Baghdati

Town in Imereti, Georgia

Baghdati ბაღდათი
Town
Baghdati Town Center
42°4′4″N 42°49′29″E / 42.06778°N 42.82472°E / 42.06778; 42.82472
Country	Georgia
Region	Imereti
District	Baghdati
Elevation	200 m (700 ft)
Population (2024)^[1]
• Total	2,511
Time zone	Georgian Time (UTC+4)
Climate	Cfa

Baghdati (Georgian: ბაღდათი, romanized: baghdati) is a town of 3,700 people^[2] in the Imereti region of western Georgia, at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the river Khanistsqali, a tributary of the Rioni.

Geography

The town is located at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the left bank of the river Khanistsqali, about 170 kilometres (110 mi) west-northwest of Tbilisi and 25 kilometres (16 mi) south-southeast of Kutaisi.

The climate of Baghdati can be classified as moderately humid subtropical (Köppen climate classification Cfa).

History

Baghdati is one of the oldest villages in the historical Imereti region.^{[citation needed]} Its name shares the same origins as the name of the capital of Iraq, Baghdād: Bagh 'god' and dāti 'given', which can be translated as "God-given" or "God's gift" in the Pahlavi language. When Georgia was part of the Russian Empire and during the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, its name was changed to Baghdadi (Russian: Багдади).^{[citation needed]} In 1940, it was renamed Mayakovsky (Georgian: მაიაკოვსკი; Russian: Маяковский), after the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky who was born here in 1893.^[3] In 1981, Mayakovsky was granted town status.^[3] In 1991, the original name, slightly modified, was restored.^[3]

Demographics

Year	Population
1959	4586
1970	4609
1979	4831
1989	5465
2002	4714
2009	4800
2014	3707

Note: Census data 1959–2014^[2]

Economy

In Baghdati there is a furniture factory and companies in the food industry (canned food, wine). The nearest railway stations are located in Rioni and Kutaisi.

Culture

Baghdati has the Vladimir Mayakovsky Museum and a National Theatre. It is also home to the Baghdati Cultural Center and the Baghdati Central Stadium.

Notable people

Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930), poet

Notes

^ "Population by regions". National Statistics Office of Georgia. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
^ ^a ^b National Statistics Office of Georgia, Population Census 2014
^ ^a ^b ^c Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary.) Москва, "Русские словари", 1993, p. 30.