Museums in Georgia: Tbilisi, Exhibitions and Routes

Before traveling to Sakartvelo, it makes sense to plan ahead for a visit to a number of Georgian attractions. Once you arrive, information about the various ancient and cultural monuments will flood your mind like a mountain river, of which there are many in this region.

Choosing which Georgian attractions to visit on the fly won't be easy.

The Museum of Illusions in Tbilisi - "Don't Believe Your Eyes"

One of Georgia's landmarks is the Museum of Illusions, whose history began outside the country, namely in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Georgia has many "serious" museums offering insights into history, architecture, culture, and folk traditions. Local cultural professionals decided to expand the format and create a museum where tourists could have a fun time.

The experience of other countries was utilized in its construction and equipment. Besides Croatia, similar museums exist in Austria, Germany, Greece, the United States, and several other countries. The Museum of Illusions in Tbilisi features more than 70 exhibits, including an upside-down room and various educational projects based on scientific data from psychology, physics, and mathematics.

In the traditional sense, the Museum of Illusions can be considered more of an amusement park. The installation is complemented by an entertainment room and a toy shop where you can purchase various souvenirs. The museum was built in 2019 and opened its doors to visitors the same year. The Museum of Illusions is located on Betlemi Street, near the Metekhi Bridge.

National Museum of Georgia

The National Museum of Georgia is located a five-minute walk from the metro, on Freedom Square. By exploring the museum's installation, you'll immerse yourself in the history of Georgian culture and traditions. Among the exhibits on display at the National Museum of Georgia are ancient artifacts found in the country, dating back to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. Numismatists will likely be particularly interested in this museum, as ancient coins from various countries are on display.

The installation at the National Museum of Georgia includes objects that trace the emergence and development of the Georgian language. As history shows, this development occurred in three stages, each of which transformed and enriched the language to varying degrees.

The National Museum of Georgia was founded in 2004 and serves as a unique governing body that unites several similar cultural sites located not only in Tbilisi into a museum network. It oversees 14 other similar cultural sites.

Mose Toidze House Museum

Moisei Ivanovich Toidze was a Soviet artist. Although some documents mention his affiliation exclusively with the USSR, he was born long before the Revolution, in 1871. He also graduated from the Imperial Academy of Arts around that time.

Toidze was a student in the workshop of Academician Ilya Efimovich Repin. Before the Revolution, Moisei Ivanovich Toidze participated in an underground organization. He then worked on the development of painting in the USSR. As early as 1917, he became the founder of the People's School-Studio of Painting. Paying tribute to him, his descendants established a museum of the same name in Georgia.

The Mose Toidze Museum, in addition to the artist's own works, houses various archival documents, letters, and publications by theater and filmmakers, which can be viewed here. One of Mose Toidze's students was his son, Irakli, who created the famous poster "The Motherland Calls!"

The Mose Toidze House Museum is located a 15-minute walk from the Freedom Square metro station. The installation features over 130 unique exhibits, all related in some way to the work of the talented artist, who left a significant mark on the history of Georgian painting.

Elena Akhvlediani Memorial House-Museum

The works of Georgian artist Elena Akhvlediani were renowned not only in the USSR but also beyond its borders. She was born in 1901, the daughter of a doctor. Her parents intended for Elena to pursue a career in music, but they were forced to accept her desire to become an artist. Elena Akhvlediani's life story, in some ways, is unique in the post-revolutionary USSR.

After completing her first year at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts, Elena Akhvlediani, who demonstrated talent in the visual arts, was sent to study in France and Italy, sponsored by the "party and government." After studying in Paris for three years, she returned to the USSR, where she organized solo exhibitions.

However, Elena Akhvlediani also enjoyed some fame abroad, participating in exhibitions of young artists in Italy and France. According to one version, her work was criticized. However, there is no definitive confirmation of this. After returning to her homeland, Elena worked as a designer in a number of theaters. She is considered a talented landscape artist. According to some critics, Elena Akhvlediani's work possessed a distinct style, color, and compositional clarity. Her works include "In the Mountains of Mingrelia," "Imeretia," and "The Environs of Passanauri." She was particularly successful in paintings depicting winter. Several of her works reflect the time when Elena Akhvlediani studied and lived in Paris.

The historical and heroic system of the Great Patriotic War is also present in her paintings. One such painting is "L.P. Beria Organizes the Defense of the Caucasus at the Klukhor Pass," dedicated to the defenders of the North Caucasus from the Nazi invaders.

The Elena Akhvlediani House-Museum is currently a cultural and historical site, with an installation displaying over three thousand different exhibits. These exhibits trace Elena Akhvlediani's development as an artist and offer insight into everyday life in the USSR. Cervantes, Hugo, and Longfellow—some of these authors' works, published in the USSR, are complemented by illustrations created by Elena Akhvlediani. The artist's house-museum was established in 1976, almost immediately after her death on December 30, 1975. It is located on Lev Kiacheli Street, a 15-minute walk from Rustaveli Metro Station.

Tbilisi History Museum

In the early 19th century, travelers and traders stayed in the building that now houses the Tbilisi History Museum. And in 1850, Alexander II visited here, although he was not yet emperor. The Artsruni Caravanserai was built in 1818. It was subsequently rebuilt, remodeled, and restored several times.

The Tbilisi History Museum opened here in 1910. It currently occupies three floors of the building. Visiting the Tbilisi History Museum will give you the chance to learn something new about Georgia's landmarks. Additionally, almost the entire first floor of the museum is occupied by souvenir shops, offering something of interest to almost every tourist.

The second floor of the museum is filled with exhibits related to the 19th century. Here you can see models of houses once built in Tbilisi and look at household items, such as dishes and furniture from that era. The history of Georgian national costume can be learned in the section dedicated to clothing. The museum houses approximately 50,000 different exhibits. The second floor is occupied by the permanent exhibition. The third floor is dedicated to various exhibitions and presentations.

The Tbilisi History Museum building last underwent a thorough restoration in the mid-1980s. Since then, the museum has been renamed in honor of Iosif Grishashvili, a Georgian poet. In 2004, it became part of the Georgian National Museum. Its building is located near Sioni Cathedral, on Sioni Street.

State Museum of Georgian Literature

Despite the name, which includes the word "literature," it's worth acknowledging that it doesn't fully capture the museum's content. At the State Museum of Georgian Literature, tourists and travelers interested in Georgia's landmarks will be able to see more than just ancient manuscripts and historical texts.

In addition to sculptures and various audio and video recordings, the exhibition at the State Museum of Georgian Literature features a number of paintings, drawings, and over 30,000 photographs from various periods.

The museum has its own publishing department. In addition to booklets and posters, the department's specialists also provide translations. The museum also publishes its own printed periodical, the almanac "Chronicle of Literature."

The museum's history began in 1929 and it opened in 1930. It has been renamed several times since then. It is currently named after Giorgi Leonidze, who actively participated in the creation of the exhibition.

The closest metro station to the museum is "Freedom Square."

State Museum of Georgian Folk Songs and Instruments

Song plays a huge role in Georgian culture. Folk songs are passed down from generation to generation, and some are still performed, one might say, in their original form. The Museum of Georgian Folk Songs and Instruments was founded in 1975. However, at that time, it had a different name and was later renamed twice. It was then called the "Museum of Folk Instruments" and the "Museum of Folk Music and Musical Instruments."

Of particular interest in this museum are a number of exhibits—musical instruments such as bagpipes, panpipes, salamuri, and chiboni, whose cases are decorated with gold and precious stone inlays. Each instrument has its own unique history and is associated with a specific region of Georgia—Gori, Adjara, and Svaneti.

Equally interesting is the section displaying polyphonic singing. It contains numerous recordings of various works performed by choirs and soloists.

Tbilisi Open-Air Ethnographic Museum

Locals claim this museum is the first and only one in the world located and successfully operating outdoors. It houses various Georgian landmarks, with approximately 8,000 exhibits. The 52 hectares on which the Tbilisi Ethnographic Museum is located are divided into 11 zones.

Unique exhibits include various buildings, including wineries and forges, residential buildings built by local populations at various times, and watchtowers from various regions of the country. Of particular interest to lovers of antiquity is the Christian basilica, built in the 6th century, and the sarcophagus-tomb from the same era.

House-Museum of Iakob Nikoladze

Georgia is famous not only for its artists, poets, and writers. You can learn about the development of the Georgian school of sculpture by visiting the Iakob Nikoladze House-Museum. This master of Georgian sculpture worked beginning in the 1920s.

Currently, over a hundred exhibits are on display at the house-museum. Iakob Nikoladze studied in France. Returning to Georgia during the Soviet era, he made a significant contribution to Georgian culture. Iakob Nikoladze is one of the founders and organizers of the Tbilisi Academy of Fine Arts.

Palace of Arts of Georgia

The Georgian Palace of Arts rounds out our unique museum ranking. Although it ranks 10th, it rightfully ranks among the top three – the museum's collection is quite broad and diverse. It houses sculptures, manuscripts and archival documents, fine arts, photographs and negatives – and the list is far from exhaustive.

The history of the building itself, which houses the museum, is of interest. In the 19th century, the German Prince Constantine of Oldenburg visited Georgia. At a social gathering, he met and was captivated by the beauty of Agrafina Japaridze, the wife of the Georgian Prince Didiani.

Unfazed by her marital status, the prince declared his love for her. The princess reciprocated, and they subsequently traveled to Tbilisi together. The building of the future museum is the former home of Prince Oldenburg, which he built for Agrafina Japaridze.

Read also

• Museums in Tbilisi: 10 Places Worth Visiting
• Studio Art Gallery: Paintings, Exhibitions and Framing
• Tbilisi Tapestry Museum: Academy Works and Creative Studio
• Ethnographic Open Air Museum in Tbilisi