Tsinandali Park
During the arrangement of the Tsinandali Estate, Alexander Chavchavadze made a special effort to lay out a beautiful garden around the palace. He
installed an underground irrigation system in the garden, and invited landscape architects from England. With their help, he planned and created the
unique 18-hectare garden of Tsinandali, which still represents over 1600 exotic plant species from all continents of the world.
The shape and appearance of the Tsinandali Garden was changed thrice since Alexander’s time. The first, in 1854, during the invasion of Shamil, both
the garden and palace were burned down and almost completely lost their original appearance. When the Estate became the property of the Romanov
family, the original appearance of the garden was restored. Then, during the Soviet period, the Tsinandali Estate lost its beautiful 19th century layout
and was replaced by the Soviet monumental, monotonous style.
From 2008 onwards, the Silkroad Group set to successfully carrying out an all-round rehabilitation of the Tsinandali Garden within the framework of the
complete restoration of Tsinandali Estate. The restoration works were conducted according to the recommendations of the Ludwig Trauzettel, a famous
landscape architect invited from Germany. The paths were cleaned, the views and spaces were opened, the layout of the 19th century was adjusted,
and the garden gradually regained its original appearance as last seen in the times of the Chavchavadzes. Since 2019, the Tsinandali Garden has been
included in the list of European Historic Heritage Gardens.
The garden, the unique composition of which creates a special microclimate, still preserves centuries-old priceless plants, some of which are associated
with a beautiful legend or even an interesting saying. A particularly special habitant of the Tsinandali Garden is a century-old linden tree. According to
legend, during the invasion of Shamil, Alexander's little daughter Nino hid in a hollow of it.
The Tsinandali Garden restoration is still ongoing with the efforts of the Silkroad Group, which ensures the plants there are always well-cared for.
