Batumi

Coordinates: 41°38′45″N 41°38′30″E / 41.64583°N 41.64167°E / 41.64583; 41.64167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Batum" redirects here. For other uses, see Batum (disambiguation).

Batumi
ბათუმი
Batumi Bay seen from Botanical Garden
City skyline and Lesser Caucasus mountains
Seaside Boulevard
Batumi Seaport
Nuri Lake and Central Park
UTC+4 (Georgian Time)
Postal code
6000-6010
Area code(+995) 422
Websitebatumi.ge Edit this at Wikidata

Batumi (

light manufacturing. Since 2010, Batumi has been transformed by the construction of modern high-rise buildings, as well as the restoration of classical 19th-century edifices lining its historic Old Town.[5]

History

Timeline of Batumi
Historical affiliations

 Lazica (to 780)
Kingdom of Abkhazia, 780–1010
Kingdom of Georgia, 1010–1455
Kingdom of Imereti, 1455–1703
Ottoman Empire, 1703–1878
Russian Empire, 1878–1918
British Empire, 1918–1920
Dem. Rep. of Georgia, 1920–1921

Adj. ASSR in G.SSR
) 1921–1991
 Adjara (de facto independent, de jure part of Georgia) 1991–2004
 Georgia (AR of Adjara), 1991 (2004)–present

Main articles: History of Batumi and Timeline of Batumi

Early history

Batumi is located on the site of the

unification of the Georgian monarchy
in the 11th century.

From 1010, it was governed by the

disintegration of the Georgian kingdom, Batumi passed to the princes (mtavari, მთავარი) of Guria, a western Georgian principality under the sovereignty of the kings of Imereti
.

A curious incident occurred in 1444 when a Burgundian flotilla, after a failed crusade against the Ottoman Empire, penetrated the Black Sea and engaged in piracy along its eastern coastline until the Burgundians under the knight Geoffroy de Thoisy were ambushed while landing to raid Vaty, as Europeans then knew Batumi. De Thoisy was taken captive and released through the mediation of the emperor John IV of Trebizond.

Ottoman rule

In the 15th century in the reign of the prince

Islamization of the hitherto Christian region began but this was terminated and to a great degree reversed, after the area was annexed to Russian Imperial Georgia after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78
.

Imperial Russian rule

It was the last Black Sea port annexed by Russia during the

Batum Oblast and placed under the direct administration of the Viceroy of the Caucasus
.

The expansion of Batumi began with the construction of the Batumi–

Tiflis–Baku Transcaucasus Railway (completed in 1883[6][7]), and the Baku–Batumi pipeline which opened in 1907.[8] Henceforth, Batumi became the chief Russian oil port in the Black Sea. The population increased rapidly doubling within 20 years: from 8,671 inhabitants in 1882 to 12,000 in 1889. By 1902 the population had reached 16,000, with 1,000 working in the refinery for Baron Rothschild's Caspian and Black Sea Oil Company.[9][10]

In the late 1880s and after, more than 7,400

Doukhobor emigrants sailed for Canada from Batumi, after the government agreed to let them emigrate. Quakers and Tolstoyans aided in collecting funds for the relocation of the religious minority, which had come into conflict with the Imperial government over its refusal to serve in the military and other positions. Canada settled them in Manitoba and Saskatchewan
.

Russian Civil War, Soviet Union, and 1991 independence

During 1901, sixteen years prior to the

Bolsheviks who reconquered the Transcaucasian republics, on the condition that it be granted autonomy for the sake of the Muslims among Batumi's mixed population.[12]

When Georgia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Aslan Abashidze was appointed head of Adjara's governing council and subsequently held onto power throughout the unrest of the 1990s. While Abkhazia and South Ossetia areas attempted to break away from the Georgian state, Adjara remained an integral part of the republic. Instead, Abashidze turned Adjara into his personal fiefdom.[13] In May 2004, he fled to Russia[14] after mass protests in Batumi,[15] which concluded the 2004 Adjara crisis.

Post-1991

Batumi today is one of the main port cities of Georgia. It has the capacity for 80,000-ton tankers to take materials such as oil that are shipped through Georgia from Central Asia. Additionally, the city exports regional agricultural products. Since 1995 the freight conversion of the port has constantly risen, with an approximate 8 million tons in 2001. The annual revenue from the port is estimated at between $200 million and $300 million.

As Georgia's Black Sea coast continues to develop, high-rises are being built amongst Batumi's traditionally classical cityscapes.

Since the change of power in Adjara, Batumi has attracted international investors, and the prices of real estate in the city have trebled since 2001. In July 2007, the seat of the Constitutional Court of Georgia was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi to stimulate regional development.[16] Several new hotels opened after 2009, first the Sheraton in 2010 and the Radisson Blu in 2011. The city features several casinos that attract tourists from Turkey, where gambling is illegal.

Batumi was host to the Russian 12th Military Base. Following the Rose Revolution, the central government pushed for the removal of these forces and reached an agreement in 2005 with Moscow. According to the agreement, the process of withdrawal was planned to be completed in 2008, but the Russians completed the transfer of the Batumi base to Georgia on 13 November 2007, ahead of schedule.[17]

Geography

Climate

Batumi at night

Batumi has a

orographic effect of the nearby hills and mountains, resulting in significant rainfall throughout most of the year, making Batumi the wettest city in both Georgia and the entire Caucasus
Region.

The average annual temperature in Batumi is approximately 14 °C (57 °F). January is the coldest month with an average temperature of 7 °C (45 °F). August is the hottest month, with an average temperature of 22 °C (72 °F). The absolute minimum recorded temperature is −6 °C (21 °F), and the absolute maximum is 40 °C (104 °F). The number of days with daily temperatures above 10 °C (50 °F) is 239. The city receives 1958 hours of sunshine per year.

Batumi's average annual precipitation is 2,435 mm (95.9 in). November is the wettest month with an average of 312 mm (12.3 in) of precipitation, while May is the driest, averaging 84 mm (3.3 in). Batumi receives snow most years, but it is often limited in amount (accumulating snowfall of more than 30 cm (11.8 in) is rare), and the number of days with snow cover for the year is 12. The average level of relative humidity ranges from 70 to 80%.

Climate data for
Batumi Airport
(normals for 1981-2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 25.3
(77.5) 		27.4
(81.3) 		32.2
(90.0) 		38.3
(100.9) 		37.2
(99.0) 		39.9
(103.8) 		40.8
(105.4) 		39.5
(103.1) 		38.1
(100.6) 		35.4
(95.7) 		30.1
(86.2) 		28.3
(82.9) 		40.8
(105.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.6
(43.9) 		7.6
(45.7) 		12.3
(54.1) 		18.6
(65.5) 		22.8
(73.0) 		27.7
(81.9) 		31.1
(88.0) 		30.9
(87.6) 		26.1
(79.0) 		19.4
(66.9) 		12.4
(54.3) 		7.6
(45.7) 		18.6
(65.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7) 		6.8
(44.2) 		8.7
(47.7) 		12.4
(54.3) 		16.0
(60.8) 		20.2
(68.4) 		22.6
(72.7) 		23.2
(73.8) 		20.1
(68.2) 		16.5
(61.7) 		12.0
(53.6) 		8.8
(47.8) 		14.4
(57.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 4.3
(39.7) 		4.0
(39.2) 		5.5
(41.9) 		9.1
(48.4) 		12.9
(55.2) 		17.0
(62.6) 		19.9
(67.8) 		20.3
(68.5) 		17.1
(62.8) 		13.5
(56.3) 		9.2
(48.6) 		6.1
(43.0) 		11.6
(52.8)
Record low °C (°F) −7.7
(18.1) 		−8.2
(17.2) 		−6.7
(19.9) 		−2.5
(27.5) 		3.4
(38.1) 		8.1
(46.6) 		12.9
(55.2) 		12.6
(54.7) 		7.5
(45.5) 		2.0
(35.6) 		−3.9
(25.0) 		−4.2
(24.4) 		−8.2
(17.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 234.7
(9.24) 		183.4
(7.22) 		156.6
(6.17) 		90.1
(3.55) 		92.5
(3.64) 		141.0
(5.55) 		164.9
(6.49) 		220.7
(8.69) 		330.1
(13.00) 		321.5
(12.66) 		305.5
(12.03) 		277.7
(10.93) 		2,519
(99.17)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 14 12.7 12.6 9.6 9.6 9.9 10.1 11.5 11.1 12.4 12.2 13.1 138.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours 99 105 126 148 199 235 214 223 201 176 125 107 1,958
Source 1:
NCEI[18]
Source 2: [19][20]

Subdivisions

According to the 31 March 2008, decision of the Batumi City Council, Batumi is divided into seven boroughs, those of:

Cityscape

Port of Batumi
in 1881

Contemporary architecture

Batumi Neptun Square
Batumi boulevard and beach
Radisson Blu Hotel, Batumi

Batumi's skyline has been transformed since 2007 with remarkable buildings and monuments of contemporary architecture,[5] including:[22]

  • Radisson Blu hotel
  • Public Service Hall
  • Hilton Batumi
  • Leogrand

A large Kempinski hotel and casino is to open in 2013, a Hilton Hotel as well as a 47-storey Trump Tower is also planned.[23] Alliance Privilege, a building compromising Marriot Hotel, Casino and serviced apartments is one of the contemporary buildings with unique architecture by the beach.

Novelty architecture

Novelty architecture in Batumi includes:

Sites of interest

Main sights

Attractions include

Tourist attractions

Panorama view of Batumi Europe Square and Medea Statue

Demographics

Georgian Orthodox Cathedral of the Mother of God
Historical population and ethnic composition of Batumi[26]
Year Georgians Armenians Russians Greeks Others Total
1886 2,518 17% 3,458 23.4% 2,982 20.1% 1,660 11.2% 4,185 28.3% 14,803
1897[27][28]
 6,087 21.4% 6,839 24% 6,224 21.8% 2,764 9.7% 6,594 23.1% 28,508
1916[29] 6,481 32.4% 5,524 27.6% 4,825 24.1% 3,190 15.9% 20,020
1926 17,804 36.7% 10,233 21.1% 8,760 18.1% 2,844 5.9% 8,833 18.2% 48,474
1959 40,181 48.8% 12,743 15.5% 20,857 25.3% 1,668 2% 6,879 8.4% 82,328
2002[30] 104,313 85.6% 7,517 6.2% 6,300 5.2% 587 0.5% 3,089 2.5% 121,806
2014[31] 142,691 93.4% 4,636 3.0% 2,889 1.9% 289 0.2% 2,334 1.5% 152,839

Religion

Of the 4,970 inhabitants in 1872, about 4,500 were Muslim (Adjarians, Turks, Circassians, and Abkhazians). In the 1897 census, the Orthodox Christian population was 15,495 (mostly Slavs) while Muslims numbered 3,156, including some of whom were citizens of Turkey.[32]

Although there is no religious data available separately for Batumi, the majority of the region's inhabitants are

Seventh-day Adventist, and Jewish communities.[33]

The main places of worship in the city are:

Culture

Batumi has 18 various museums, including

Batumi stadium
.

Notable people

Notable people who are from or have resided in Batumi:

Economy and infrastructure

seaport of Batumi
with the city in the background.

Transport

The city is served by

Batumi Airport, one of three international airports in the country.[35]
A
bike-sharing system named BatumVelo allows you to rent a bicycle on the street with a smart card.[36]

The main types of public transport are buses, minibusses, and taxis. Batumi has modern electric buses. Using the service is possible by BATUMICARD, transit card, or debit/credit cards. Buses connect almost everywhere in the city.

The

port of Batumi is on one of the routes of China's proposed Eurasian Land Bridge (part of the "New Silk Road"), which would see an eastern freight link to China via Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea, and a western link by ferry to Ukraine and on to Europe.[37]

Postage stamps

Main article: Postage stamps of Batum under British occupation

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Georgia (country)

Batumi is twinned with:[38]

References

  1. ^ Population figure includes Khelvachauri and Kobuleti municipalities[1]
  1. ^ a b "Population by regions". National Statistics Office of Georgia. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Population – National Statistics Office of Georgia". Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  3. JSTOR 40105753
    .
  4. ^ The Standard History of the World, Volume 6. John Herbert Clifford, ed. New York: University Society Inc., 1907. p. 3735.
  5. ^ a b Spritzer, Dinah (9 September 2010). "Glamour revives port of Batumi". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  6. ^ А.Э. Котов (A.E. Kotov) (17 July 2009). ""Из истории Южно-Кавказской железной дороги" ("From the History of the South Caucasus Railway")" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Каспийско-Черноморское нефтепромышленное и торговое общество (Баку) - Ротшильды и Баку" [Caspian-Black Sea Oil Industry and Trade Society – Rothschilds and Baku] (in Russian). Our Baku. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  8. ^ Mir-Yusif Mir-Babayev (February 2015). "Baku-Batumi – The world's longest pipeline". Visions of Azerbaijan. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  9. ^ Simon Sebag Montefiore, Young Stalin, page 77.
  10. ISBN 9780671799328
    .
  11. ISBN 978-1495381454
    .
  12. JSTOR 45330678
    .
  13. ^ "Aslan Abashidze". BBC. 4 May 2004. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Abashidze Flees Georgia". Civil.ge. 6 May 2004. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  15. ^ "15,000 Protesters Demand Abashidze's Resignation". Civil.ge. 5 May 2004. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  16. ^ "საქართველოს საკონსტიტუციო სასამართლო". constcourt.ge. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
  17. ^ "Russia Hands Over Batumi Military Base to Georgia". Civil Georgia, Tbilisi. 13 November 2007. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  18. ^ "WMO Climate Normals for 1981-2010: Batumi Airport-37496" (XLS). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  19. ^ "The duration of sunshine in some cities of the former USSR" (in Russian). Meteoweb.ru. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  20. ^ "37496: Batumi (Georgia)". OGIMET. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  21. ^ (in Georgian) დადგენილება N 3-1 ბათუმის უბნები[permanent dead link] (Decision #3.1. Boroughs of Batumi). Batumi City Council. Accessed 15 November 2009
  22. ISBN 9781743213032. Archived
    from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ "TOURISM IS FLOURISHING IN BLACK SEA RESORT", AP, November 11, 2012 Archived 17 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "News & Events". Archived from the original on 4 January 2013.
  25. ^ "باتومی – گرجستان". Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  26. ^ "население грузии". Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  27. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly – Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  28. ^ "Батумский округ 1897". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  29. ^ Кавказский календарь на 1917 год [Caucasian calendar for 1917] (in Russian) (72nd ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1917. pp. 182–185. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Ethnic groups by major administrative-territorial units" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  31. ^ "georgia-ethnic-2014". Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  32. ^ Sichinava, V (1958). Batumis ist'oriidan ბათუმის ისტორიიდან [From the History of Batumi] (in Georgian). Batumi. p. 110.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  33. ^ a b National Statistics Office of Georgia. Population Census 2014: Population by Regions and Religion Archived 14 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved: 6 May 2016
  34. ^ "Batumi: sights". Official website of Batumi. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  35. ^ "Batumi Airport". batumiairport.com. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  36. ^ "BatumVelo". www.batumvelo.ge. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  37. ^ Dyussembekova, Zhazira (21 January 2016). "Silk Road Renewed With Launch of New Commercial Transit Route". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  38. ^ "ჩვენი ქალაქი – დამეგობრებული ქალაქები". batumi.ge (in Georgian). Batumi. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  39. ^ "Ბათუმი და ბალარუსის ქალაქი მოგილიოვი დამეგობრდნენ – TV25". Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  40. ^ "Batumi miastem partnerskim Wrocławia". wroclaw.pl (in Polish). Wrocław. 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  41. ^ "Კონსტანცასა და ბათუმს შორის თანამშრომლობის მემორანდუმი გაფორმდა". Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  • Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia. Georgian SSR (Supplementary Edition). 1981. pp. 16–18.

External links

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