Zugdidi
| Zugdidi ზუგდიდი |
|
|---|---|
Top left:Zugdidi Tsaishi Eparchy Church, Top right:Dadiani Palace, Middle left:Zugdidi Botanical Garden, Middle right:Coat of arms in Zugdidi, Bottom:Statue of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Bottom right:Zugdidi City Hall
|
|
 Zugdidi
ზუგდიდი |
|
| Coordinates: 42°30′0″N 41°51′0″E / 42.50000°N 41.85000°ECoordinates: 42°30′0″N 41°51′0″E / 42.50000°N 41.85000°E | |
| Country |
 Georgia
|
| Mkhare | Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti |
| Area | |
| • Total | 21.8 km2 (8.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 42,998 |
| Time zone | Georgian Time (UTC+4) |
Zugdidi (Georgian: ზუგდიდი; Mingrelian: ზუგდიდი or ზუგიდი) is a city in the Western Georgian historical province of Samegrelo (Mingrelia). It is situated in the north-west of that province. The city is located 318 kilometres west of Tbilisi, 30 km from the Black Sea coast and 30 km from the Egrisi Range, at an elevation of 100–110 metres above sea level. Zugdidi is the capital of the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, which combines Samegrelo (Mingrelia) and upper part of Svaneti, and the center of the Zugdidi Municipality within.
The city serves as a residence of Metropolitan of Zugdidi and Tsaishi Eparchy of the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
The name "Zugdidi" (ზუგდიდი) first appears in XVII century. Literally it means "big hill" in Mingrelian language ("Zugu/ზუგუ" - hill, "didi/დიდი" - big). An alternative version of the name recorded in old sources is "Zubdidi" (ზუბდიდი) with same meaning from Megrelian. Local Georgian (Megrelian) residents of historical provinces of Megrelia and Abkhazia also uses "Zugidi" (ზუგიდი), which is a shortened form. The name was given to the town because of a hill situated in the eastern part of the city, where the some small remains of an ancient fortress are still visible.
Historically Zugdidi was a capital of the Principality of Mingrelia (Odishi) until 1867, when the principality was abolished by the Russian Empire. After then Zugdidi was an administrative center of Zugdidi Uyezd as a part of the Kutaisi Governorate till 1918, when it became a part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. From 1930 the center of the Zugdidi Raion of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and then Independent Georgia (from 1991).
...
Wikipedia