Avchala
Encyclopedia
Avchala is a northern suburb of Tbilisi
, the capital of Georgia
, part of the city's Gldani-Nadzaladevi district. It had formerly been a village with a long history behind until being incorporated within Tbilisi’s boundaries in 1962.
Avchala lies on the left bank of the Mtkvari, at 440 m above sea level
. It is first recorded in the Georgian Chronicles as a locale where the invading Seljuk Turks made their camp c. 1080. Avchala then frequently appears in medieval accounts. In 1734 it was heavily fortified to secure the northern approaches of Tbilisi against the marauding Dagestan
i. Under the Russian rule
, in 1887, the brooks of Avchala were collected to furnish Tbilisi with water. In 1927, the Zemo Avchala hydro-electric scheme (ZAHES) was completed to provide Tbilisi with electricity and was celebrated as a great achievement of the Soviet
government. Later in the Soviet era, Avchala developed as an industrial suburb of Tbilisi, but several of its enterprises are now defunct or half-ruined.
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, the capital of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, part of the city's Gldani-Nadzaladevi district. It had formerly been a village with a long history behind until being incorporated within Tbilisi’s boundaries in 1962.
Avchala lies on the left bank of the Mtkvari, at 440 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. It is first recorded in the Georgian Chronicles as a locale where the invading Seljuk Turks made their camp c. 1080. Avchala then frequently appears in medieval accounts. In 1734 it was heavily fortified to secure the northern approaches of Tbilisi against the marauding Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
i. Under the Russian rule
Georgia within the Russian Empire
Between 1801 and 1918 the country of Georgia was part of the Russian Empire. For centuries, the Muslim Ottoman and Persian empires had fought over various fragmented Georgian kingdoms and principalities but by the 18th century, a third imperial power, Russia, had emerged in the region. Since Russia...
, in 1887, the brooks of Avchala were collected to furnish Tbilisi with water. In 1927, the Zemo Avchala hydro-electric scheme (ZAHES) was completed to provide Tbilisi with electricity and was celebrated as a great achievement of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
government. Later in the Soviet era, Avchala developed as an industrial suburb of Tbilisi, but several of its enterprises are now defunct or half-ruined.