Rustaveli ( ka, რუსთაველი) is a station of the

Tbilisi Metro The Tbilisi Metro ( ka, თბილისის მეტროპოლიტენი, tr) is a rapid transit system in the Georgia (country), Georgian capital Tbilisi. Opened on 11 January 1966, it was the List of metro systems in the Soviet ...

on the Akhmeteli–Varketili Line (First Line). It is located at Rustaveli Square at the northern end of

Rustaveli Avenue Rustaveli Avenue ( ka, რუსთაველის გამზირი, Rust'avelis Gamziri), formerly known as Golovin Street, is the central avenue in Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli. The avenue starts at ...

next to the Shota Rustaveli statue. The station was opened on 11 January 1966 as part of the original metro line with six stations, which include stations from Didube to Rustaveli. The metro station is named after Shota Rustaveli, a great Georgian poet and thinker of the

12th century The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the ...

, the author of '' The Knight in the Panther's Skin'', a Georgian national epic poem. Located between Tavisuplebis Moedani and Marjanishvili stations, Rustaveli is 60 metres underground, and with an

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...

length of 120 meters or 394 feet, making the station the deepest of the

Tbilisi metro The Tbilisi Metro ( ka, თბილისის მეტროპოლიტენი, tr) is a rapid transit system in the Georgia (country), Georgian capital Tbilisi. Opened on 11 January 1966, it was the List of metro systems in the Soviet ...

system and one of the deepest in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Because of this, per some sources, the Rustaveli metro station has the world's 6th longest escalator. Other attractions and sightseeing near the station include the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, First Republic Square,

, and Tbilisi Concert Hall.

Architecture

The walls and columns of the station are covered with red marble. The metro station is decorated with relief images and depictions of the theme of Shota Rustaveli's epic poem. A frieze on the theme of Shota Rustaveli and '' The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' is placed above the entrance of the metro station, the sculptor of which is Elguja Amashukeli. Overall, Rustaveli station can be described as an example of the monumentalist style of the 1960s, with a scent of Georgian minimalism. The construction was carried out according to the project by O. Kalandarishvili and L. Janelidze. Tiger on Columns of Rustaveli Metro Station

Tiger on Columns of Rustaveli Metro Station

In 2019, some citizens expressed concern that within the regular maintenance and rehabilitation process of the station, the golden-coloured fragments of the tiger on columns of the station made of copper were removed and replaced by its copies. Tbilisi Transport Company explains that the allegations are not true. During the works, the protective netting was replaced, and the aluminum structure itself was cleaned and repainted. The restoration of the tiger image was carried out according to the original project. A stylized image of a tiger was connected to the frame by a special minimalistic ornamental decor, which made it possible for the whole structure to be firmly attached to the columns with a simple mechanical insertion of the grill, of which mechanical design was allegedly altered.

Gallery

Third Line (Rustaveli-Vazisubani Line)

According to the plan of the third line of the

, Rustaveli station was supposed to become a transfer station, tentatively referred to as the Rustaveli-2 station, the connecting staircase and passage of which exist in the current station. According to the plan, the Rustaveli-2 station of the third line of the Tbilisi Metro would connect the stations in the western direction to Vake and Didi Dighomi, and in the eastern direction to Saarbrücken Square towards Vazisubani and other south-eastern districts of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. The first section of the third metro line was supposed to be built from Rustaveli in the direction of Vazisubani (with stations Rustaveli-2, Saarbrücken Square, Kvemo Elia, Zemo Elia (Metromsheni) and Vazisubani). Nowadays, construction works are frozen.

References

External links

Metro station Rustaveli on ostarchitektur

Rustaveli metro station page at Tbilisi Municipal Portal (Archived)

Notes