Mtatsminda Pantheon
Encyclopedia
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
in 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...
, Georgia
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...
, where some of the most prominent writers, artists, scholars, and national heroes of Georgia are buried. It is located in the churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
around St. David’s Church "Mamadaviti" on the slope of Mount Mtatsminda (Geo. მთაწმინდა, meaning the Holy Mountain) and was officially established in 1929.
The first celebrities to be buried at this place were the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n writer Alexander Griboyedov (1795–1829) and his Georgian wife Nino Chavchavadze
Nino Chavchavadze
Princess Nino Chavchavadze , was a daughter of the famous Georgian Knyaz and poet Alexander Chavchavadze and wife of Russian diplomat and playwright Alexandr Griboyedov....
(1812–1857). The Pantheon was officially opened in 1929 to celebrate a 100-year anniversary of Griboyedov’s death in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Since then, several illustrious Georgians have been buried or reburied there. The Pantheon is administered by the Municipality of Tbilisi and is frequented by locals as well as the city’s visitors.
List of people buried at the Mtatsminda Pantheon
- Vaso Abashidze (1854–1962), Georgian theater actor and director
- Veriko Anjaparidze (1897–1987), Georgian theater and movie actress
- Nikoloz BaratashviliNikoloz BaratashviliNik'oloz Baratashvili was a Georgian poet, one of the first Georgians to marry a modern nationalism with European Romanticism and to introduce "Europeanism" into Georgian literature...
(1817–1845), Georgian romanticist poet - Vasil BarnoviVasil BarnoviVasil Barnovi was a Georgian writer popular for his historical novels....
(1856–1934), Georgian novelist - Nikoloz BerdzenishviliNikoloz BerdzenishviliNikoloz Berdzenishvili was a Georgian historian who served as a Vice President of the Georgian Academy of Sciences from 1951 to 1957 and chaired the Department of History at Tbilisi State University from 1946 to 1956....
(1894–1965), Georgian historian - Vakhtang ChabukianiVakhtang ChabukianiVakhtang Chabukiani was a Georgian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher highly regarded in his native country as well as abroad. He is considered to be one of the most influential male ballet dancers in history, and is noted for creating the majority of the choreography of the male variations...
(1910–1992), Georgian ballet dancer - Ilia Chavchavadze (Saint Ilia the Righteous) (1837–1907), Georgian writer and public figure; and his wife Olgha Guramishvili (1842–1927)
- Zakaria Chichinadze (1853–1931), Georgian historian and writer
- Simon ChikovaniSimon ChikovaniSimon Chikovani was a Georgian poet who set out to be the leader of Georgian Futurist movement and ended up as a Soviet establishment figure.Born near the town Martvili, he was educated at the Kutaisi Realschule and Tbilisi State University from which he graduated in 1922. As a teenager, he was...
(1902–1966), Georgian poet and public figure - Otar ChiladzeOtar ChiladzeOtar Chiladze was a Georgian writer who played a prominent role in the resurrection of the Georgian prose in the post-Stalin era. His novels characteristically fuse Sumerian and Hellenic mythology with the predicaments of a modern Georgian intellectual...
(1933–2009), Georgian writer - Kakutsa CholokashviliKakutsa CholokashviliKaikhosro Cholokashvili commonly known as Kakutsa was a Georgian nobleman and military commander, regarded as a National Hero of Georgia...
(1888–1930), Georgian national hero and fighter against the SovietSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
regime - Shalva DadianiShalva DadianiShalva Dadiani was a Georgian novelist, playwright, and a theatre actor.Born in Zestaponi, western Georgia , into the family of a writer and translator Prince Nikoloz Dadiani , a member of the Dadiani noble family...
(1874–1959), Georgian playwright and actor - Nodar DumbadzeNodar DumbadzeNodar Dumbadze was a Georgian writer and one of the most popular authors in the late 20th-century Georgia....
(1928–1984), Georgian writer - Davit Eristavi (1847–1890), Georgian journalist, translator and playwright
- Zviad GamsakhurdiaZviad GamsakhurdiaZviad Gamsakhurdia was a dissident, scientist and writer, who became the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era...
(1939–1993), Soviet-era dissidentDissidentA dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
and the first democratically elected President of GeorgiaPresident of GeorgiaThe 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... - Iakob GogebashviliIakob GogebashviliIakob Gogebashvili was a Georgian educator, children’s writer and journalist, considered to be the founder of the scientific pedagogy in Georgia...
(1840–1912), Georgian writer and educator - Alexander Griboyedov (1795–1829), Russian writer; and his wife Nino ChavchavadzeNino ChavchavadzePrincess Nino Chavchavadze , was a daughter of the famous Georgian Knyaz and poet Alexander Chavchavadze and wife of Russian diplomat and playwright Alexandr Griboyedov....
(1812–1857) - Ioseb GrishashviliIoseb GrishashviliIoseb Grishashvili was a penname of Ioseb Mamulishvili was a noted poet and historian from Georgia. A history museum in Tbilisi is named for him.-References:...
(1889–1965), Georgian writer, poet and scholar - Lado GudiashviliLado GudiashviliLado Gudiashvili was a 20th century Georgian painter. Gudiashvili was born in Tiflis on March 18 , 1896 into a family of a railroad employee. He studied in the Tiflis school of sculpture and fine art , and later in Ronson's private academy in Paris...
(1896–1980), Georgian painter - Simon JanashiaSimon JanashiaSimon Janashia was an outstanding Georgian historian and public benefactor, one of the founders and Academician of the Georgian Academy of Sciences , Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor....
(1900–1947), Georgian historian - Mose JanashviliMose JanashviliMose Janashvili was a Georgian historian, ethnographer, and linguist. He was born into a Georgian Ingilo community at Qakh . Educated at Tbilisi and Kutaisi, he worked as a teacher for several years, from 1875 to 1920, and later served as a professor at the Tbilisi State University...
(1855–1934), Georgian historian - Ana KalandadzeAna KalandadzeAna Kalandadze was a Georgian poetess and one of the most influential female figures in modern Georgian literature....
(1924–2008), Georgian poetess - Akaki Khorava (1895–1972), Georgian actor
- Leo KiacheliLeo KiacheliLeo Kiacheli was a Georgian writer noted for the books Gvadi Bigva, Tavadis Kali Maya , Almasgir Kibulan, and Haki Adzba....
(1884–1963), Georgian writer - Dimitri KipianiDimitri KipianiPrince Dimitri Kipiani was a Georgian publicist, writer, translator and a leader of liberal nobility....
(1814–1887), Georgian journalist and public figure - Davit Kldiashvili (1862–1931), Georgian writer
- Merab KostavaMerab Kostava250px|thumb|Merab Kostava, 1988Merab Kostava was a Georgian dissident, musician and poet; one of the leaders of the National-Liberation movement in Georgia...
(1939–1989), Soviet-era dissidentDissidentA dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
and national hero of Georgia - Giorgi LeonidzeGiorgi LeonidzeGiorgi Leonidze was a Georgian poet, prose writer, and literary scholar.Leonidze was born in the village of Patardzeuli in the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti. He graduated from the Tbilisi Theological Seminary in 1918 and continued his studies at the Tbilisi State University...
(1899–1966), Georgian poet - Kote MarjanishviliKote MarjanishviliKonstantine "Kote" Marjanishvili also known by the Russified name Konstantin Aleksandrovich Mardzhanov was a Georgian theater director regarded as an important contributor to the pre- and post-revolutionary evolution of Georgian, Russian and Soviet stages...
(1872–1933), Georgian theatre director - Nikoloz Muskhelishvili (1891–1976), Georgian mathematician
- Niko NikoladzeNiko NikoladzeNiko Nikoladze was a notable Georgian publicist, pro-Western enlightener, and public figure primarily known for his contributions to the development of Georgian liberal journalism and his involvement in various economic and social projects of that time.He was born in the village of Didi...
(1843–1928), Georgian journalist and public benefactor - Iakob NikoladzeIakob NikoladzeIakob Nikoladze was a Georgian sculptor and artist. He is perhaps best known as the designer of the previous state flag of Georgia....
(1876–1951), Georgian sculptor - Ivane Paliashvili (1868–1934), Georgian conductor
- Galaktion TabidzeGalaktion TabidzeGalaktion Tabidze was a leading Georgian poet of the twentieth century whose writings profoundly influenced all subsequent generations of Georgian poets. He survived Stalin's Great Purge of the 1930s, which claimed lives of many of his fellow writers, friends and relatives, but came under heavy...
(1892–1959), Georgian poet - Ekvtime TakaishviliEkvtime TakaishviliEkvtime Takaishvili was a Georgian historian, archaeologist and public benefactor....
(1863–1953), Georgian historian and archaeologist - Aleksandre Tsagareli (1844–1929), Georgian linguist
- Akaki TsereteliAkaki TsereteliPrince Ak'ak'i Tsereteli was a prominent Georgian poet and national liberation movement figure.He was born in the village of Skhvitori on June 9, 1840 to the prominent Georgian aristocratic family. His father was Prince Rostom Tsereteli...
(1840–1915), Georgian poet - Grigol TsereteliGrigol TsereteliGrigol Tsereteli was a distinguished Georgian scientist, one of the founders of Papyrology, founder of the Georgian scientific school of Classical Philology, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Meritorious Scientific Worker of Georgia, Honourable Professor.- Life and works :Grigol Tsereteli was born...
(1870–1938), Georgian papyrologist - Anastasia Tumanishvili-Tseretlisa (1849–1932), Georgian woman writer
- Vazha-PshavelaVazha-PshavelaVazha-Pshavela is the pen-name of the Georgian poet and writer Luka P. Razikashvili , a classic of the new Georgian literature.- The biography :...
(1861–1915), Georgian poet - Ilia VekuaIlia VekuaIlia Vekua Ilia Vekua Ilia Vekua (Georgian: ილია ვეკუა, ; 23 April 1907 in the village of Sheshelety, Kutais Guberniya, Russian Empire (modern day Ochamchira District, Abkhazia, Republic of Georgia – 2 December 1977 in Tbilisi, USSR) was a distinguished Georgian mathematician, specializing in...
(1907–1977), Georgian mathematician - Sergo ZakariadzeSergo ZakariadzeSergo Zakariadze was a Georgian actor.Zakariadze was born in Baku, now in Azerbaijan. He won several prizes among them Best Actor honors at the Moscow International Film Festival for his portrayal of an aging peasant in Father of a Soldier...
(1907–1971), Georgian actor - Solomon DodashviliSolomon DodashviliSolomon Dodashvili also known as Solomon Ivanovich Dodaev-Mogarsky was a Georgian philosopher, journalist, historian, grammarian, belletrist and enlightener....
(1805–1836), Georgian philosopher, journalist, historian, grammarian, belletrist and enlightener