Church · Batumi, Adjara
Batumi Cathedral of the Mother of God
ბათუმის ღვთისმშობლის ეკლესია
A neo-Gothic basilica in old Batumi with two tall bell towers, built as a Catholic church by the Zubalashvili brothers and now a cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Where it is
41.6464, 41.6386
Why go
The triple-naved plan, stained glass and paired towers follow Western Gothic models, and the building's history explains the choice. The Zubalashvili brothers, Georgian Catholic philanthropists, paid for it around the turn of the twentieth century as a memorial their mother had asked for. Under Soviet rule it was used first as an archive and then as a high-voltage laboratory. In 1989 Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II consecrated it for the Orthodox Church, and it now serves the Eparchy of Batumi and Lazeti. It is a working cathedral in the old part of the city, a natural stop on a walk through central Batumi.
Near Batumi Cathedral of the Mother of God
Monument
Alphabetic Tower
A 130-metre tower in Miracle Park on Batumi's old boulevard, wound with two spiral bands carrying the 33 letters of the modern Georgian alphabet.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Fortress
Gonio-Apsaros Fortress
A rectangular walled fort near the mouth of the Chorokhi River south of Batumi, recorded in Roman times as Apsaros, with 18 of its towers still standing along the circuit wall.
10 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Waterfall
Mirveti Waterfall
A twenty-metre waterfall on the cliffs beside Mirveti village in Khelvachauri municipality, reached through Colchic boxwood forest about twenty kilometres from Batumi.
14 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Waterfall
Makhuntseti Waterfall
A fifty-metre waterfall dropping into a wide natural pool at Upper Makhuntseti in Keda municipality, a five-minute walk from the main road up the Acharistskali valley.
20 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ