Gagra

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Gagra
Гагра
Гагра
გაგრა
State : AbkhaziaAbkhazia Abkhazia (de facto) Georgia (de jure)
GeorgiaGeorgia 
Rajon : Gagra district
Founded : 1308
Coordinates : 43 ° 17 ′  N , 40 ° 16 ′  E Coordinates: 43 ° 17 ′  N , 40 ° 16 ′  E
 
Residents : 15,700 (2009)
 
Time zone : Moscow Time (UTC + 3)
Telephone code : (+7 840) 443
License plate : DEP
 
Community type: city
Website :
Gagra (Abkhazia)
Gagra
Gagra

Gagra ( Abkhazian / Russian Гагра , Georgian გაგრა ) is a city in Abkhazia . It is located 65 kilometers northwest of Sukhumi on the Black Sea coast . It has an area of ​​772.41 km² and has about 15,700 inhabitants.

history

Peter von Oldenburg (right) , founder of tourism in Gagra
Gagra, view from the Black Sea
Former villa of the von Oldenburg family in Gagra

The city was founded in the 2nd century BC. Founded as Triglite by Greek settlers between the Joechwara and Gagripsch rivers . A small trading port was created. At the beginning of the 1st century the city came under Roman control and was given the name Nitika . The Romans built a fortress and successfully defended the city against the Goths . In the 6th century, one of the first Christian churches in the region was built under Byzantine rule.

The current name Gagra was first mentioned in 1308 on a map by the Italian Pietro Visconti . In the 12th century, the Genoese and Venetian merchants built Gagra into a base for the trade in wood, honey and slaves. In the 16th century the Ottoman Turks conquered the city. There was a drastic decline in the 18th century. The city was considered a violent pirate nest. In 1801 Gagra became part of the Russian Empire . In the 9th Russian Turkish War in 1877 and 1878, the city was destroyed by Turkish troops and the population was resettled to Turkey.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Peter von Oldenburg , a brother-in-law of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II , transformed the city into an elite vacation spot. He wanted to build a "Russian Monte Carlo" that would stop the Russian money nobility from migrating abroad. For three million rubles from the state treasury, several casinos, a magnificent spa park, a palace, a water sanatorium, a hotel in the Norwegian architectural style and a luxury restaurant in Vienna were built from 1902 onwards. Together with his wife Olga Romanowa , Oldenburg spent the summers in Gagra, organized large festivals and military parades. He planted palms, agaves, cypresses, cedars, magnolias, lemon and orange trees and imported parrots and monkeys. Gagra developed into the playground of Russian high society . In the spring of 1911 for the first time a laid cruise ship of the North German Lloyd , the Schleswig on. The feuilleton head of the Berliner Tageblatt , Felix Lorenz, who was traveling with us , reported on a lavish party for the 150 passengers in the holiday resort.

After the October Revolution , Abkhaz communists established the Republic of Gagra , carried out mass arrests and expropriated the old owners. A French squadron tried in vain to capture Gagra. In 1919 Gagra became a Soviet vacation spot by decree . From 1921 to 1931 Gagra belonged to the Abkhaz Soviet Republic , which was added to the Georgian SSR in 1936 . It housed injured Russian soldiers during World War II . After 1945 the city was equipped with new sanatoriums, grew enormously and was a popular holiday resort during the existence of the Soviet Union. In 1989 the city had about 26,600 inhabitants.

present

Former shopping center on Gagarin Square (Abaata district)

After Gagras was conquered by Abkhaz militants on October 2, 1992, hundreds of Georgian residents, including the deputy mayor, Micheil Jintscharadze, were rounded up in the city's stadium and shot during the Gagra massacre . On the main street, 50 Georgians were hung from lamp posts. The bodies were taken to a garbage dump and covered with rubbish.

The tourism plummeted and has recovered only since the 2000s again. The city is one of the most popular vacation destinations in Abkhazia, especially for families from Russia who want to save.

climate

The Caucasus protects Gagra from cold air waves from the north and allows the Black Sea to warm the land. The climate is subtropical . The average air temperature is 15 ° C per year. In winter the temperatures drop to a minimum of 0 ° C. The average annual rainfall is 3000 mm. The Caucasian peaks framing Gagra are mostly snow-covered until July and contrast with green, wooded slopes and the blue sea.

Attractions

The spa gardens of Gagra

Gagra is home to one of the most beautiful spa parks on the Black Sea coast. It was set up from 1902 to 1905 by the architect Scherwinski on behalf of the Duke of Oldenburg on a drained swamp area. It is now home to palm trees from the Canary Islands and China , cedars from the Himalayas and magnolias from the USA . There are peacocks , a lake with black Australian swans and a pond with Chinese goldfish . A church from the 6th century is integrated into the park area.

The promenade of Gagra is planted with palm and plane trees. Fish dishes, local wine and Turkish coffee are served in bars and cafes.

The “Blue Lake” (Abkhazian Adsiasikwa Lake ) is located near Gagra . It is 180 km² and 76 meters deep. Its intense color comes from the lapis lazuli minerals that are washed into the lake.

Town twinning

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Gagra  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Vladimir: Sister Cities