Old photos of Kutaisi

Kutaisi, in western Georgia on the Rioni river, is one of the oldest cities of the Caucasus. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Colchis, associated in Greek legend with the Golden Fleece, and later of the kingdoms of Lazica and Abkhazia. From the late 10th century it was the capital of the united Georgian kingdom under Bagrat III, who built the great Bagrati cathedral on the hill above the town, until David the Builder moved the capital to Tbilisi in the 12th century. The Gelati monastery nearby, founded by David in the early 12th century, was a leading centre of learning and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

From the 15th century Kutaisi was the capital of the kingdom of Imereti, which came under Ottoman pressure and then under Russian rule in the early 19th century. Under the Russian Empire it became a provincial centre with a small European-style core of low stone houses, a theatre and a boulevard, while the older quarters of wooden houses with balconies climbed the river banks. In the Soviet period it became an industrial city.

Old photographs of Kutaisi typically show the ruins of the Bagrati cathedral, the White Bridge and the Rioni gorge, the market, and the 19th-century streets of the centre.

What the photos show

The 281 photographs of Kutaisi on PlaceWas span 7 decades, from 1888 to 2025. 5 of them were taken before 1980; the other 276 are recent views of the same streets and landmarks.42 spots were photographed more than once, so you can compare the same street, square or building across the years.281 of the photos carry a written caption explaining what is in the frame. Every picture is pinned to the place it was taken, so the map below shows where the photographers stood.