Right to rest: Tskaltubo resort

Ghosts of abandoned sanatoriums and operating rhodonite baths

During the Soviet Union, up to 7 million people visited Georgian resorts annually. For Soviet workers, many sanatoriums were built along the coast and a cluster - several dozen sanatoriums - around the Rhodonite springs in Tskaltubo, a small town 10 kilometers from Kutaisi.

Our tour will begin with the Central Square of Kutaisi, one of the oldest cities in Georgia. I will talk about the ensemble of the Central Square, built in the 50s of the XX century, we will discuss the building of the Lado Meskhishvili Theater - a magnificent Empire building. A little walk through the park, consider the non-banal urban sculpture of Kutaisi. Believe me, there will be something to be surprised about. We will see the building of another theater - this time the Opera and Ballet. I will tell you about its complex fate and transformations and explain why there are so many theaters in Kutaisi.

Tskaltubo is waiting for us. But first we will visit the glass futuristic building of the Parliament of Georgia, designed by the famous Spanish architect Alberto Domingo Cabo. This is not quite on the subject of our tour, but perhaps you will not have another opportunity to see this space structure.

All sanatoriums of Tskhaltubo can be divided into three groups according to the eras in which they were built: Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev. And since the architecture, especially the resort, is some idea of the ideal organization of life, such a prototype of paradise on Earth, we will have the opportunity to see how this image has changed.

At the moment, most of the sanatoriums are in ruins and waiting for their fate - destruction or reconstruction. So now you have a unique opportunity to see many architectural details without retouching and try to imagine what it was like, the day of the Soviet resort in Tskaltubo.

We will visit the park and the restored baths. At the end of the tour you can visit the SPA.

One of the sanatoriums - the former Ministry of Defense - is currently restored and receives guests. If you want - you can stay in it, and in this case I can give you a tour of the park and buildings of the sanatorium. It's a fascinating journey not so much in space as in time, and I wouldn't even think about it if I were you.