Galaktion Tabidze Street and Seylanov Brothers Mansion

Why is it significant?

Stroll along Galaktion Tabidze Street, originally known as Ganis Kucha during the Russian imperial era and celebrated as the premier residential boulevard of Sololaki.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Stroll along Galaktion Tabidze Street, originally known as Ganis Kucha during the Russian imperial era and celebrated as the premier residential boulevard of Sololaki. Developed primarily between 1880 and 1910, this stately street became the favored residential address for the wealthiest industrialists, banking magnates, and merchant princes of the South Caucasus. Prominent among these architectural gems stands the stately mansion of the Seylanov Brothers, leading silk industrialists whose mills supplied Caucasian silks to Parisian fashion houses.

Look up at the elaborate sculptural decoration adorning the stone facades, where sculpted stone caryatids, lions' heads, and winged cherubs gaze down upon pedestrians. On the Seylanov residence, notice how the decorative door pediments and balcony brackets feature stylized silk moths, silkworm cocoons, and mulberry leaves woven into classical acanthus scrollwork. Many of these residences were designed by European-trained master architects such as Paul Stern, Leopold Bielfeld, and Simon Kldiashvili, incorporating ornate wrought-iron grilles and carved oak entry doors.

The street honors Galaktion Tabidze, the revered national lyric poet of Georgia and a tragic giant of twentieth-century literature. Tabidze lived and walked along this boulevard for decades, composing verses that captured both the melancholic romance of old Tiflis and the turbulent political upheavals of his generation. Local lore recounts that the poet could frequently be spotted pausing beneath the gas streetlamps, jotting down lines of poetry on discarded cafe napkins before continuing his evening wanderings.

As you walk beneath the tall plane trees, glance through open carriage portals to discover hidden interior courtyards. These secluded inner realms often harbor curving marble staircases, hand-painted ceiling frescoes depicting mythological scenes, and delicate iron lanterns that have survived the passing of an empire. The aristocratic elegance of Tabidze Street captures the golden age of Tiflis cosmopolitanism with breathtaking authenticity.

Turn south into Lado Asatiani Street to arrive before the palatial facade of the Kalantarov Palace.