The Tbilisi Circus ( ka, თბილისის ცირკი) is the main circus in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, the capital of

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 ...

. It is housed in a Soviet-era Neoclassical rotunda building built in 1939 on a hilltop overlooking Heroes' Square.

History

Early history

The history of the Tbilisi circus began in 1888, when the city was part of 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. ...

. Its original big top building was destroyed in a fire in 1911 and the circus was moved to a former wine factory, before settling down, in 1939, in its present Neoclassical,

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

-era building designed by Nikolay Neprintsev, Vladimer Urushadze, and Stepan Satunts. The building sit on a hill on the right bank of the Kura river, near what had been the end of the

Georgian Military Road The Georgian Military Road or Georgian Military Highway (, 'sakartvelos samkhedro gza'' , os, Арвыкомы фæндаг 'Arvykomy fændag'' is the historic name for a major route through the Caucasus from Georgia to Russia. Alternative r ...

at the entrance of the city in the imperial era. The hill had also been known for a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

cross, named the Vera Cross after the historical neighborhood, erected in 1847 to commemorate the survival of the emperor Nicholas I in a road accident during his visit to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

in 1837. The cross was demolished and the area around it was organized into Heroes' Square under the rule of

Lavrenti Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

in the 1930s. With its 2,000-seat capacity, the Tbilisi Circus was ranked among the largest circuses in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, alongside those of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, and

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Renovation

A civil unrest and economic collapse in post-Soviet Georgia terminated the circus's heyday in the 1990s. The building fell into disrepair and its territory became notorious for "after-hours" street prostitution. In 2003, the Georgian tycoon

Badri Patarkatsishvili Arkady Shalvovich "Badri" Patarkatsishvili ( ka, ბადრი პატარკაციშვილი 31 October 1955 – 12 February 2008) was a Jewish-Georgian businessman who also became extensively involved in politics. He contested th ...

bought the circus and began an extensive reconstruction, but his involvement in the 2007 political crisis and death shortly thereafter stalled the renovations. His sister, Mzia Tortladze, was able to reopen the circus only in 2011. Since then, the circus has been playing to sellout crowds, bringing together troupes and performers from various parts of the world.

References

External links

Tbilisi Circus website
* {{Commons category inline, Tbilisi Circus Buildings and structures in Tbilisi Culture in Tbilisi Tourist attractions in Tbilisi Circuses Buildings and structures built in the Soviet Union