Zestaponi ( ka, ზესტაფონი, tr, ) is the administrative center of Zestaponi District in Western

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Zestaponi is the center of an ancient, historical part of Georgia – Margveti, which is a part 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 ...

province. Zestaponi is the center of Margveti's Eparchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Zestaponi is situated in the furthest east of the Colchis Plateau, and is built on both banks of the

Qvirila River The Qvirila ( ka, ყვირილა ) is a river of Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . It is a left tributary of the Rioni, which it joins south of the city Kutaisi. Geographic information It originates in South Ossetia, in ...

. It is an important industrial center, with a large ferro-alloy plant processing manganese ore from nearby

Chiatura Chiatura ( ) is a city in the Imereti region of Western Georgia. In 1989, it had a population of about 30,000. The city is known for its system of cable cars connecting the city's center to the mining settlements on the surrounding hills. The ci ...

. Zestaponi is in the Kolkheti lowlands, a semi-tropical region with relatively cold winters averaging in January and hot summers averaging in August. The surrounding countryside is a wine-growing region.

Industry

The town of Zestaponi and the smaller neighboring town of

Shorapani Shorapani ( ka, შორაპანი ) is a small Georgian town, situated in the Zestaponi District, part of the region of Imereti. Founded in the 3rd century BC, it served as a residence of the ''eristavi'' (dukes) of Argveti (also known as ...

are industrial centers. The Zestaponi ferro-alloy plant processes raw manganese ore shipped by rail down the Kvirila valley from Chiatura, supplying 6% of world demand. The largest ferroalloy plant in the country, in 1998 it produced 35,000 tonnes of silicomanganese and 11,000 tonnes of medium-carbon manganese alloy. This was well below its previous peak production of 110,000 tonnes of manganese-based alloys. The British steel trading company

Stemcor Stemcor is a British steel trading and distribution company. The company acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers of steel and raw materials. It provides additional services, including logistics, price risk management and inventory mana ...

acquired the ferro-alloy plant in February 2006. Two other plants in the Zestaponi / Shorapani area produce electrical products, aluminum and copper cable and wire. There were more plants in the Soviet era producing fireproof clay, marble and clothing. Zestaponi is also one of the winery centers of Georgia. Wine prepared from the Tsitsqa and Tsolikouri species is widely known.

History

Zestaponi lies west of the small but ancient fortress town of

, founded by

Pharnavaz I of Iberia Pharnavaz I (; ka, ფარნავაზ I, tr ) was a king ('' mepe'') of Kartli, an ancient Georgian kingdom known as Iberia in classical antiquity. '' The Georgian Chronicles'' credits him with being the first monarch founding the kingsh ...

in the 3rd century BC. The town of Zestaponi is first mentioned in historical records in the 1560s. The name of the city is connected with the bank of river Kvirila ( ka, poni), upper bank ( ka, Zeda poni), that was used by the local population and foreign travelers from ancient times. In the 1820s a Cossack army was posted in the town, which was then called "Kvirila" after the river that runs through it. During the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, the city was the administrative center of the Shorapani Uyezd of the

Kutaisi Governorate The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except t ...

. In 1920, the name was changed again to "Jugeli", after a famous

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

. In 1921, the city regained its historical name. There are many historical monuments in the Zestaponi region: Zeda Saqara (11th century), Tabakini (6th century), Tseva (11th century), Sanakhshire and other churches, and castles from the early Middle Ages in Shrosha and Shorapani. Shorapani (Sarapanis) is the toponymy, that is mentioned in old Greek mythology. That was Sarapanis that Jason and his Argonaut friends approached during their travel in old Colchis (Kolkhida).

Sports and culture

The local football club,

FC Zestaponi Football Club Zestaponi is a Georgian football club based in Zestaponi. They play their home games at David Abashidze Stadium. Zestaponi was founded on 18 June 2004 by the initiative of the shareholders of JSC Giorgi Nikoladze Zestaponi Ferro- ...

, plays in the top league in Georgia and twice won the Georgian championship in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 season. The local women's basketball team was champion of Georgia in 2011. The city's stadium was built by Zestaponi Ferro-alloy Plant in 1952 and since its renovation has a capacity of 4,600. The writer

Boris Akunin Grigori Chkhartishvili (; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვილი), better known by his pen name Boris Akunin (, born 20 May 1956), is a Georgian and Russian writer residing in the United Kingdom. He is best known as a write ...

and philosopher Tengiz Tsereteli were born in Zestaponi. The psychologist and philosopher Dimitri Uznadze was born in the nearby village of Sakara in 1886. Famous Georgian actors Shalva Ghambashidze, Ushangi Chkheidze, Sergo and Bukhuti Zakariadze were also born in Zestaponi. World wrestling (Greco-Roman) champion Mikhail Saladze is from Zestaponi.

Climate

Notable people

* Dimitri Uznadze - psychologist *

- writer * Shalva Dadiani - novelist, playwright and actor *

Zaza Tavadze Zaza Tavadze ( ka, ზაზა თავაძე, born 9 February 1975) is a former chairman of the Constitutional Court of Georgia elected by the Plenum of the Constitutional Court on October 20, 2016. From 2010 until 2016 he held the positio ...

- is a former chairman of the

Constitutional Court of Georgia The Constitutional Court of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს საკონსტიტუციო სასამართლო, tr) is the constitutional court of Georgia, the country's judicial body of constitutional review, h ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Zestaponi is twinned with: *

Tauragė Tauragė (; see #Names and etymology, other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 20,956. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra, Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningr ...

, Lithuania *

Kiryat Bialik Kiryat Bialik (, also Qiryat Bialik) is a city in the Haifa District in Israel. The city was established on July 18, 1934, during the Fifth Aliyah. It is one of the five Krayot suburbs to the north of Haifa. In it had a population of . The city ...

, Israel

References

External links

Zestafoni.Ge
{{Cities and towns in Georgia (country) Cities and towns in Imereti Kutaisi Governorate Populated places in Zestaponi Municipality