Dr. Nino Inaishvili
Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Georgia

Seaside boulevard, which is one of the most important sites of Batumi, is situated in the historic part of Batumi. It runs along the coastline and is located between the beach and line of constructed buildings. Since 1987, the boulevard has had status of national park and at the same time it is a recreation zone. The role of the boulevard in the public life of Batumi’s people is important. The history of the boulevard is a part of the history of Batumi, its civic life and traditions.

The history of Batumi Boulevard starts in 1885. The idea of establishing a walking area along the coastal line was implemented by the initiative of Governor A.Smekalov. In order to realize this idea the administration of the town invited the French nobleman, a garden designer Michel D’Alfonse* who was appointed as the chief gardener of the town in 1885. Before starting the implementation of the task, M. D’Alfonse established a “Small Riviera” in the surrounding area of the town on his own land property, a seaside cape. He ordered and planted rare species of decorative plants from France in this area. D’Alfonse enriched the boulevard with the rare species of plants that he took from his own estate in Chakvi. I. Gordeziani, who was educated in France contributed greatly to the development of the Boulevard. He was appointed as the main gardener of Batumi Park, the boulevard and the nursery in 1917. During the subsequent 15 years, based on his initiative and under his guidance, almost a complete replacement of plants in the City Park and the boulevard was implemented.

The ground along the boulevard consisted of layers of stones and sand. Therefore it was necessary to bring soil to this area to ensure proper growth of plants. For this reason soil and manure were transported from the neighboring areas. The establishment of the boulevard required far too much effort and expense, but much work and strong determination resulted in a boulevard that is the most vivid example of visual art, and due to its beauty and variety, it became known throughout the Russian Empire.

Even at the beginning, the assortment of the plants in the boulevard was varied and it consisted of coniferous, evergreen, leafy trees and the various species of bushes that were grouped nicely, formed neatly and planted in such an effective way that it became the object of admiration of the visitors. Central lanes were connected to each other with straight, curved and circular paths that had established flowerbeds and swards with carpet-like parterres in between. Members of upper-class families and officials considered it to be their obligation to plant a tree as a sign of their generosity. Russian Emperor Alexander III visited Batumi in 1888 together with his royal family and they planted trees in the park and the boulevard.

The Boulevard was always the most favorite place for walking for citizens of Batumi and visitors. One can enjoy the spectacular view of the sea while walking along the Boulevard where the snow coated mountains of the Caucasian ridge can be easily seen when weather conditions are good. Along the beach and the wide walkways, one can always feel the light blowing of a cool breeze. The convenient benches provide conditions for peaceful and comfortable rest. People can enjoy the fabulous views of constantly changeable sea, surrounding hills and the sunset. In 1890 some buildings of light construction were erected at the central entrance to the Boulevard, including a buffet-restaurant, a musical pavilion where military brass orchestra performed in the evenings during the summer season (May-October), a reading-hall and a shell-form open stage where performances often took place.

At the central entry to the boulevard, in a private building located at the edge of the road next to the boulevard, a public club functioned from 1889 to 1900 until it was destroyed by fire. Two years later it was reconstructed, underlining the importance of the building at that time. In 1929, after establishment of the Soviet Government, this building was converted into a Soviet officer’s house and subsequently was known as the house of officers. In parallel with being an entertainment centre the public club also functioned as a centre of education. The lectures conducted here contributed to the spread of useful knowledge among society. It was formerly the place of everyday meetings, where people spent pleasant time playing chess, draughts and dominoes. A buffet was served there as well for members and their guests. Some evening activities for families and community, balls and masquerades were frequently organized there. Batumi was populated by people of different nationalities and each ethnic group had its own charity organizations and even schools. This place was often used to hold different types of money raising events for each ethnic group. Despite the small size of the stage, the club building functioned for a long period for drama and opera productions. During the Soviet period even the Puppet Theatre was housed here for some time. The Officers’ House was equipped with an open air and indoor cinema and a library. The building, which has an interesting history as a public place and that functioned as a cultural institution for centuries, was destroyed in 1997 for the sake of improvement of the territory.

Part of the boulevard was used for more active recreation. This part was equipped with outdoor lawn tennis courts, bicycle trails, croquet court, bowling, skating rink and gymnasium. In the boulevard, various public and sport organizations were established: various sport clubs such as the cyclists, athletics, mountains, resort society and public club. During the Soviet period there existed sport organizations like the Dinamo and the Gantiadi as well as a swimming pool. The recent measures regarding establishment of special bicycle lanes along the entire length of the boulevard / beach could be considered the continuation of a tradition of providing facilities for physical activities and recreational sport. Service centers for lending bikes were established. The number of bikers has been increasing sufficiently quickly. A football stadium was built in 1925 on the boulevard and later was reconstructed several times (1936, 1996, 2002). Due to the mild climate conditions in Batumi, the football teams from the northern cities of the Soviet Union would come to Batumi to exercise in open air. In 2006 the stadium was destroyed and now the construction of the fashionable hotel ‘Kempinski” is being taken place at its former location.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Batumi gradually became known as a health resort. The numbers of visitors was growing quickly. At the place where the boulevard starts on the shore of the sea, there was a bathhouse for hydro-treatment where one could take a sea bath at a desirable temperature. Up to the recent period there used to be a pay polyclinic. The building remains, though it does not function any longer.

Improvement of the boulevard continued until 1930s. In 1934 in the central part of the park, the colonnade was erected; the architect was B. Kirakosyan. The colonnade was a good example of garden architecture in neo-classic design. During this same period, marble sculptures from Italy were placed at various locations along the boulevard, but were destroyed during World War II. Some of the sculptures that survived the war are now in the Batumi Art Museum.

In 1948 a light wood construction summer theater was erected on the boulevard. Artists from various regions were invited to Batumi to perform during the summer months. This building that was included on the list of cultural heritage monuments was destroyed by fire in 1996. In the place of this building, a new theater building is currently being constructed. The new building will be twice as large as the original and will have an 800 seat capacity; the original theater only accommodated 300 people. The new building is totally enclosed and will therefore be able to operate year-round, however, there are no longer arches with an open façade.

Later, on the boulevard, tennis courts were established and international competitions were held. In 1977, at the central entrance of Boulevard, colored musical fountains were introduced. In 2006-2007 they were reconstructed into the dancing fountains, which are a most attractive place for visitors.

Historical peripeties were interestingly reflected in the history of boulevard. In 1952-1962, at the main entrance of boulevard, Stalin’s monument was erected. During A.Abshidze’s regime in this place was placed his grandfathers’ - M.Abashidze’s monument. After the rose revolution, when Abashidze’s regime was finished, this monument was replaced by the sculpture of dolphin under the umbrella – a symbol of Batumi. In 2008, at this place, a plastic architectural form was put up, which serves as a register office.

Boulevard, as a remarkable place, has always been the subject to development and improvement by the local government. The government that came after the “Revolution of Roses” was not an exception. For the last nine years the area of the boulevard has been expanded and the new boulevard appeared (now its length is 7 km) with the fabulous fountains on the Ardagan lake. Cycle lanes for cyclists and walking paths for pedestrians have been arranged. New sculptures, fountains and ornamental facilities have appeared. As an unpleasant tendencies, it should be highlighted that there are too many public food facilities (restaurants, cafes), the number of which reaches 25 in the historical part of the boulevard and 70 in total. If previously these types of facilities used to be light constructions acceptable for the parks, recently they have appeared in an unacceptable form for the parks, due to the concrete constructions types and size as well. In some sections of the boulevard some closed spaces, rest areas for the elite such as a swimming pool belonging to the Sheraton hotel appeared. Currently everything looks relevantly neat and tidy; public toilets have appeared, but in comparison to the development of commercial facilities, the planting of greenery is being paid less attention. Since the 1990s, sparse and bare green space on the boulevard obviously has needed to be renewed. Since a nursery does not exist, the planting of greenery in the boulevard, mainly, is being realized with expensive imported plants. The lack of professional garden designers is experienced as well. Rules regulating the issues related to land use and construction activities in Batumi tend to be problematic. In some cases they are not adequate at all. For example, in accordance with the functioning regulation regarding the urban development of Batumi, it is allowed to arrange such facilities (hotels, cafes, restaurants, zoos, recreation halls, amusement parks, religious facilities, administration buildings, car parks and etc. ) in the recreational zone of the town, including the boulevard, the function of which opposes the theme of the zone. The borders of the boulevard as a monument of cultural heritage are not defined by the law. Such documents do not guarantee the protection of human interests and create the base for such abolishment as those ones experienced in April of last year.

In April 2011, the cutting down of perennial plants and starting the construction of the business centre instead in the central part of the boulevard resulted in local society’s indignation. Protest demonstrations were held, a petition was made and people started to collect signatures with the request for immediate cancellation of the construction process. Even at the beginning, it was obvious for the society that the commencement of the construction process was a political decision of the chairperson. Coming out from the interests of the society, the local NGOs started collecting information regarding the boulevard issue and officially applied with a request to the Agency of Cultural Heritage of Adjara. But the agency refused to submit any information justifying it with the fact that the information on planned construction in the boulevard territory and any kind of document related to it was considered confidential information and it was not allowed to deliver it by law. The refusal of the agency was appealed first to the higher institution of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture and then the civil court of Batumi.

In the court, NGOs provided factual (issuing the construction permit by the relevant agency for the construction company Ltd “Railway Property Management” within an unrealistically short period) and legal justification (the purpose of the construction was not indicated in the construction permit). Only during the judicial proceedings through oral disputes was it clarified that the objective of the construction was the “Adjustment” of the boulevard, though neither the representatives of the defendants (Agency, the Ministry) nor the questioned witnesses could have explained the compliance of the mentioned word with the construction of an 180 m high building on the territory of a cultural heritage monument, which at the same time belonged to the recreational zone. It should be highlighted that the people who had supported the commencement of the construction in the boulevard were questioned as the witnesses in the court.

Despite evidence and legal justifications available for the case, the court refused to satisfy a claim. The decision was appealed to the Kutaisi appellate court, but the decision made by the trial court remained unchanged by the verdict of the appellate court.

The construction process in the oldest part of the boulevard is about to be finalized. It is possible that the operation of the building will require the further extension of the space thus decreasing the area of the boulevard. It is a pity that when making such decisions the interests of neither experts nor the society are considered and valuables for the concrete urban environment are completely ignored. The survival of cultural heritage monuments and the values associated with them is possible only with activities and efforts from society.

References and bibliography:

* On the 28 of September 2012 the sculpture of the gardener and designer M.D’Alfonse was erected in his honor in the boulevard. Residents of Batumi and visitors now have the opportunity to have their pictures taken beside his sculpture.

Chanishvili G. Batumi boulevard. Historical-architectural research. 2005, 2007, 2008.

Kratkiy ocherk vozniknovenia i razvitia gorodskogo Aleksandrovskogo sada i bulvara tsezarevicha Nikolaya v Batum. Izdanie Batumskoi gorodskoi upravi. 1903.

Margiev Z. Batumskii bulvar. 2012.