19th Century Dadiani Palace complex undergoes vital restoration

A historic palace complex belonging to Georgia’s famous noble Dadiani family, which houses a piece of the Virgin Mary’s robe and Napoleon Bonaparte’s death mask, is being restored from its current state of disrepair.

Major renovation work will soon begin at Dadiani Palace History and Architectural Museum in Zugdidi in Georgia’s Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti region to restore the ancient site to its former glory.

A total of 28 million GEL has been allocated to fund vital reconstruction works of historical monuments in the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti region. Part of this money will go towards restoring the Dadiani Palace complex.

A piece of the Virgin Mary’s robe, kept at the Dadiani Palace History and Architectural Museum.

Today Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili visited Dadiani Palace on his tour of the Samegrelo region. The Georgian official said Dadiani Palace was "a unique masterpiece of Georgian culture” and it was the duty of our generation to save the rumbling monument.

Georgians are proud to have such a wonderful place as Dadiani Palace History and Architectural Museum. It is an iconic monument for Georgia which showcases where Georgians have come from, who our ancestors were. It is our duty to save this unique museum complex, restore it and care about it,” said Garibashvili.

The Government has already allocated money from the state budget to restore the Palace of Niko Dadiani, which is an important part of the Dadiani Palace complex. The complex also included the Palace of the last queen of Samegrelo Principality Ekaterine Chavchavadze-Dadiani and Prince Niko Dadiani, a court church and a botanical garden.

The History and Architectural Museum was founded by the Dadiani family, a famous Georgian noble family, in 1921. The museum soon became known as the Zugdidi Historical Museum and is today located within the Dadiani Palace boundary. The museum is considered to be one of the oldest museums in the Caucasian region.

Garibashvili believed the museum complex was "a vivid example of civilization’ that was unique not only for Georgian people but also for foreign guests.

The museum housed several collections involving unique artefacts, such as a piece of the Virgin Mary’s robe, international military equipment, archaeological tools, ancient money and manuscripts.

It also houses several French treasures, including French tableware, paintings and Napoleon Bonaparte’s death mask, which were brought to Georgia after Napoleon’s nephew married one of the daughters of the Dadiani family, Princess of Samegrelo Salome Dadiani.

Meanwhile, rehabilitation works are currently being carried out in several mountainous villages in Georgia’s Upper Svaneti region. Villages undergoing rehabilitation work include Mutso, Dartlo and Chazhashi villages, which are all cultural heritage sites.

Dartlo village. Photo from dzeglebi.ge

Chazhashin village boasts unique landscape and medieval architecture and was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in 1996. In 1970 the old part of Mestia was designated as a reserve and one year later, the same declaration was offered to the Ushgul-Chazhashi area.