Open Air Museum of Ethnography, Outdoor ethnographic museum in Vake district, Tbilisi, Georgia
The Open Air Museum of Ethnography is a large outdoor museum on a hillside in Tbilisi, where around 70 traditional buildings from different parts of Georgia have been relocated and rebuilt. The collection includes dwellings, watchtowers, mills, and other structures dating back centuries and showing different architectural styles.
The museum was founded in 1966 by ethnographer Giorgi Chitaia, who collected buildings from across Georgian regions. It also houses an early Christian basilica that originally stood elsewhere and was moved to the site.
The buildings on display reflect how people from various Georgian regions built their homes and organized their daily lives around local resources. Walking through the structures reveals the practical choices each community made based on their geography and traditions.
The museum grounds are hilly and require a lot of walking, so wear comfortable shoes and plan to spend several hours there. There are shaded areas between buildings, but few benches, so bringing water is helpful.
The museum preserves thousands of objects such as regional costumes, ceramics, and household tools that show the everyday use of earlier generations. These artifacts are scattered across different zones of the grounds and give a sense of how people actually lived in various parts of Georgia.
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