Bandza ( ka, ბანძა) is a village located in the west part 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 t ...

Martvili Martvili ( ka, მარტვილი) is a small town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province of Western Georgia. Its monastery was Samegrelo's clerical centre in the Middle Ages. Under Soviet rule, from 1936 to 1990, it was named Gegechkori after S ...

municipality (in the

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti ( Georgian: სამეგრელო-ზემო სვანეთი) is a region ( Mkhare) in western Georgia with a population of 308,358 (2021) and a surface of . The region has Zugdidi as its administrative center, ...

region). It consists of three small villages: Levakhane, Lekekele, Lepatarave. Bandza is situated on Odishi-Guria plain, on the left side of the river Abasha. It is 7 kilometers to

from Bandza and 22 kilometers to

Abasha Abasha ( ka, აბაშა) is a town in western Georgia with a population of 4,941. It is situated between the rivers of Abasha and Noghela, at 23m above sea level and is located some to the west of Tbilisi. The settlement of ''Abasha'' ac ...

. According to the data of 2014, 1099 people live in the village. Bandza is under Chkondidi Diocese. Church of the Assumption in Bandza

History

Bandza was first mentioned in 1699–1740 in the description of Russian Ambassador. In 1658 there was a battle between kings of

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 mun ...

and Guria-Samegrelo. Vakhushti Batonishvili writes about the village as “Bandza and castle kindly built”. There is marked “Bandza-Paghao Castle” on the map of the west Georgia created in 1797.

Synagogue

In the second half of 18th century Jewish people started to live in the west part of Georgia. They settled in Kulevi,

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...

Poti Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near ...

Senaki Senaki ( ka, სენაკი; xmf, სანაკი) is a town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, western Georgia. It is located at around between the rivers Tekhura/i and Tsivi, at an elevation of 28–38 meters above sea level. Senaki is ...

and lately in Bandza. At the beginning of 20th century they built a synagogue in the Jewish district of Bandza. There is also Jewish cemetery near the synagogue. The synagogue is not active today but many Jewish people visit it very often.

Famous People

*Georgian footballer

Murtaz Khurtsilava Murtaz Kalistratovich Khurtsilava ( ka, მურთაზ ხურცილავა, russian: Муртаз Калистратович Хурцилава, born 5 January 1943) is a former Georgian association football defender. Khurtsilava was ...

was born in Bandza. *Famous Georgian Theater and Film actor

Anzor Urdia Anzor Urdia ( ka, ანზორ ურდია, uk, Анзор Урдія; March 12, 1939 - September 29, 2011) was a renowned Georgian theater and film actor. He performed in a number of films, among them was the main role in the iconic Sovie ...

was originally from Banzda.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

History

Synagogue

Famous People

See also

References