Bolnisi And Dmanisi

Georgia is a home of the Europe's first humankind. The Homo erectus remnants which were discovered in Dmanisi date back to 1.7 million years. Besides the site where these hominids were discovered, we will also show you two unique churches and German district of Bolnisi.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRIP: BOLNISI SIONI CHURCH - GERMAN DISTRICT - TSUGHRUGHASHENI CHURCH - DMANISI ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Duration: 7-8 hours

Tour Itinerary:

We drive from Tbilisi to the kvemo kartli  region. Our first destination will be city Bolnisi. We will visit German district and see unique houses built by German. In 1818 the colony Katharinenfeld was founded in Bolnisi by 95 German colonist families from Swabia. After the occupation of the Red Army in 1921, it was renamed to Luxemburg after the German communist Rosa Luxemburg. In 1941 all the Germans descendants who were not married to Georgians were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan. There are still remnants of the German past in Bolnisi. A small graveyard and plaque acknowledges the German influence in the village. A small street called Mill Street has evidence of 19th-century German architecture and a few signs in the German language that date from the early 20th century. In 1944, the town was once again renamed as Bolnisi. The economy is mostly agrarian with the notable exceptions of a winery, brewery, and a gold mine in the nearby village of Kazreti.

Next destination is Bolnisi Sioni church built in the 5th century, the oldest extant church building in Georgia. This church is known for its inscriptions written in Georgian Asomtavruli script, dating 494 AD.

After Bolnisi sioni church, we will visit beautiful church of Tsughrughasheni. Built in the first half of the 13th century. It is rich with the Georgian traditional ornaments adorned.

Then we have a lunch stop either in a local restaurant which used to be a German mill or in the local family who also produce kvevri wine in the old German cellar.

After Bolnisi we drive to Dmanisi to visit an archaeological site of Dmanisi where archaeologists found humankind remains dating 1.8 million years. These are the oldest humankind remains ever found outside Africa. We will also see the ruins of the 9th century town of Dmanisi and a local church from the 7th century. Drive back to Tbilisi.

End of the trip.

Price of the tour depends on the size of the group. For more details, please contact us.