Asureti Village

History of Asureti

Asureti was an ancient Georgian village, but after constant invasions it became abandoned. In 1818, German colonists settled on the territory under the initiative of Russian Emperor Alexander I. Here, the Germans built a new village from the ruins, and officially opened it on St. Elizabeth's Day. Accordingly, the German settlement was called Elisabethal, or Elizabeth's Valley. They put their efforts into agriculture and animal husbandry, and settlement started flourishing soon.

Asuretuli Shala

The rare grape variety, Asuretuli Shala, with its own special taste and aroma and highly appreciated on the market is associated with German farmer Otto Schall. Vineyards were planted near the village, on the banks of the Algeti River, and In 1931, a three-story German-style cellar was built in the center of one of them, where wine was made and bottled. "Shala" wine produced by Germans was sold not only within Georgia, but also in Yerevan and Baku.

The children of the German colonists studied at Georgian school, while German was taught only as a foreign language. In 1941, the Asuretian Germans were deported to Central Asia by communists. Identical houses built of white stone and clay without nails still stand in the village, as well as a Lutheran church built in 1871 in a Gothic style.

In Asureti, you will also find a German cemetery, with surnames engraved on the tombstones of those settlers and their descendants from different parts of Germany.