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Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city 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 ...
and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of 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 historica ...
. Much of Batumi's economy revolves around tourism and
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...
(it is nicknamed "The Las Vegas of the Black Sea"), but the city is also an important seaport and includes industries like
shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...
,
food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex in ...
and light manufacturing. Since 2010, Batumi has been transformed by the construction of modern high-rise buildings, as well as the restoration of classical 19th-century edifices lining its historic Old Town.


History


Early history

Batumi is located on the site of the
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
colony in
Colchis In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...
called "''Bathus"'' or "''Bathys"'', derived from ( grc-gre, βαθύς λιμεν, ; or , ; lit. the 'deep harbour'). Under
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...
(), it was converted into a fortified
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
port and later deserted for the fortress of
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to the mountain of Ja ...
founded in the time of
Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...
(). Garrisoned by the Roman-
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
forces, it was formally a possession of the kingdom of
Lazica Lazica ( ka, ეგრისი, ; lzz, ლაზიკა, ; grc-gre, Λαζική, ; fa, لازستان, ; hy, Եգեր, ) was the Latin name given to the territory of Colchis during the Roman/Byzantine period, from about the 1st centur ...
until being occupied briefly by the
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
, who did not hold it; In 780 Lazica fell to
kingdom of Abkhazia The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; lit. "Kingdom of the Abkhazians"), also known as Abasgia or Egrisi-Abkhazia, was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through d ...
via a dynastic union, the later led the unification of the Georgian monarchy in the 11th century. From 1010, it was governed by the (, viceroy) of the king of Georgia. In the late 15th century, after the disintegration of the Georgian kingdom, Batumi passed to the princes (, ) of
Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital. Geography ...
, a western Georgian principality under the sovereignty of the
kings of Imereti The Kingdom of Imereti ( ka, იმერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Im ...
. A curious incident occurred in 1444 when a Burgundian flotilla, after a failed
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
against 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 ...
, penetrated the Black Sea and engaged in piracy along its eastern coastline until the Burgundians under the knight Geoffroy de Thoisy were ambushed while landing to raid Vaty, as Europeans then knew Batumi. De Thoisy was taken captive and released through the mediation of the
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
John IV of Trebizond.


Ottoman rule

In the 15th century in the reign of the prince Kakhaber Gurieli, the
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
conquered the town and its district but did not hold them. They returned to it in force a century later and inflicted a decisive defeat on the Georgian armies at Sokhoista. Batumi was recaptured by the Georgians several times, first in 1564 by prince Rostom Gurieli, who lost it soon afterwards, and again in 1609 by
Mamia II Gurieli Mamia II Gurieli (-1625/1627) is a 17th-century Georgian prince that ruled over the Principality of Guria in Western Georgia. Son of Prince George II, he succeeded his father in 1600 after spending a decade as head of Gurian troops. As Prince, h ...
. In 1703, Batumi again became part of the Ottoman Empire. In the one-and-a-half century of Ottoman rule it grew into a provincial port serving the Empire's hinterlands on the eastern fringes of the Black Sea. After the Turkish conquest Islamisation of the hitherto Christian region began but this was terminated and to a great degree reversed, after the area was re-annexed to Russian Imperial Georgia after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78.


Imperial Russian rule

It was the last Black Sea port annexed by Russia during the Russian conquest of that area of the Caucasus. In 1878, Batumi was annexed by 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 ...
in accordance with the Treaty of San Stefano between Russia and the Ottoman Empire (ratified on 23 March). Occupied by the Russians on 28 August 1878, the town was declared a
free port Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which co ...
until 1886. It functioned as the center of a special military district until being incorporated in the Kutaisi Governorate on 12 June 1883. Finally, on 1 June 1903, with the Artvin Okrug, the Batum Okrug was established as the
Batum Oblast Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
and placed under the direct administration of the Viceroy of the Caucasus. The expansion of Batumi began with the construction of the Batumi–
Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
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 an ...
Transcaucasus Railway (completed in 1883), and the
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 an ...
–Batumi pipeline which opened in 1907. Henceforth, Batumi became the chief Russian oil port in the Black Sea. The population increased rapidly doubling within 20 years: from 8,671 inhabitants in 1882 to 12,000 in 1889. By 1902 the population had reached 16,000, with 1,000 working in the refinery for
Baron Rothschild Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family. He was the first Jewish memb ...
's Caspian and Black Sea Oil Company. In the late 1880s and after, more than 7,400 Doukhobor emigrants sailed for Canada from Batumi, after the government agreed to let them emigrate. Quakers and Tolstoyans aided in collecting funds for the relocation of the religious minority, which had come into conflict with the Imperial government over its refusal to serve in the military and other positions. Canada settled them in
Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
and
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
.


Russian Civil War, Soviet Union, and 1991 independence

During 1901, sixteen years prior to the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...
,
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
, the future leader of 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 nationa ...
, lived in the city organizing strikes. On 3 March 1918, the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers ( Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russi ...
gave the city back to the Ottoman Empire, confirmed in the
Treaty of Batum The Treaty of Batum was signed in Batum on 4 June 1918, between the Ottoman Empire and the three Transcaucasian states: the First Republic of Armenia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Democratic Republic of Georgia. It was the first ...
of June 1918 between the Ottoman Empire and the new
Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა ') was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to F ...
. As result of the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
the British took control over Batumi from December 1918, who stayed until July 1920 when the city and province was transferred to the Democratic Republic of Georgia, which gave
Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...
autonomy. In 1921
Kemal Atatürk Kemal may refer to: ;People * Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish politician and the first president of Turkey * Kemal (name), a common Turkish name ;Places * Kemalpaşa, İzmir Province, Turkey * Mustafakemalpaşa, Bursa Province, Turkey ;See a ...
ceded the northern part of Adjara, including Batumi, to the
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s who reconquered the Transcaucasian republics, on the condition that it be granted autonomy for the sake of the Muslims among Batumi's mixed population. When Georgia regained its independence from 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 nationa ...
in 1991,
Aslan Abashidze Aslan Abashidze ( ka, ასლან აბაშიძე; born July 20, 1938) is the former leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia. He served in this capacity from 18 August 1991 to May 5, 2004. He resigned under the pres ...
was appointed head of Adjara's governing council and subsequently held onto power throughout the unrest of the 1990s. While
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which ...
and
South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
areas attempted to break away from the Georgian state, Adjara remained an integral part of the republic. Instead, Abashidze turned Adjara into his personal fiefdom. In May 2004, he fled to Russia after mass protests in Batumi, which concluded the
2004 Adjara crisis The Adjara crisis was a political crisis in Georgia's Adjaran Autonomous Republic, then led by Aslan Abashidze, who refused to obey the central authorities after President Eduard Shevardnadze's ouster during the Rose Revolution of November 2003. ...
.


Post-1991

Batumi today is one of the main port cities of Georgia. It has the capacity for 80,000-ton tankers to take materials such as oil that are shipped through Georgia from Central Asia. Additionally, the city exports regional agricultural products. Since 1995 the freight conversion of the port has constantly risen, with an approximate 8 million tons in 2001. The annual revenue from the port is estimated at between $200 million and $300 million. Since the change of power in Adjara, Batumi has attracted international investors, and the prices of real estate in the city have trebled since 2001. In July 2007, the seat of the Constitutional Court of Georgia was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi to stimulate regional development. Several new hotels opened after 2009, first the Sheraton in 2010 and the
Radisson Blu Radisson Blu is an international chain of hotels operated by Radisson Hotels. With roots dating back to the 1960s, the Radisson Blu brand name came into existence in 2009 with a rebranding from Radisson SAS. Its hotels are found in major cities, ...
in 2011. The city features several casinos that attract tourists from Turkey, where gambling is illegal. Batumi was host to the Russian 12th Military Base. Following the
Rose Revolution The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...
, the central government pushed for the removal of these forces and reached an agreement in 2005 with Moscow. According to the agreement, the process of withdrawal was planned to be completed in 2008, but the Russians completed the transfer of the Batumi base to Georgia on 13 November 2007, ahead of schedule.


Geography


Climate

Batumi has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cfa'') according to Köppen's classification. The city's climate is heavily influenced by the onshore flow from the Black Sea and is subject to the orographic effect of the nearby hills and mountains, resulting in significant rainfall throughout most of the year, making Batumi the wettest city in both
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 ...
and the entire
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 historica ...
Region. The average annual temperature in Batumi is approximately . January is the coldest month with an average temperature of . August is the hottest month, with an average temperature of . The absolute minimum recorded temperature is , and the absolute maximum is . The number of days with daily temperatures above is 239. The city receives 1958 hours of sunshine per year. Batumi's average annual precipitation is . November is the wettest month with an average of of precipitation, while May is the driest, averaging . Batumi generally does not receive significant amounts of snow (accumulating snowfall of more than ), and the number of days with snow cover for the year is 12. The average level of relative humidity ranges from 70 to 80%.


Subdivisions

According to the March 31, 2008, decision of the Batumi City Council, Batumi is divided into seven boroughs, those of: *Old Batumi (ძველი ბათუმის უბანი) *Rustaveli (რუსთაველის უბანი) *Khimshiashvili (ხიმშიაშვილის უბანი) *Bagrationi (ბაგრატიონის უბანი) *Aghmashenebeli (აღმაშენებლის უბანი) *Javakhishvili (ჯავახიშვილის უბანი) *Tamar (თამარის უბანი) *Boni-Gorodok (ბონი-გოროდოკის უბანი) *Airport (აეროპორტის უბანი) *Gonio-Kvariati (გონიო-კვარიათის უბანი) *Kakhaberi (კახაბრის უბანი) *Batumi Industrial (ბათუმის სამრეწველო უბანი) *Green Cape (მწვანე კონცხის უბანი)


Cityscape


Contemporary architecture

Batumi's skyline has been transformed since 2007 with remarkable buildings and monuments of contemporary architecture, including: *Radisson Blu hotel *Public Service Hall *Hilton Batumi *Leogrand A large
Kempinski Kempinski Hotels S.A., commonly known as Kempinski, is a luxury hotel management company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in Berlin in 1897 as the ''Hotelbetriebs-Aktiengesellschaft'', the group currently operates 78 five-star ...
hotel and casino is to open in 2013, a
Hilton Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...
as well as a 47-storey Trump Tower is also planned.


Novelty architecture

Novelty architecture in Batumi includes: * Sheraton Hotel, designed in the style of the Great Lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt * Alphabetic Tower ( high), celebrating Georgian script and writing *
Batumi Piazza The Batumi Piazza is an Italian-style open public area in the city of Batumi, Georgia. Various significant buildings surround the piazza which has open air cafes, hotels, and shopping. The piazza is one of the most visited and popular sights of ...
, a mixed-used development in the form of an Italian piazza *Buildings designed in the style of a lighthouse, the
Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
, and an upside-down
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...


Sites of interest


Main sights

Attractions include * Adjara State Museum *
Aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
*
Batumi Botanical Garden The Batumi Botanical Garden ( ka, ბათუმის ბოტანიკური ბაღი) is a 108 hectare area of land 9 km north of the city of Batumi, capital of Autonomous Republic of Adjara, Georgia. Located at the place calle ...
*Circus *Former resort area along the Black Sea coast.


Tourist attractions

* Batumi Boulevard * The statue of “Man and Woman“ AKA “Ali and Nino” by Georgian artist, Tamara Kvesitadze *
Batumi Botanical Garden The Batumi Botanical Garden ( ka, ბათუმის ბოტანიკური ბაღი) is a 108 hectare area of land 9 km north of the city of Batumi, capital of Autonomous Republic of Adjara, Georgia. Located at the place calle ...
s *
Cafe Fantasy Café Fantasy ( ka, კაფე ფანტაზია ) or the Octopus (რვაფეხა ''rvapekha'') was a coffeehouse situated in the town of Batumi (the autonomous Republic of Adjara, Georgia), on the boulevard by the Black Sea, besi ...
* Dancing Fountains, Batumi * Dolphinarium * Piazza Square * Panoramic Wheel * Astronomical clock * Argo Cable Car * 6 May Park * Europe Square * Alphabetic Tower * Batumi Sea Port * Miracle Park *
Chacha Clock Tower Chacha Tower ( ka, ჭაჭის კოშკი) is a clock tower located in Batumi, Georgia. It was built in 2012 by the city council with a cost of one million Georgian laris. The tower is high and has four fountains. It is a replica of the ...
(defunct) * Fountain Of Neptun * Batumi Archeological Museum * Monument Of Ilia Chavchavadze


Demographics


Religion

Although there is no religious data available separately for Batumi, the majority of the region's inhabitants are
Eastern Orthodox Christian Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
, and primarily adhere to the national
Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
.National Statistics Office of Georgia
Population Census 2014: Population by Regions and Religion
, Retrieved: 6 May 2016
There are also Sunni
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
,
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Armenian Apostolic , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...
, Jehovah's Witness, and Jewish communities. The main places of worship in the city are: * Georgian Orthodox Cathedral of the Mother of God, and
Saint Barbara Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Accounts place her in t ...
Church *
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Church of the Holy Spirit *Saint Nicholas Church *
Batumi Mosque The Batumi Mosque ( ka, ბათუმის მეჩეთი, ''batumis mecheti'', ''orta jame'') is a mosque in Batumi, Adjara, Georgia, which is a home to a sizable Muslim community. It was commissioned by the family of Aslan Beg (the equiv ...
* Batumi Synagogue


Culture

Batumi has 18 various museums, including State Art Museum of Adjara.
Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
club Batumi RC competes in the Pan-european
Rugby Europe Super Cup The Rugby Europe Super Cup is an annual men's rugby union club tournament organised by the continental governing body, Rugby Europe. Featuring clubs outside the traditional Six Nations Championship, Six Nations strongholds of the sport, it effect ...
and the Georgian
Didi 10 The Didi 10 (, "Big 10") is a semi-professional domestic rugby union club competition in Georgia (country), Georgia. It is the top tier of rugby competitions in the country. Current Table 2018–19 Didi 10 season: List of Champions Teams ...
.
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
club
FC Dinamo Batumi FC Dinamo Batumi is a Georgian football club based in Batumi, Adjara, and current vice-champion of Erovnuli Liga, the top division of Georgian football system. The club has won the league (2021), the Georgian Cup ( 1997-98) and Super Cup (1 ...
play at the Batumi stadium.


Notable people

Notable people who are from or have resided in Batumi: *
Irakli Alasania Irakli Alasania ( ka, ირაკლი ალასანია) (born 21 December 1973) is a Georgian politician, soldier and former diplomat who served as the Minister of Defense of Georgia from 2012 to 2014. He was Georgia's Ambassador to t ...
(*1973), Georgian politician,
Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...
* Herbert Backe,
Reich ''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (lit ...
Minister of Food in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
*
Ioseb Bardanashvili Ioseb Bardanashvili ( ka, იოსებ (სოსო) ბარდანაშვილი; he, יוסף ברדנשווילי; born 23 November 1948 in Batumi, Georgia) is an Israeli and Georgian composer. His works span classical to contemp ...
(*1948), composer * Khatia Buniatishvili (*1987), a concert pianist *
Odysseas Dimitriadis Odysseas Dimitriadis (7 July 1908 – 28 April 2005) was a Georgian of Greek descent and Soviet classical music conductor. During his 70-year career, Odysseas had conducted a number of the world's leading orchestras, as well as being a main conduct ...
(1908–2005) Greek-Soviet music conductor * Mary, Princess Eristavi (1888–1986), Georgian princess and model * , (1887–1978), writer * Devi Khajishvili (*1991), a Hollywood actor *
Sopho Khalvashi Sopho Khalvashi ( ka, სოფო ხალვაში ; born 31 May 1986 in Batumi, Adjara, Georgia), also sometimes known as simply Sopho, is a Georgian musician of Laz heritage. Biography She claimed third prize at the commercial song c ...
(*1986), first Georgian entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 *
Mindia Khitarishvili Mindia Khitarishvili ( ka, მინდია ხითარიშვილი; Batumi, born January 1, 1973) is an Israeli and Georgia (country), Georgian composer. Biography Mindia Khitarishvili is an Israeli and Georgian composer, music arra ...
(*1973), composer *
Konstantin Meladze Konstantin Shotayevich Meladze (russian: Константин Шотаевич Меладзе, ka, კონსტანტინე მელაძე) (born 11 May 1963 in Batumi) is a Ukrainian-Russian composer and producer. He is the older b ...
(*1963), composer and producer * Valery Meladze (*1965), singer * Katie Melua, singer * Lado Seidishvili (1931–2010), Georgian painter and poet *
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
(1878–1953),
General secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspape ...
*
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky (russian: Аркадий Натанович Стругацкий; 28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky ( ru , Борис Натанович Стругацкий; 14 A ...
(1925–1991 ; 1933–2012), science fiction authors *
William Horwood Stuart William Horwood Stuart (1857 – May 20, 1906) was a British diplomat. He was murdered in Batumi, Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire, while serving as a United States vice-consul there. Family Stuart was born in Harrow, London, in 1857 t ...
(1857–1906), British diplomat who was murdered there in 1906 *
Sergei Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
(1895–1925), Russian lyrical poet * Fyodor Yurchikhin (*1959), astronaut


Economy and infrastructure


Transport

The city is served by
Batumi Airport Alexander Kartveli Batumi International Airport is an airport located south of Batumi, a city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. The airport is northeast of Hopa, Turkey, and serves as ...
, one of three international airports in the country. A bike-sharing scheme named ''BatumVelo'' allows you to rent a bicycle on the street with a smart card. The main types of public transport are buses, minibusses, and taxis. Batumi has modern electric buses. Using the service is possible by
BATUMICARD
', transit card, or debit/credit cards. Buses connect almost everywhere in the city. The port of Batumi is on one of the routes of China's proposed Eurasian Land Bridge (part of the "New Silk Road"), which would see an eastern freight link to China via Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea, and a western link by ferry to Ukraine and on to Europe.


Postage stamps


Twin towns – sister cities

Batumi is twinned with: *
Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...
, Italy (1987) *
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
, United States (1992) *
Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...
, Turkey (2000) * Vanadzor, Armenia (2006) * Volos, Greece (2007) *
Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...
, Ukraine (2008) *
Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a pop ...
, Bulgaria (2009) *
Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the reg ...
, Spain (2010) *
Kuşadası Kuşadası () is a large resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast, and the center of the seaside district of the same name within Aydın Province. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about from Aydın. The municipality's primary industry is tour ...
, Turkey (2010) *
Ordu Ordu () or Altınordu is a port city on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, historically also known as Cotyora or Kotyora ( pnt, Κοτύωρα), and the capital of Ordu Province with a population of 229,214 in the city center. Name Kotyora, the ori ...
, Turkey (2011) *
Ternopil Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Terno ...
, Ukraine (2011) *
Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...
, Israel (2011) *
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
, United States (2012) *
Yalova Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. The town has a population of 156,838, while the population of the surrounding Yalova Province is 291,001 . A largely modern town, it is ...
, Turkey (2012) * Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan (2012) *
Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...
, Latvia (2012) *
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...
, Ukraine (2013) *
Prague 1 Prague 1, formally the Prague 1 Municipal District (), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. It is co-extensive with the national administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name. Prague 1 includes most of the medieval heart of ...
, Czech Republic (2013) * Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (2014) *
Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
, China (2015) * Brest, Belarus (2015) *
Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of P ...
, Cyprus (2016) * Nysa, Poland (2017) * Mogilev, Belarus (2017) *
Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate ...
, Israel (2018) *
Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...
, Poland (2019) *
Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
, Romania (2020)


See also

*
Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...
* Hotel Intourist Palace


References

*''Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia.'' Georgian SSR (Supplementary Edition). 1981. pp. 16–18.


External links


Official websiteOfficial Visitor Guide to BatumiOfficial instagram of BatumiBatumi – History, Sights and PersonalitiesBatumi Photo Gallery
*Postcard from the Silk Road – Batumi...(Georgia), TRAVELS – ESPECIALLY FOR „ZNAD WILII”, Leonard Drożdżewicz, „Znad Wilii”, Viešoji įstaiga „Znad Wilii” kultūros plėtros draugija,ISSN 1392-9712 indeks 327956 nr 1 (57) z 2014 r., p. 87–98, (in Polish)http://www.znadwiliiwilno.lt/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Znad-Wilii-57m.pdf

{{Authority control Georgian Black Sea coast Cities and towns in Adjara Batum Oblast Kutaisi Governorate Pontus (region) Port cities in Asia Port cities of the Black Sea Greek colonies in Colchis Port cities in Europe Self-governing cities in Georgia (country)