Old photos of Tbilisi

Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, lies along the Mtkvari (Kura) river where it cuts through a narrow gorge. Tradition attributes its founding to the Iberian king Vakhtang Gorgasali in the 5th century, and the name is usually linked to the warm sulphur springs that still feed the bathhouses of the Abanotubani district. From the 6th century the city was fought over by Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Seljuks and Mongols; an Arab emirate ruled from Tbilisi for several centuries until King David the Builder recaptured it in the 12th century and made it the capital of a united Georgian kingdom.

The city was devastated by the Persian invasion of 1795, and much of what stands in the old town dates from the rebuilding that followed. In 1801 Georgia was annexed by the Russian Empire, and Tbilisi, then known as Tiflis, became the administrative centre of the Caucasus. The 19th century gave it Rustaveli Avenue, an opera house and wide boulevards laid out beside the older maze of wooden balconies, brick churches and caravanserais. Georgia declared independence in 1918, was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1921 and became independent again in 1991.

Old photographs of Tbilisi typically show the Metekhi church above the river, the sulphur baths, the Narikala fortress, the carved wooden balconies of the old town, and the busy trading streets and bazaars of Tiflis in the imperial period.

What the photos show

The 345 photographs of Tbilisi on PlaceWas span 12 decades, from 1850 to 2025. 89 of them were taken before 1980; the other 256 are recent views of the same streets and landmarks.58 spots were photographed more than once, so you can compare the same street, square or building across the years.343 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.