An architectural tour of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi

23.11.2023 - 08:29 / nationalgeographic.com

Tbilisi is a city of contradictions, where Soviet-era feats of concrete, Silk Road caravanserais and decadent European-style mansions sit cheek by jowl. Moulded by invaders for much of its history, Tbilisi’s skyline can be read like a book, each city block a catalogue of its trials and triumphs.

This is a place where the ancient touches the ultra-modern, from the rippling domes of Abanotubani district’s Persian-style bathhouses to the Jenga-like Bank of Georgia headquarters and the slick Public Service Hall. The Old Town alleyways and pedestrian-friendly avenues make it a rambler’s paradise.

Start in the oldest part of Tbilisi, the Kala district, which unrolls at the stony feet of Narikala Fortress. Here, you’ll find one of the few buildings to have survived a 1795 Qajari assault that flattened the city: Anchiskhati Basilica, Tbilisi’s oldest-surviving Orthodox church, off bustling Shateli Street.

Dating back to the sixth century, the petite church wasn’t designed to wow, but instead was built with acoustics in mind. Visit on a Sunday morning to hear liturgical chanting performed by the renowned house choir. Nearby, you’ll find a theatre and clock tower created by Georgian playwright and theatre director Rezo Gabriadze; the imaginative complex was assembled from debris collected in the wake of an earthquake.

After the jumble of streets that is Kala, Sololaki, just a 10-minute stroll away, feels positively Parisian. Tbilisi’s first planned residential district outside the old city walls, it’s characterised by gridded blocks and tidy facades, an expression of Georgia’s westward pivot that occurred at the turn of the century. Sololaki is famed for its art nouveau gems, chief among them the Writer’s House of Georgia, a blend of art noveau and neobaroque styles. A collaboration between German architect Carl Zaar and Tbilisi-based duo Aleksander Ozerov and Korneli Tatishev, it was built in 1905 for the brandy baron and philanthropist David Sarajishvili. A terrace adorned with custom-made Villeroy & Boch tiles and a timber interior fashioned by local craftsman Ilia Mamatsashvili are among the highlights. The building now houses two museums, a cafe and a five-room hotel.

Cross Freedom Square, where a gilded statue of St George looms above the fray, to reach downtown Tbilisi’s main thoroughfare, Shota Rustaveli Avenue — named after Georgia’s national poet. As you drift along the sidewalk, look for the painted plaques that bear aphorisms from his 12th-century epic poem The Knight in the Panther’s Skin.

The avenue’s leading lady, Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre was established in 1851 and has been located inside this gold-and-burgundy building since 1896. Designed by German architect Victor Schröter, it was