First Georgian festival in historical Leuville estate closing today with final event
The closing event of the festival at the estate, which housed the Government in exile of Georgia's first democratic republic following the Soviet invasion of the country in 1921, will include performances by Georgian State Academic Song and Dance Ensemble Erisioni, women’s folklore ensemble Ialoni and a play by Tumanishvili Film Actors Theatre. Photo via Culture Ministry
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The first Georgian festival in the historical Leuville estate near Paris, dedicated to Georgian art and culture, is coming to an end on Sunday, with Georgian artists, folklore and choreographic ensembles and theatre actors performing for Georgian emigrants and foreign guests, the Culture Ministry said.
The closing event of the festival at the estate, which housed the Government in exile of Georgia's first democratic republic following the Soviet invasion of the country in 1921, will include performances by Georgian State Academic Song and Dance Ensemble Erisioni, women’s folklore ensemble Ialoni and a play by Tumanishvili Film Actors Theatre.
The festival has been held every weekend from July 29 to August 20, on the initiative of the Georgian Culture Ministry and with the support of the Government. The events planned on August 5 and August 6 were cancelled following the disaster in the western Georgian resort of Shovi, a fatal landslide that killed at least 27.
Georgia’s connection with the estate began in 1921, when the then-chairman of the Government Noe Zhordania, Government members and a handful of representatives and their families boarded the French ship Ernest Renan to escape the Soviet invasion of Georgia in February of that year. Settling in Leuville, about 30 Georgians lived in 15 flats inside the chateau of the estate, facing material hardship over the years.
Photo via Culture Ministry
France officially transferred the ownership of the Leuville estate to Georgia in 2016, after it was officially recognised as a symbolic place for Georgia and a place of historical importance. Georgian authorities announced that the estate would be transformed into a Georgian cultural and educational centre.
The Culture Ministry said the rehabilitation works of the Leuville estate were actively continuing and noted until September 2026, the Leuville Georgian Academy, museum and archive space, as well as library, conference hall and Georgian corner, promoting the country's wine culture, would be organised on the territory.
Gotcha Javakhishvili, Georgia’s newly appointed Ambassador to France, on Thursday stressed “a lot of work” was being done for restoring the historic Leuville estate in the country and its items of historical significance, in a response to a social media post that appeared to show photographs of disorderly conditions and negligence over items at the venue on Monday.
The Georgian Culture Ministry on Tuesday said its employees had completed the process of inventorying the Leuville estate and commenced sorting archive materials, kept by the former owners for decades in the chateau attic, for transferring to the library.
Georgia's culture ministry has unveiled the design of a traditional Georgian house that will be built in the historical Leuville estate near Paris to host cultural events, archives and a library, in the latest development in plans for the estate that housed the government in exile of Georgia's first democratic republic following the Soviet invasion of the country in 1921.
A French chateau with significant ties with Georgia will be transformed into a "centre of Georgian culture” announced Georgia’s Prime Minister while speaking about the transfer of ownership of the historically important estate to Georgia.
Georgian ensembles will be joined by visiting bands from Europe in the International Folklore Festival ‘Sakartvelo’ in a four-day celebration of folk performing arts in Tbilisi and the southern municipality of Akhaltsikhe next week.
Georgian Culture Minister Thea Tsulukiani on Monday announced plans to showcase the country’s “great Christian culture” in Poland with a “profound display” this year.