Abastumani
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Abastumani ( ka, აბასთუმანი) is a small town ('' daba'') and climatic
spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
in
Adigeni Municipality Adigeni ( ka, ადიგენის მუნიციპალიტეტი) is a municipality in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. Covering an area of about . As of 2021 it had a population of 16,092 people. The borough (''d ...
, Samtskhe-Javakheti,
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 located on the southern slopes of the
Meskheti Range Meskheti Range ( ka, მესხეთის ქედი) (Meskh/Meskhet/Meskhetian Range, Adzhar-Imereti Range, Achara-Imereti Range Adzhar-Akhaltsikh Range also Moschian Mountains) is a part of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range in Meskheti r ...
(
Lesser Caucasus The Lesser Caucasus, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main mountain ranges of Caucasus mountains, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east Turkey and northwest Iran. It runs ...
), in the small river valley of Otskhe, 25 km northeast of Adigeni and 28 km west of
Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region (''mkhare'') of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is situated on both banks of a small river Potskhovi (a left ...
. As of the 2014 census, it had a population of 937. The
Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory (GENAO) was founded in 1932 by Academician Evgeni Kharadze on Mount Kanobili, near the Abastumani resort in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southeastern Georgia. The altitude of Mt. Kanobili varies ...
is located at Abastumani.


History

In medieval Georgia, the area of modern-day Abastumani was part of the district of
Odzrkhe Odzrkhe or Odzrakhe ( ka, ოძრხე or ) was a historic fortified town and the surrounding area in what is now Abastumani, Adigeni Municipality in Samtskhe-Javakheti region, southern Georgia. History According to medieval Georgian histo ...
so named after a fortress whose ruins survive near the townlet. In the 16th century, it fell to the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
under whose rule the area was deserted, but its
hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
were appreciated and frequented by locals. Under the Russian rule, a short-lived
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
colony of Friedenthal (russian: Фрейденталь) emerged there in 1842. In the 1850s, it was recolonized by the Russians under the patronage of Viceroy of the Caucasus Mikhail Vorontsov. The new settlement acquired the name Abbas-Tuman after a nearby located village and became popular for its climate and thermal waters. Its development as a resort is chiefly associated with Grand Duke George Alexandrovich (1871–1899), a member of the
Russian imperial family The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...
, who had retired there due to his ill-health. Abastumani acquired the status of an
urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...
(Georgian: ''daba'') under the Soviet Union in 1926. Tourism infrastructure has been renovated since the mid-2000s.


Spa

Abastumani possesses a moderately dry mountainous climate, with
relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...
reaching 50% only in summer. The annual average number of hours of sunlight is 3,000. Average annual
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
is 626 mm. Average annual temperature is in January and in July. Abastumani's three hyperthermic springs (39–48.5 °C) are little mineralized, rich in sulfate-sodium chloride waters. They have long been used in the treatment of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. Abastumani is also a starting point for hikes into the
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park The Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park (BKNP) ( ka, ბორჯომ-ხარაგაულის ეროვნული პარკი, ''borjom-kharagaulis erovnuli parki'') is a protected area in central Georgia, in Samtskhe-Javakheti sit ...
.


Landmarks

Beyond being a spa town with functioning hotels and sanatoria, Abastumani houses several cultural landmarks documenting the townlet's medieval and modern history. These are: *The 14th-century church of
St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
, which was repaired and its hitherto unknown medieval frescos discovered in 2008. *The 13th-century ruined castle and a single
arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...
named after the medieval Queen Thamar. *The "New Zarzma" (Akhali Zarzma) church of
St. Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...
, a 19th-century small replica of the 14th-century Georgian cathedral of Zarzma. It was commissioned by Grand Duke George from the
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 ...
-based architect Otto Jacob Simons who built it between 1899 and 1902, marrying a medieval Georgian design with the contemporaneous architectural forms. Its interior was frescoed by the Russian painter
Mikhail Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Не́стеров; – 18 October 1942) was a Russian and Soviet painter; associated with the Peredvizhniki and Mir Iskusstva. He was one of the first exponents of ...
. *A bathhouse constructed on the Abastumani hot springs between 1879 and 1881 by the
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
-born physician of German descent Adolf Remmert (Адольф Александрович Реммерт; 1835–1902). Remmert died in Germany and, according to his will, was buried at a Catholic church in Abastumani, which has not survived. *Winter and summer mansions of Grand Duke George designed by Otto Jacob Simons and built of stone and wood, respectively. Located on the opposite banks of the Otskhe, they were connected through a small bridge. The summer mansion was frequented by the party officials in the Soviet era. In the 1990s, it was turned over to the
Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
and converted into a St. Panteleimon nunnery. The building was destroyed in a fire on March 12, 2008, and is currently being rebuilt.В Абастумани (Грузия) сгорела летняя резиденция российской императорской фамилии
("A summer residence of the Russian Imperial Family burned down in Abastumani, Georgia). The Moscow Patriarchate. March 13, 2008


See also

*
Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory (GENAO) was founded in 1932 by Academician Evgeni Kharadze on Mount Kanobili, near the Abastumani resort in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southeastern Georgia. The altitude of Mt. Kanobili varies ...
* Samtskhe-Javakheti


References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Samtskhe–Javakheti Spa towns in Georgia (country) Populated places in Adigeni Municipality