What can you see at Georgia’s first Miniature Park?

Georgia’s newest tourist attraction has officially opened where guests are invited to take a step back in time and explore dozens of the country’s most iconic buildings and sites in small scale.

The country’s first Miniature Park opened on Saturday in Shekvetili, western Georgia. Here visitors can see 44 miniature replicas of iconic buildings and architectural monuments from all over Georgia that explore the country’s rich culture and history.

At 1:25 scale, which is European standard for miniature parks, visitors will be able to tower over the displays and get a birds-eye view of sites that normally engulf them.

Among the miniature displays are several iconic churches from different regions, historic stone pillars and towers and a comprehensive display of the country’s medieval city of Sighnagi.

A blue church in Georgia's Miniature Park. Photo by the PM's press office. 

The Miniature Park also showcases a small-scale version of Narikala fortress in capital Tbilisi and many other historic monuments.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili was at the Park’s official opening and said the space would become a top tourist attraction, contribute to the development of regional tourism and raise awareness of Georgia abroad.

This is a truly extraordinary park that I am convinced will become one of the most popular destinations for the Georgian population and tourists.

This new tourist site has a recreational purpose that features miniature models of cultural and historical monuments of Georgia as well as various remarkable architectural objects,” said Kvirikashvili.

Five additional displays and sites will be added to the Miniature Park by the end of this year, while next year the park will extend beyond its current two hectares and offer more sights for visitors, the Prime Minister’s press office announced.

Ancient towers from Georgia's high mountainous regions. Photo by the PM's press office. 

The Miniature Park is located in Shekvetili, in the touristic-recreational zone near Tsitsinatela Amusement Park, about half an hour north of Batumi on the Black Sea coast.

The park officially opened on August 13 with a special ceremony attended by investors and state officials.

Ten million GEL (about $4.28 million/€3.84 million*) was invested in the new Miniature Park. All of this funding came via a private investment by Georgian tycoon and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili through the Cartu Charity Foundation.

Construction of the tourist attraction began in 2014. On Saturday at the official opening, the Cartu Charity Foundation gifted the Miniature Park to the state.

Five more monuments will be added to the park this year. Photo by the PM's press office. 

A unique database that includes accurate drawings of prototypes of the miniatures featured at the park was also gifted to state by the Cartu Charity Foundation. The drawings were rendered in a way that was particularly valuable for the National Agency of Monument Protection.

Other infrastructure inside the Miniature Park includes a Visitors Centre with a mini amphitheater, a cafe and more.

This was the second investment project the Foundation has gifted to the state that the people of Georgia can enjoy.

The Cartu Charity Foundation invested about $100 million USD to build a new concert arena near Kobuleti in western Georgia, and last month when construction ended, the Foundation handed over the site – Black Sea Arena – to the state.

*Currencies are equivalent with the latest National Bank of Georgia exchange rate.