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Ozurgeti ( ka, ოზურგეთი ) is the capital of the western
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 ...
n province of
Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital. Geography ...
. It was formerly known as Macharadze or Makharadze (named in honor of
Filipp Makharadze Filipp Yeseyevich Makharadze ( ka, ფილიპე მახარაძე, russian: Филипп Махарадзе; 9 March 1868 – 10 December 1941) was a Georgian Bolshevik revolutionary and government official. Life Born in the villag ...
). It is a regional center of
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
and
hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...
processing. Ozurgeti is also administrative center of
Ozurgeti District Ozurgeti ( ka, ოზურგეთის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Ozurgetis munitsipalit'et'i'') is a municipality of Georgia, in the region of Guria. Its main town is Ozurgeti. Ozurgeti municipality is located on the terri ...
.


Geography

Ozurgeti is
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. Most of the town is located between the Bzhuzhi and Natanebi rivers. The Natanebi is a subterranean river in Ozurgeti, with a good deal of the city built on top of it, while the Bzhuzhi flows above ground. The city is bounded by hills in the north and south. Ozurgeti sits on a slope that was leveled into three broad terraces: The market district, containing bazaars and small shops, as well as a plaza overlooked by a statue of a mermaid, is on the lowermost level. Most of the city’s public buildings—including municipal buildings, the cinema, the theater, and museums—as well as parks, are on the middle terrace. The highest level contains mostly private housing.


Climate

The city has a humid subtropical climate, and experiences significant rainfall throughout the year. January is the coldest month and August is the hottest. Snow is rare and occurs primarily in January, February, and early March.


History

Ozurgeti was founded in the late Middle Ages, and is first mentioned by name in 1578 in the ''New
Georgian Chronicles ''The Georgian Chronicles'' is a conventional English name for the principal compendium of medieval Georgian historical texts, natively known as ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' ( ka, ქართლის ცხოვრება), literally "Life of Kar ...
'' (ახალი ქართლის ცხოვრობა, akhali qartlis tskhovroba). It became the centre of Guria soon after, serving as an important centre for trade and the home of the rulers of the
Principality of Guria The Principality of Guria ( ka, გურიის სამთავრო, tr) was a historical state in Georgia. Centered on modern-day Guria, a southwestern region in Georgia, it was located between the Black Sea and Lesser Caucasus, and was r ...
. The later discovery of a hoard of 270 silver coins under the city, the "Ozurgeti Treasure," is testament to this. On December 14, 1846 Ozurgeti was designated as a city. At that time there were just over 300 residents, though the population grew as the city gained importance: by 1865 it had grown to over 700. It served as a strategic place for the course of the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
. It was the fourth city in Georgia to have a legal printing press, which began in 1891. During the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, the city was the administrative center of the Ozurgeti Uyezd of the
Kutaisi Governorate The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except th ...
. On December 26, 1923 a rail line had been established, connecting Ozurgeti with the rest of the country. It was renamed "Makharadze" on July 9, 1934, in honour of the Georgian Bolshevik
Filipp Makharadze Filipp Yeseyevich Makharadze ( ka, ფილიპე მახარაძე, russian: Филипп Махарадзе; 9 March 1868 – 10 December 1941) was a Georgian Bolshevik revolutionary and government official. Life Born in the villag ...
. It would revert to its original name on May 15, 1989.


Demographics

According to the 2014 Census, the city had a population of 14,785. In 2010, the population was estimated to be 20,636. The city is 94.5% ethnic Georgian, 3.8% Armenian, and 0.8% Russian. According to official statistics, 10% of the population lives below the poverty line and the unemployment rate is 15%.


Culture

Theater The Ozurgeti Dramatic Theatre overlooks the city's central square. It is named in honor of
Alexander Tsutsunava Alexandre Tsutsunava ( ka, ალექსანდრე წუწუნავა; born – 25 October 1955) was a Georgian theatre and film director. His film ''Christine'', based on a story by Egnate Ninoshvili, ( ka, ქრისტ ...
, whose statue stands in an adjoining park. It was founded in 1868, and the first production was a performance by local amateur actors. A new theater building was constructed in 1914. In 1933, another new building was constructed. In 1962, the theater was moved to yet another building, the five-storey Soviet Neoclassical-style structure in which it currently resides. It is one of the largest theaters in Georgia. In 1968, a large centennial celebration was held in the building and the theater was named after Tsutsunava. In 2005, the Ministry of Culture and the Theater Workers’ Union declared the Ozurgeti Dramatic Theater to be the best regional theater in Georgia. History Museum The Ozurgeti History Museum was founded in 1936, moved to Gurieli Palace in 1974, and relocated to its current site in 1991. The museum contains over 6,000 artifacts, and it currently includes archaeological, numismatic, ethnographic, heraldic, sphragistic, and historical exhibits, and perhaps most prominently displayed among them is a sword that allegedly belonged to
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. It also houses a collection of old printed books. Sport Ozurgeti has rugby and football clubs. There are two stadia in the city: Friendship Stadium belongs to the municipality and is used by the football club; Zvani Stadium is used by the rugby club. In 2007, a “sport palace,” containing a space that can be converted into a miniature football stadium, a volleyball court, a basketball court, and a wrestling ring, was built. The city operates a municipal sports school including a tae kwon do club, a basketball club, a tennis club, a boxing club, a track club, a judo club, a weightlifting club, a freestyle wrestling club, and a hockey club. Education The first school in the city was established on February 21, 1850. At various times, Simon Gugunava, Niko Mari, and
Ekvtime Takaishvili Ekvtime Takaishvili (also spelled Taqaishvili) () (January 5, 1862 – February 21, 1953) was a Georgian historian, archaeologist and public benefactor. Born in the village of Likhauri in the western Georgian province of Guria to a local noblema ...
attended the school. On July 1, 1874 the school came under municipal administration. Interest in education and literacy was increasing at this time. Due to widespread political activism among the student population, the school was briefly closed on the order of the Transcaucasia Governorate near the end of the 19th century. In the beginning of the 20th century, Constantine Leselidze and
Porfiry Chanchibadze Porfiry Grigorevich Chanchibadze ( ka, პორფილე ჩანჩიბაძე, russian: Порфи́рий Гео́ргиевич Чанчиба́дзе); 13 December 1901 - 14 March 1950) was a Soviet Colonel General and a Hero of the S ...
also attended the school. In 1918, the city school introduced elementary-level education. In 1922, due to increasing attendance, a new school, thereafter called School #2, was opened. Both schools offered education to the 7th grade. There are now five public schools, two parochial schools, nine kindergartens, and one art school in Ozurgeti. , the total number of students enrolled in primary and secondary schools was roughly 2,850, and there were 236 teachers. There is also a vocational college with some 500 students and 30 instructors. Public life There are 15 NGOs in Ozurgeti, most of which focus on the city’s youth, civil society, democracy, women’s rights, and agronomy. There is a branch of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association in the city. The television station Guria TV, which broadcasts to the entire region, is also based in the city. The city has three newspapers, some of which serve the entire region. Several other cultural organizations exist in the city: A city library, a children’s theater, and a modern art gallery. Notable structures An ancient Byzantine-era bathhouse was recently discovered in central Ozurgeti and the ruins are under excavation. It is a two storey-structure. The lower, subterranean floor was the fire chamber which heated an upper floor that containing public baths. Gurieli Palace, constructed in 1873, is also near the city center. It currently serves as the seat of the Shemokmedi Orthodox Bishopric.


Notable residents

* Siko Dolidze — Film director and screenwriter * Viktor Dolidze — Georgian composer * Grigol Tkabladze — Actor * Giorgi Kekelidze — Poet * Simon Gugunava — Poet * Niko Marr — Historian and ethnographer *
Ekvtime Takaishvili Ekvtime Takaishvili (also spelled Taqaishvili) () (January 5, 1862 – February 21, 1953) was a Georgian historian, archaeologist and public benefactor. Born in the village of Likhauri in the western Georgian province of Guria to a local noblema ...
— Historian and ethnographer *
Konstantin Leselidze Konstantin Nikolaevich Leselidze (russian: Константин Николаевич Леселидзе, ka, კონსტანტინე ლესელიძე, Konstantine Leselidze) (October 15, 1903 – February 21, 1944), was a Co ...
— Red Army Commander during The Second World War * Porfile Chanchibadze — Red Army General *
Zviad Kvachantiradze Zviad Kvatchantiradze ( ka, ზვიად კვაჭანტირაძე; born 7 July 7 1965, Ozurgeti) is a Georgian parliamentarian and diplomat. Chairman of the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Committee on Association. First Vice Chairman ...
— Ambassador. Politician and Diplomat *
Manuchar Kvirkvelia Manuchar Kvirkvelia (Georgian: მანუჩარ კვირკველია; born on October 12, 1978) is a retired Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler and politician, an Olympic champion and a member of the Parliament of Georgia since 2008. ...
— Winner of the Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling *
Vakhtang Blagidze Vakhtang Blagidze ( ka, ვახტანგ ბლაგიძე ; born July 23, 1954) is a wrestler from Ozurgeti, Georgia. He was Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1980, competing for the Soviet Union. He won gold medal ...
— Winner of the Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling


Honors

A
minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
, 2139 Makharadze, discovered in 1970 by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
astronomer
Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova Tamara Mikhaylovna Smirnova (russian: Тама́ра Миха́йловна Смирно́ва; 1935–2001) was a Soviet Union, Soviet/Russian astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets. Career From 1966 to 1988, Smirnova was a sta ...
was named after the city (sister city of
Henichesk Henichesk ( uk, Гені́чеськ, Heniches’k, ; rus, links=on, Гени́ческ, r=Genichesk, p=ɡʲɪˈnʲit͡ɕɪsk) is a port city along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre ...
) in honor of the friendship between the Georgian and Ukrainian peoples.


See also

*
Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital. Geography ...


References


Bibliography

*
Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( ka, ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია, ქსე) is the first universal encyclopedia in the Georgian language, printed in Tbilisi from 1965, the editor in chi ...
, Vol. 6, p. 517 (1983) {{Authority control Cities and towns in Guria Kutaisi Governorate