Monument to the first Georgian printing house

The monument to the first Georgian printing house in Tbilisi is located on the site where the first printing house in Georgia was founded in 1709. This memorial sign is a stone stele located between the Rostom Baths and the embankment of the Kura River (Mtkvari). The printing house was founded on the initiative of King Vakhtang VI and was led by ethnic Romanian Mihail Stefan, a student of Antim Ivireanul. Shota Rustaveli’s famous poem “The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin” was first published at this place. The printing house operated until 1722, after which it was destroyed during the Turkish invasion. The monument has significant historical significance both for Georgian-Romanian relations and for the cultural heritage of Georgia. Visitors to the monument can better understand the history of the development of printing in Georgia and see the place where important cultural events took place almost three centuries ago.