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Aleksandre Chavchavadze House and Museum: poetic beauty



In the town of Tsandandali in eastern Georgia is the former residence of poet Aleksandre Chavchavadze.

Chavchavadze (1786-1846) was a poet, writer, translator, military leader, diplomat, and inventor. He was considered to be the founder of Georgian romantic poetry. He was also a wine maker, which is why he established a home in Georgia’s wine region of Kakheti.

Chavchavadze was the godson of Catherine II of Russia and from 1813-1815, as lieutenant general in the Russian army, he fought against Napoleon.




The Aleksandre Chavchavadze House and Museum opened in 1947 and was renovated in 2008. The architecture is Georgian-European with furnishings and decor from Georgia, France, and Russia. The extremely wide verandahs, high ceilings, ornate cornices, and French doors make it an open-spaced, light living accommodation in grand style, yet in reality it is a two-story rectangular home. However, the crockery and china, drapes and tapestries, from all over the world, show a collection of interesting pieces. There are also five pianos, one of them is a Steinway.






Within the grand residence is a one-room art gallery, with an original Salvador Dali painting. There is also a wine cellar with wine tasting (degustation) and sales of the Tsinandali wines that are still produced on the estate.



The garden should not be overlooked as it is wonderful to walk around. The grounds occupy 18 hectares of land. Aleksandre Chavchavadze was the first landowner to design a European landscape with grassed areas, a lily pond, natural and manicured gardens, and a labyrinth (hedged maze). It includes European, Asian, and American exotic plants and trees.









However, there is a tragic side to the beauty. Chavchadze had four children; a son David and three daughters – Nino, Catherine, and Sophia. After Aleksandre’s death, David took over the estate. In September 1854 Imam Shamyl and his tribesmen from Dagestan kidnapped 23 women and children from the house (including his wife and children). David had to mortgage the house to pay the ransom. He paid 14,000 silver rubles, less than the asking ransom, and it took nine months before he was reunited with his family. However, he was heavily in debt to the Russian Public Bank.


After David’s death in February 1886 the Estate Department of the Russian Empire bought his house and land which passed to the property of Tsar Alexander III due to the Chavchavadze family’s failure to pay the debt on the home. In 1947 the estate was turned into a museum.
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