Ozurgeti History Museum

One of the greatest treasures of the museum is a collection of objects from the ancient ruined city of Vashnari, believed to have been the capital of Guria in the early Christian period. The collection of objects from Vashnari includes stones with Greek inscriptions, column capitals with ancient ornamentation, and a furnace and water supply pipes.

There is yet another fascinating object among those in the museum’s collection. It is a French-made rapier which may once have belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte’s family. The rapier has an inscription in French and was donated to the museum by the local doctor, Pavle Datunaishvili in the 1950s.

The museum exhibits archaeological objects from the Neolithic period and from the early, middle, and late Bronze Age, including Colchian axes, hoes, and golden items from early antiquity. 

The museum has a particularly interesting section for numismatists, with notable exhibits including Colchian tetris from the 6th to 3rd centuries BCE, gold coins from the time of Alexander the Great, Georgian coins from the Middle Ages, and a hoard of European silver coins from the Middle Ages. In total, there are 414 examples of ancient coinage on display.

The Ozurgeti History Museum’s unique ethnographic and documentary materials, works of fine art, and collection of antique printed books are also notable. 

The museum periodically hosts other types of exhibitions, open classes for public school students, and educational events, which you can follow on the museum’s Facebook page.

If Georgian history fascinates you, the Ozurgeti History Museum is one of the finest places to indulge that intellectual curiosity.