Martvili is a small town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province of Western Georgia. Its monastery was Samegrelo's clerical centre in the Middle Ages. Under Soviet rule, from 1936 to 1990, it was named Gegechkori after the Old Bolshevik Sasha Gegechkori.
Mestia is a highland townlet (daba) in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of 1,500 metres in the Caucasus Mountains.
Racha is a highland area in western Georgia, located in the upper Rioni river valley and hemmed in by the Greater Caucasus mountains. Under Georgia’s current subdivision, Racha is included in the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region (mkhare) as the municipalities of Oni and Ambrolauri.
The Dadeshkeliani or Dadishkeliani was an aristocratic family from the mountainous western Georgian province of Svaneti. They ruled the Principality of Svaneti from the 1720s to 1857.
Lechkhumi is a historic province in northwestern Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also the Lajanuri river valley. Now part of the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region, it corresponds roughly to the present day Tsageri district as well as parts of districts of Tsq'altubo and Ambrolauri. It is bordered by Mingrelia to the west, Svaneti to the north, Racha to the east, and Imereti to the south.
Ushguli is a community of four villages located at the head of the Enguri gorge in Svaneti, Georgia. Recognized as the Upper Svaneti UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ushguli is one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe. Compared to somewhat more developed towns like Mestia, Ushguli isn't in an accessible location, which has preserved many of the village's characteristics.
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti is a region (Mkhare) in northwestern Georgia which includes the historical provinces of Racha, Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti. It covers an area of 4,954 km² and has a population of 31,927, but nominally also a section of northwest South Ossetia, over which Georgia has no jurisdiction and control. It is the most sparsely populated region in the country. The capital is Ambrolauri.
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti is a region (Mkhare) in western Georgia which includes the historical Georgian provinces of Samegrelo (Mingrelia) and Zemo Svaneti and has Zugdidi as its capital.
Nakani is a Georgian family name from Svaneti region, in the north-western Georgia.
Tsalenjikha is a town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region of western Georgia with the population of c. 8,900 (2002). It is located on the river Chanistsqali. Historically, Tsalenjikha functioned as one of the residences of the Dadiani princes of Mingrelia and a bishopric seat with a medieval cathedral of the Savior.
The Principality of Svaneti was a small principality (samtavro) in the Svaneti region of the Greater Caucasus mountains that emerged following the breakup of the Kingdom of Georgia in the late 15th century. It was ruled successively by the houses of Gelovani and Dadeshkeliani, and was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1858.
The House of Gelovani is a Georgian princely family from the lower part of the mountainous province of Svaneti – formerly rulers of Svaneti.
Chkhorotsqu is a townlet in western Georgia, located in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and functioning as the administrative center of the homonymous district. Its population was 5,900 as of 2007.
Mildiani is a Georgian family name from the Svaneti region in north-western Georgia.
The Oniani – is a Georgian family name from the Svaneti region in the north-western Georgia.
The chuniri is a bowed musical instrument of Georgia.
Free Svaneti was a name applied to the self-governing communities of Svan highlanders, originally coined by the Imperial Russian officials and explorers of the Caucasus. These communities formed a loose confederation with a clan-based traditional system of law. As a quasi-autonomous region, Free Svaneti probably emerged with the decline of Georgian feudalism in the 15th century and was devoid of any centralized government until being subjected to the Russian Empire in 1853. The last vestiges of the Svan self-rule was brought to an end by the Russian military in 1876.
Nanuka (Nana) Zhorzholiani is a Georgian television host and journalist.
