🏁 The Georgian flag in Kutaisi: the city where the symbols were raised
📋 What You Need to Know Before Your Visit
| 📍 Address | 25 Nikiya Street, Geguti District, Kutaisi on the wide landscaped entrance to the city |
| 🕐 Access | Open 24/7, as it is an outdoor monument |
| 💰 Admission | Free |
| 🏳️ What You'll See | The modern national flag of Georgia, adopted in 2004 |
| 👶 Good to Know | Suitable for visiting with children |
🧭 About This Article
At the entrance to Kutaisi from the Geguti side stands a flagpole flying the national flag of Georgia. While the landmark itself is quite modest, Kutaisi has a unique and well-documented connection to the history of Georgian flags—and that's exactly what this article explores.
📘 A monument in simple words
The Georgian flag in Kutaisi is a flagpole bearing the national flag, erected at the wide, landscaped entrance to the city from the Geguti district, on Nikia Street. As a standalone landmark, it's more of a quick photo stop than a full-fledged visitor attraction: there's no actual historical monument or memorial complex here. More interestingly, Kutaisi itself has been at the center of Georgian flag history several times over the centuries, and it's worth keeping this in mind when looking at the current flagpole.
🕊️ Kutaisi and Flags: Three Eras
There is not just one history of Georgian flags, but several, and Kutaisi is associated with at least three of them.
- The first is legendary. Medieval Georgian sources from the 11th–16th centuries mention a flag known as "Gorgasliani and Davitiani"—after King Vakhtang Gorgasali (5th century) and David the Builder. According to legend, it was a white cloth with a red cross, and until the early 19th century, it was kept in the royal armory in Kutaisi. During the Battle of Akhaltsikhe in the early 19th century, the flag was, according to legend, captured by the Turks.
- The second era is documented. It was in Kutaisi, not Tbilisi, on March 25, 1917, at a rally of the Georgian National Democratic Party, that the cornelian cherry (dark red) flag with a black and white corner was first publicly raised—the precursor to the symbols of the Georgian Democratic Republic of 1918–1921. This is a fact, not a legend, documented by historians.
- The third era is modern. The flag you see today on the flagpole in Kutaisi is the national flag of Georgia, adopted on January 14, 2004, after the Rose Revolution: a white flag with one large St. George's cross in the center and four small Bolnisi-Katskhe crosses in the corners.
💡 Editor's Tip
It's not worth crossing the entire city just to see this flagpole—it is a roadside landmark rather than a major attraction. Instead, stop by if you're already entering or leaving Kutaisi via Geguti and Tskaltubo, for example, on your way back from Sataplia Nature Reserve or Geguti Palace.
👀 What people say about the place
There are few reviews of the flagpole itself, which is expected for a roadside facility of this scale. One visitor described the place briefly: a wide, landscaped entrance to the city, with the symbol of Georgia atop it. Nothing dramatic, but that's exactly what most such landmarks at the entrances to Georgian cities look like.
🗺️ Useful and interesting things nearby
ℹ️ Historical information about the flags is based on open sources, including the Georgian Wikipedia; details about the fate of the legendary "Gorgasliani and Davitiani" flag are partly based on legend and lack full documentary confirmation.
💬 Tell Us
Have you ever passed the flag at the entrance to Kutaisi? Share in the comments whether you knew that this city was the first place where the predecessor of Georgia's modern national flag was raised.
📝 Let's sum it up
The flagpole on Nikia Street itself is a modest structure, but its size is worth stopping by, not its history: Kutaisi is associated with at least three different Georgian flags, from medieval legend to the events of 1917.
🧡 Continue Exploring Kutaisi
- 💧 Broliskedi Waterfall in Imereti: Swimming and Nature Near Kutaisi
- 🗿 The "Colchis" Bas-Relief in Kutaisi: Georgia's Stone Chronicle by the Green Market
- 🌳 Kikvidze Park in Kutaisi: A Peaceful Green Space in the City Center
💾 Save this article so you can easily find it before your trip to Kutaisi.
❓ Frequently asked questions about the Georgian flag in Kutaisi
💬 At 25 Nikia Street, in the Geguti district, at the entrance to the city.
💬 The current national flag of Georgia is a white cloth with a large St. George's cross in the center and four small Bolnisi-Katskhe crosses in the corners, adopted on January 14, 2004.
💬 Yes – on March 25, 1917, the dogwood flag with a black and white corner, the precursor to the symbols of the Georgian Democratic Republic, was first publicly raised in Kutaisi at a rally of the Georgian National Democratic Party.
💬 Medieval sources mention the "Gorgasliani and Davitiani" flag, which was supposedly kept in the royal armory in Kutaisi until the early 19th century, when it was captured by the Turks during the Battle of Akhaltsikhe. This is a legend, not a strictly documented fact.
💬 Not necessarily a standalone destination; it's a modest roadside landmark. But if you happen to pass by on your way to Geguti, Tskaltubo, or the Sataplia Nature Reserve, it's worth a few minutes' stop.
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我好奇，这个地方的历史教育是否能够让外来的游客更深刻地体验到这些符号的分量？如果我只停留在表面，是否就错过了某个重要的瞬间？