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Dadiani Palace Dadiani Palace and the Princely House of Zugdidi is part of the former residence of the princes of Dadiani from the 17th to the 19th century and is now home to the Historical and Architectural Museum of Georgia. A visit to the residence will give you a good idea of what life was like for the Georgian aristocracy, and you will be surprised at how closely the Georgian nobility was linked to the high society of Europe at the time. Today's museum also has an ethnographic exhibition with archaeological artefacts, a coin collection and a huge collection of weapons with more than 50,000 exhibits in total. There is also a botanical garden, created during the princely era, which has been reopened to the public in recent years. Who were the Dadiani Princes? Joan Dadiani, from the 11th century, is considered the founder of the Dadiani dynasty. His descendants were princes of the Samegrelo region, but also at times kings of western Georgia. Dadianis' skilful foreign policy largely protected their principality from Persian and Ottoman invasions. However, they often acted in the interests of their own principality rather than the country as a whole. After the annexation of Georgia by Russia in 1801, the Principality of Samegrelo retained a large degree of independence for several decades, and the Dadiani princes were elevated to the Russian nobility. The principality was finally abolished by Imperial Russia in 1857. What is special about the Dadiani Princely House and its inhabitants? 1) The Princely House is an exemplary blend of a 17th century Asian-style wooden palace and a 19th century European-style mansion built by a German architect. 2) Princess Salome Dadiani was married to Achille Murat, a grandson of Napoleon Bonaparte's sister, and both lived in the Dadiani residence for several years. 3) A large library of Napoleon's possessions and his death mask from 1833, which was brought to Georgia by Achille Murat, can be found in the princely house. 4. Dadianis moved internationally in European aristocratic circles. In 1864, for example, Ekaterina Dadiani met Berta von Suttner in Bad Homburg, Hesse, and this connection later led to a long stay at the Dadiani residence for Berta and her husband Arthur during their flight from Arthur's family. 5. Also of interest is the portrait of Ekaterina Dadiani by the German painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter, who painted the most famous portrait of Empress Elisabeth (Sisi, now in the Vienna Hofburg) in a similar pose, and also painted all the other crowned heads and high society of the time. 6. The Austrian-German conductor and composer Johann Strauss dedicated his masterpiece “Niko Polka” to Prince Niko Dadiani. Complex of the Dadiani residence in Zugdidi 1. Queen's Palace - 17th to 19th century Palace of the Queen The princes chose Zugdidi as their residence only in the 17th century, when Levan II. Dadiani came to power and built the first princely house in Zugdidi. It was a three-storey house with a double roof, 17 windows of different sizes, two verandas and a defence tower. The architecture of the house was described in detail by the Italian missionary Teramo Castelli. He spent several years in the region and knew Prince Levan II personally. In the mid-19th century, Princess Ekaterina commissioned the German architect Reis to redesign the palace in a modern European style. The architect mainly changed the facades of the house, but the basic structure of the house remained unchanged. A special feature of the palace is the 19th century wooden veranda at the back of the house, with fine wood carving and a richly decorated roof. Every detail of the wooden veranda is treated with beeswax at different temperatures, which gives the wood different, harmonious colours. It is not known who exactly was the architect or craftsman for the veranda, but Princess Catherine wrote that she hired the best craftsmen in the country to create something that had never been done before. As Princess Ekaterina called herself the Queen of the Samegrelo region, the palace she rebuilt was also called the Queen's Palace. Niko's Princely House The house was built by Niko Dadiani, Princess Catherine's son, in the 80s of the 19th century. The project was designed by the Russian architect Leonid Vasiliev. The two-storey house is built of Georgian brick in the European style. Immediately after its construction, the place became the cultural centre of western Georgia, frequented by Georgian poets and writers as well as Russian tsarist families and high nobility. The princely house had the largest literary salon in Georgia and a magnificent stone veranda. After the Bolsheviks came to power, Niko's Princely House was turned into a museum, but was later neglected and fell into serious disrepair. Between 2015 and 2019, Niko's Princely House was thoroughly renovated and is now open to visitors. The house was named after its builder, the last Prince of Samegrelo, Niko Dadiani. Niko grew up in Georgia, was educated in France and married the German Princess Maria Adlerberg. Niko was promoted to general in the Russian army and returned to Georgia after his retirement. In 1887 Niko Dadiani was nominated by Tsar Alexander III for the post of Prince of Bulgaria, but his candidacy was rejected by the Bulgarian National Assembly and the post was given to the German Prince Ferdinand, later King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Johann Strauss dedicated his masterpiece, the Nico Polka, to that same Nico in 1859. Zugdidi Botanical Garden The history of the Botanical Garden begins in 1840, when Davit Dadiani came to power. Together with his wife, Catherine, he decided to redesign the huge garden of the Princely House. The princely family invited the Italian garden architect Josef Babini and after several years of work he transformed the area into one of the most beautiful gardens in the Tsarist Empire at that time. In 1856, during the Crimean War, the Ottomans also invaded Samegrelo in western Georgia and destroyed the entire botanical garden. Reconstruction of the garden did not begin until 1869. Princess Catherine invited the Zamberletti brothers from Italy to rebuild the garden. The brothers rebuilt the garden, importing plants from Europe and Russia, as well as from China, and then enlarged it to 80 hectares. When everything was ready, they built a huge wall around the entire garden with three entrances. A large orangery was also built in the garden, where new plants were grown. One of the Zamberlettis, Gaetano, took up residence in the orangery and stayed in Georgia forever. In 1903 the last Prince of Samegrelo, Niko, and his gardener, Gaetano, died. In the following years, the garden was looked after, but not with the same intensity, and after the Bolsheviks came to power, the botanical garden was completely neglected. Nevertheless, the botanical garden not only had a decorative role for the region, but also partly changed its agriculture and the everyday life of the people. Hundreds of new plant species were distributed and planted throughout the country. Small parks and gardens based on the Zugdidi model were established in the region, and people learned about plants from a different perspective. The Zugdidi Botanical Garden has certainly contributed to the fact that the gardens of private homes in the Samegrelo region are particularly well maintained and differ greatly in design from those in other regions. Construction of the botanical garden began in 2018, and the eventful garden will be ready to welcome visitors from 2020. Church dedicated to the Vlakherna Icon of the Mother of God What does Vlakherna mean? It is a 5th century icon of the Virgin Mary that was kept in the church of Vlakherna (also known as Blachernae) in the suburbs of Constantinople. This is where the icon got its name. Later, after the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, the icon was taken to the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem. There are several versions of how the icon came to Georgia. According to one version, Prince Levan II. Dadiani, brought it to Georgia after restoring the Georgian Monastery (Monastery of the Cross) in Jerusalem. Back to the church After most of Georgia was annexed by Tsarist Russia in 1801, the Principality of Samegrelo remained largely independent. As a good gesture and sign of friendship, Princess Nino Dadiani gave the Russian Tsar Alexander I, among other things, the precious icon of Vlakherna. Alexander accepted the icon, decorated it with precious stones and sent it back to Georgia to the Dadiani princes. Tsar Alexander also gave the princes the money to build a new church. Soon after the precious Vlakherna icon was returned to Zugdidi, Prince Levan V Dadiani built a church between 1825 and 1830 and dedicated it to the icon of the mother of God of Vlakherna. The church was closed during the Soviet era, but has been in use again since 1990. Interesting to know Every year on the 15th of July, a religious festival is held in Zugdidi in honour of the icon, called "Vlakhernoba". It is also said that the mantle of the mother of God and a part of the Holy Girdle of Mary can be found in Zugdidi and can be venerated by the faithful during the "Vlakhernoba" festival. On following trip, you will visit Dadiani Palace |
