is the center of an important region of viticulture and wine-making. Important landmarks of the town are
Akhtala
Akhtala ( hy, Ախթալա), is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province of Armenia, located along the Shamlugh river, on the slopes of Lalvar mountain, at a distance of 186 km north of the capital Yerevan and 62 km north of ...
, a historic spa, locally known for its mud bathes, and the early medieval
Gurjaani Kvelatsminda Church, the only example of a two-domed design in Georgia. There are also several museums, the largest of which is the Gurjaani Museum of Local Lore and History.
History
![Gurjaani railway station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Gurjaani_railway_station.jpg)
The territory of Gurjaani has not been systematically studied archaeologically. Occasional and incidental finds, such as burials, pottery, and Byzantine coins, suggest it was a home to an established settlement in the early Middle Ages. Gurjaani is first documented as a village in a charter issued in the name of King
Alexander I of Kakheti (
r. 1476–1511), granting the locale an exemption from taxation. In historical documents Gurjaani is frequently mentioned together with the toponym of Kakhtubani, which is now one of the town's neighborhoods and home to the Kvelatsminda Church. Gurjaani was in possession of the
Andronikashvili
The Andronikashvili ( ka, ანდრონიკაშვილები), sometimes known as Endronikashvili (ენდრონიკაშვილები), was a countly family in Georgia who claimed descent from emperor Andronicos I of th ...
noble family. As a result of a series of
marauding inroads from the mountains of neighboring
Dagestan, Gurjaani had been virtually depopulated by the 1770s.
Gurjaani rose to a larger settlement when a railway line was constructed in Kakheti in 1915. It became a center of the newly created homonymous district—a predecessor of the present-day municipality—in 1930 and became a town in 1934. During Soviet-era industrialization, Gurjaani had wine-making, canning, distilling, brick-making, and mechanical repair plants.
The post-Soviet political and economic crisis took its toll on Gurjaani in the 1990s. The population dwindled, industry declined, and violent crime was on the rise. An armed group with ties to the
Mkhedrioni
The Mkhedrioni was a paramilitary group in the Republic of Georgia, known for its high-profile involvement in the Georgian Civil War and the War in Abkhazia. It was outlawed since 1995 but subsequently reconstituted as the Union of Patriots po ...
paramilitary organization was implicated in several high-profile murders. The Mkhedrioni itself was in ''de facto'' control of the Gurjaani district from 1992 to 1995. Despite political and relative economic stability achieved in the 2000s, Gurjaani still lacks some elements of proper urban infrastructure and services.
Sports
Football Clubs
The football club of the town is
Alazani Gurjaani, that play in
Regionuli Liga
Regionuli Liga ( Georgian: რეგიონული ლიგა), run by Georgian Football Federation since 1990, is the fifth and lowest division of the Georgian league system after Erovnuli Liga, Erovnuli Liga 2, Liga 3 and Liga 4. Its p ...
.The club's biggest achievement was made in the
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
season, when it took the 3rd place in the
Umaglesi Liga
The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა - lit. National League) is the top division of professional football in Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional Football League of Georgia and Georgian Football ...
. During that period the team was led by
Otar Gabelia. In 2014/15 Alazani finished 2nd in Group East of the third league, one point short of the group leader. In 2020 the club participated in
Regionuli Liga
Regionuli Liga ( Georgian: რეგიონული ლიგა), run by Georgian Football Federation since 1990, is the fifth and lowest division of the Georgian league system after Erovnuli Liga, Erovnuli Liga 2, Liga 3 and Liga 4. Its p ...
tournament.
Stadium
David Kipiani Stadium named in honour of
David Kipiani
David Kipiani ( ka, დავით ყიფიანი; 18 November 1951 – 17 September 2001) was a Georgian football midfielder and manager. Kipiani principally played as a playmaker and is considered one of Georgia's greatest playe ...
is the stadium of
Alazani Gurjaani.
Population
As of the 2014 national census, Gurjaani had the population of 8,024, with an ethnic Georgian majority.
People from Gurjaani
*
Bela Chekurishvili - poet
*
Maka Purtseladze - Woman Grandmaster
Twin towns – sister cities
Gurjaani is
twinned with:
*
Laguardia, Álava
Laguardia ( eu, Guardia) is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the southern province of Álava, in the north of Spain; it belongs to the region of Rioja Alavesa, in the Basque Autonomous Community. It has a population of 1 ...
, Basque Autonomous Community
*
Haradok
Haradok ( be, Гарадок, - russian: Городок, Gorodok, pl, Horodek) is a town in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus with the population of 34,700 people. Approximately 14,000 people reside in the town itself around 30,000 people reside wit ...
, Belarus
*
Pakruojis
Pakruojis () is a city in Lithuania. It is situated on the Kruoja River, which has a dam above the city. Forty three buildings of the manor, mentioned in 1531 still survive.
History
Pakruojis and it neighbourhood are within the boundaries of the ...
, Lithuania
*
Piaseczno County
__NOTOC__
Piaseczno County ( pl, powiat piaseczyński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local govern ...
, Poland
Notes
References
{{Cities and towns in Georgia (country)
Cities and towns in Kakheti
Populated places in Gurjaani Municipality
Tiflis Governorate