Architect Kuchu Dgebuadze – “Tbilkalakprojekti”

Dendrology Project Neli Tsitsishvili

Architects Nodar Jobadze, Vakhtang Abramishvil, Tamaz Tevzadze
Sculptor Ivane Pataridze

Glory Memorial, 1981
Architects Vladimir Alksi-Meskhishvili, Kiyazo Nakhutsrishvili
Artist Zurab Tsereteli
Sculptor Giorgi Ochiauri

Design 1945

Construction 1946-1981

Status built

Function Park

Names Vake Park, Victory Park
Current Name Vake Park

Condition renovated, partly modified

Address 76 Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi
Google maps

The chief architect of Tbilisi, Zakaria Kurdiani, wrote in the newspaper “Komunisti” on September 23, 1945: “The construction of a large park for physical education and sports has begun on the site of the former glider airfield in the Vake district.” The project, developed in “Tbilqalaqproekti,” was approved in the same year. At that time, Kuchu Dgebuadze was the project architect responsible for planning the largest park in Tbilisi, and Neli Tsitsishvili was the designer of its dendrological project. The project envisioned greening the barren area between Chavchavadze Avenue (formerly Niko-Marr, formerly University Street), the residential areas of Vake, the Vake cemetery, and Kus Tba (Turtle Lake). Due to the peculiarities of the terrain, the park area was divided into two parts: a relatively flat central zone of about 30 hectares and the steep slopes of the Trialeti Range at the southern and western borders, including the Kus Tba area.The objects listed in the 1945 general plan were built over a decade, while greening was a multi-year, continuous process. All construction work was carried out by the ‘Tbilmscheni’ trust. In 1981, the Memorial of Glory was opened on the extension of the central axis of Vake Park, and the park was renamed Victory Park.

Vake Park was officially opened on May 1, 1951. The main entrance (architects: Kuchu Dgebuadze, Vakhtang Abramishvili) is located on the north side of Chavchavadze Avenue. The entire park is surrounded by a wrought-iron fence on the side of the main street. An ensemble of symmetrically arranged arches, columns, railings and stairs in the style of socialist realism forms the starting point of the main axis of the ‘city-like’ regular park. From here, a grand staircase leads down to a level seven meters below. This part of the park was created in the first phase, 1946-1947. There are also several additional entrances on the eastern (from Abashidze and Mosashvili streets) and western borders. From the main staircase, the regular planning scheme is clearly visible: the central axis, large and small fountains (architects: Nodar Jobadze, Vakhtang Abramishvili), symmetrically distributed flower beds and tiger figures (sculptor: Ivane Pataridze), the main and side avenues, paths, and in the background, the steep slope rising like a wall.

The constructions planned and built in the years 1956-1957 include: an open-air cinema (architects: Nodar Jobadze, Vakhtang Abramishvili), a café-restaurant, pavilions (architects: Nodar Jobadze, Tamaz Tevzadze), playgrounds and sports grounds, a viewpoint (architect: Tamaz Tevzadze), and others. In 1956, the “Qarishkhala” (later “Lokomotive”, today named after Mikheil Meskhi) stadium for 25,000 spectators was built according to a project by Kuchu Dgebuadze . The stadium had its own entrance from Chavchavadze Avenue. The stadium’s sports complex included a soccer pitch with stands, running tracks, athletics fields, mass game areas, changing rooms and much more.

The slopes were planted with greenery in the style of a forest park. The arranged walking paths connected the lower part of the park with the Kus Tba. Kus Tba was part of the park, where water sports and recreational infrastructure was planned. A road was built from Chavchavadze Avenue to the Kus Tba, which was considered the western border of the park. On the western side of this road, the Giorgi Chitaya Open-Air Museum of Ethnography was opened in 1966 (architect: Longinoz Sumbadze). The museum area extends to 50 hectares of hillside, is connected to Kus Tba and perceived as a natural extension of Vake Park. A water pumping station was built at Kus Tba to irrigate the huge park and the cascading waterfalls. The water was pumped from the Mtkvari River. It was planned to connect the Kus Tba plateau with a road to Varaziskhevi and later even to the Mtatsminda plateau. In 1966, a cable car was built connecting Chavchavadze Avenue with Kus Tba.

Later, the planning of the large cascade on the extension of the park’s main axis began (planning variants- architects: Kutschu Dgebuadze, 1945 and 1951; Vakhtang Abramishvili, 1959). The simplified version, realised in 1970’ies became part of the Memorial of Glory in 1981 (architects: Vladimer Alexi-Meskhishvili, Kiazo Nakhutsrishvili. Artist: Zurab Tsereteli. Sculptor: Giorgi Ochiauri). The sculptural ensemble of the Memorial to Glory was later partially destroyed or relocated.

Dendrology

At the time of its opening in 1951, Vake Park already covered 125 hectares, later its area grew to 160 hectares due to the slopes. The literature also states that the  project area of the park was 226 hectares. The preparation of the area included earthworks, draining of swamps, creation of soil cover, and much more. At this time, 250,000 plants were already growing in the park. Lime trees, cedars, maples, oaks, and other deciduous and coniferous trees. Walnut and chestnut forests were planted both as separate masses and mixed with other plants. Likewise, fruit trees–cherry and apple avenues, and individually scattered trees on the slopes such as apple, peach, cherry, persimmon, almond trees, and mulberry trees–were planted. From the last tram stop, where the entrance to the stadium was located, only to the stadium and its surroundings, a total of 18,184 trees and shrubs of 63 species were planted. Together with Neli Tsitsishvili, her young colleagues and students–the landscape architects Manana Koberidze and Guliko Karumidze–were involved in the implementation of the dendrological project. The outer edges of the slopes were mainly greened with local tree species and blended organically with the surrounding forests.

Two weeks before the official inauguration of the park in 1951, an article by D. Amiranidze in the newspaper “Komunisti” ended with the words: “Year after year, the green dress of the park will grow. Vake Park will become a favorite recreation place for the residents of Tbilisi.” His words were only partially fulfilled–half a century later, the green dress of the park began to shrink, the area of Kus Tba and its surroundings is no longer part of it, as it was sold as an independent entity. The lower part of Vake Park also began to be fragmented. The city administration either could or would not preserve the integrity of one of Tbilisi’s most important parks and failed to realize the catastrophic damage that the sale of large park areas would mean for the ecology. Thus, along the contour of Vake Park on Chavchavadze Avenue, embassies, the building of the Football Federation, and other structures appeared, while a considerable area near the stadium was sacrificed for the construction of a private school. In 2013, the Tbilisi City Administration issued a building permit for a seven-story private hotel in the heart of the park, on the site of the former two-story restaurant. This led to an unprecedented, long-lasting protest by the communities, which apparently ended successfully–the hotel will not be built.

Vake Park is not only a favourite recreational area for the inhabitants of Tbilisi, but also a cultural monument of landscape architecture, which both the city administration and the citizens of the city are committed to protecting and preserving. (ntch)

Images: National Archives of Georgia, National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, Vladimir Alexi-Meskhishvili personal Archive, Kiazo Nakhutsrishvili personal Archive, David Mchedlidze Photo-Cinema Museum in Kutaisi

Literature/Links

Qurdiani, Zakaria. Tbilisi in the New Five-Year Plan. Newspaper “Kommunisti”, 1945, Issue 189. (geo)

Amiranidze, D. These Days in Vake Park. Newspaper “Kommunisti”, 195, Issue 86. (geo)

(Author unknown). A New Center for Culture and Recreation. Today, Vake Park Opens. Newspaper “Kommunisti”, 1951, Issue 102. (geo)

Jashi, Nikoloz. Socialist Architecture of Tbilisi. Tbilisi, 1983. (geo)

Dzhamberidze, N., Kintsurashvili, S. Architecture of Soviet Georgia. Tbilisi, 1958. (rus)

Kvirkvelia, Tengiz. Architecture of Tbilisi. Tbilisi, 1982. (rus)

Radio Tavisupleba, Jimsher Rekhviashvili. The Truth About Green Tbilisi. 08.07.2020. (geo)

Gela Charkviani and Levan Kalandarishvili. Lecture “The History of Vake Park.” 09.10.2018. (geo)