Glory and Misery of 19th Century Tiflis: Author's Guided Tour of Sololaki District

What to Expect

Our route starts in Garetubani, at Freedom Square, and slowly, in the pace of Tiflis itself, meanders through the streets that emerged in the late 18th - early 19th century. The majority of the tour we will walk in the most prestigious district of that era - Sololaki, which has preserved its past and architectural splendors. And you will be accompanied by amazing stories of luxury and misery, love and loss.

Emerging from the whirlwind of Sololaki, we will return to Freedom Square and unexpectedly find ourselves with a cup of hot chocolate in a museum, or with a glass of Saperavi in a dykhana, or in a courtyard by the ice spring, where Niko Pirosmani grew up and where he fell in love unsuccessfully for the first time. And if we time it right, we will listen to the main clock on the square chiming to the tune of the famous 'Tbiliso'.

Here is a small preview of our journey (imagine, this is only a fraction of what awaits you!).

• We will trace the footsteps of the first guild merchants, admire the buildings of dreams and success, and talk about the competing Tiflissians who adorned their houses in modern, baroque, rococo styles.
• In front of the former first opera on the Caucasus building, you will learn what captivated Dumas and why American galoshes were in vogue among fashionistas.
• We will discuss how the imperial caravanserai passed into the hands of a spiritual seminary, where Gurdjieff and Stalin studied, and before that, quadrilles and waltzes were danced in honor of imperial dignitaries.
• We will pay a visit to the German pharmacist. What remains of the unique pharmacy of Ferdinand Otho and what curious fate he had - you will find out when we meet.
• We will recall spooky tales about some buildings that circulate in urban folklore. And a little later, you will learn which place in Tbilisi is associated with the prophecy of the end of the world.
• We will visit the house where Stalin's first wife lived and where an attack on cash collectors was planned. At the same time, we will reflect on the reliability of the legendary safes of the Arkhaim company.
• We will explore the parade streets of Sololaki and their murals with biblical, historical, and literary plots. We will try to understand why in the 19th century, citizens arranged their residential houses in such a way, how those times differed from ours, and how we lost the taste for beauty.
• You will meet the Italian villa linked to the fates of many famous individuals and the tragic days of Soviet history. You will learn about the oil king and philanthropist Mantashev, who rivaled only Rothschild. And you will hear about the patron for whom carpets were laid on the road to keep passing carriages from bothering him.
• We will not overlook the history of the house of David Sarajishvili - the father of Georgian brandy. The house is associated with literary and artistic luminaries, as well as with the Titanic and Hollywood.
• We may even discover the Harry Potter school.

Sololaki is striking. On its streets, you can walk through the history not only of old Tiflis but also of Paris, St. Petersburg, Germany, Estonia, California, and even Ivory Coast. These streets remember Tchaikovsky and Lermontov, Gumilev and Tarkovsky, the Siemens brothers and the Nobels, Italian tenors' operatic arias, and the final cries of secret chambers related to 37 and Lavrentiy Beria.

If it is true that architecture is music frozen in stone, then Sololaki is jazz, a free flight in dreams and reality, the luxury of human relations, and the tender love of every citizen for their native city, regardless of nationality or creed.