Surami სურამი | |
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  Surami Location of Surami in Georgia Show map of Georgia Surami Surami (Shida Kartli) Show map of Shida Kartli | |
| Coordinates:42°01′10″N43°33′45″E / 42.01944°N 43.56250°E /42.01944; 43.56250 | |
| Country |  Georgia |
| Mkhare | Shida Kartli |
| Municipality | Khashuri |
| Elevation | 740 m (2,430 ft) |
| Population (2014)[1] | |
• Total | 7,492 |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (Georgian Time) |
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Surami (Georgian:სურამი) is a small town (daba) inGeorgia’sShida Kartli region with the population of 7,492.[1] It is a popular mountain climatic resort and a home to a medieval fortress.
Surami is located on the southern slopes of theLikhi Range (alternatively known as the Surami Range) which divides Georgia into its eastern and western parts, four km from the townKhashuri, to which Surami is connected through a railway spur.
The first human settlement on Surami's territory dates back to the earlyBronze Age. It is probably the Surium ofClassical authors, specificallyPliny the Elder (AD 23-79), who place it in the eastern part ofColchis, towardsIberia.
Strategically located at the entrance into theBorjomi Gorge and guarding the road from eastern to western Georgia, Surami became a heavily fortified town in the 12th century. From the 1170s to the latter part of the 14th century, the fortress of Surami was a hereditary fief of the dynasty of theeristavs ("dukes") ofKartli (central Georgia), who assumed the surname ofSurameli (სურამელი; literally, "[lord] of Surami").
Subsequently, Surami declined but retained its lively trading post as well as the fortress which was reconstructed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Following the reconstruction of the fortress underRostom, theSafavid-appointedvali/king ofKartli, he deployed Iranian soldiers to serve as its garrison.[2] By the mid-18th century, according to PrinceVakhushti, Surami had 200 households ofGeorgians,Armenians andJews. In the 1740s, Surami was used by Prince GiviAmilakhvari as his base against KingTeimuraz II andPersians. After the prince's surrender in 1745, the fortress was demolished, but later restored and exploited by theRusso-Georgian troops in anti-Ottoman operations during theRusso-Turkish War (1768–1774). After the Russian annexation of Georgia in 1801, Surami housed a military post and was later popularized as a mountain climatic resort. In 1926, it acquired the status of "urban-type settlement" (Georgian:daba).
Surami is adjacent to theBorjomi-Kharagauli National Park, noted for its diverse landscapes and abundance of historical monuments. The town itself houses TheMother of God Church complex constructed in the 16th-17th century, the 17th-19th centurySt. George’s Church and the Kviratskhoveli Church built in 1998.
The exact date when the Surami Fortress was built remains obscure. Its earliest structures possibly date to the 12th century, but it has been reconstructed several times since then. A local legend associated with the fortress was brought into classical Georgian literature by the writerDaniel Chonkadze (1830–1860) and further famed by theArmenian filmmakerSergei Parajanov in his award-winning feature filmThe Legend of Suram Fortress in 1985.
The Museum of Lesya Ukrainka is dedicated to the memory of the notableUkrainian poetLesya Ukrainka (1871–1913) who spent her last months in Surami. The Museum consists of the house where the poet died, a library and Ukrainka's monument authored by the Georgian sculptorTamar Abakelia (1952).
Authority control databases: National |
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