Travel Guide Bolnissi

It was called Katharinenfeld, in honour of Catherine, Queen of Württemberg. It is a rather incongruous city in the heart of Georgia. It was founded in 1818 by German settlers of Swabian origin from the Württemberg region, following an agreement between the queen of this German region and the czar. The aim of the sovereign was to get rid of those Protestant clerics who were considered to be ultra-quotable, rejecting the ideas of Luther and followers of a radical religion. The Russians, for their part, needed peasants to exploit the lands they had just conquered. They built a Lutheran church, wine cellars and bakeries. In 1923, the city was renamed Rosa Luxembourg, after the famous German activist. In 1943, the German population, suspected of collusion with the Nazi enemy, was deported to Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Siberia. The city of Rosa Luxembourg then took the name of Bolnissi. The old town (on the left coming from Tbilisi) still preserves some buildings with architecture of German influence. You can visit the German cultural centre in rue Sulkhan Abhas showing period photos. Still coming from Bolnisi, on the right side, the modern city gathers restaurants and shops. This city can be an interesting day trip. You can explore the old town and the church of Bolnissi Sioni. This church preserves the oldest inscription showing the Georgian script in Georgia, dated 478. An even older one was found in 433 in Jerusalem.