Likani
Encyclopedia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region, located at the west end of the town of Borjomi
Borjomi
Borjomi is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population estimated at 14,445. It is one of the districts of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern part of the region in the picturesque Borjomi Gorge on the eastern edge of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park...
in the Borjomi Gorge
Borjomi Gorge
Borjomi Gorge is a picturuesque canyon of the Mtkvari River in central Georgia. The Gorge was formed as a result of the Mtkvari River cutting its path through the Lesser Caucasus Mountains where the Trialeti and Meskheti Ranges meet. A significant portion of the Borjomi Gorge is covered by mixed...
, some 160 km west of Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, capital of Georgia. Likani is adjacent to the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
The Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park is a protected area in central Georgia, situated in the Lesser Caucasus, southwest to the nation’s capital of Tbilisi....
and is a popular mountain spa.
Winters are mild and not very snowy with an average temperature of -2.0 °C while summers are warm with an average temperature of 20-25 °C. The Likani Park, popularly exploited as a recreational zone, is dominated by oaks and conifer groves and hosts mineral springs similar in composition to "Borjomi".
Important landmarks include a three-nave basilica church (8th-9th centuries) and the Romanov
Romanov
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the February Revolution abolished the crown in 1917...
Palace (1892-95). The latter – projected by Leon Benois
Leon Benois
Leon Benois was a Russian architect. He was the son of architect Nicholas Benois, the brother of artists Alexandre Benois and Albert Benois, and the grandfather of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov...
and designed by Leopold Bilfeldt – was built on the bank of the Mtkvari River (Kura) as a summer mansion of Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia , 26 April 1859 – 28 January 1919 was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III....
. In the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
times, the Likani residence passed into the property of the state and was frequented by key Soviet officials, including Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. In a newly independent Georgia, the palace functions as a summer residence of the President of Georgia
President of Georgia
The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
. The rest of the Likani recreational complex, including a Soviet-era sanatorium, was purchased, in April 2006, by the Kazakh
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
state-owned energy company KazMunayGas
KazMunayGas
KazMunayGas is the state-owned oil and gas company of Kazakhstan. It was founded in 2002 by merging Kazakhoil and Oil and Gas Transportation.-Subsidiaries:Main subsidiaries of KazMunayGas are:...
which promised to develop the area into an international tourism center.