Kutaisi’s central garden once was owned by princess Darejan, a daughter of Imeretian king Solomon the first. It was passed to her as a wedding gift when she married Qaikhosro Abashidze. The princess possessed the garden before 1820. After that time the garden experienced many transformations, but its significance had never changed as it still remains the main gathering place for people living in Kutaisi. In the 19th century, people called the garden “Boulevard”. The central garden was a location where gymnasists were having dates, poets and revolutionaries were holding meetings and the country’s main political issues were discussed. Not much of those things have changed. Prominent Georgian public figures’ statues are erected in the garden today. Poet Akaki Tsereteli, composer Zaqaria Phaliashvili, and famous Georgian singers “Debi Ishkhnelebi” are these people.
