Gantiadi (განთიადი ; ), or Tsandrypsh (; ), is an urban-type settlement on the Black Sea coast in Georgia, in the Gagra District of Abkhazia,
Name
Gantiadi in historical times, was known as
Sauchi (). Then, until 1944 as
Yermolov, after the Russian general Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov. From 1944 until 1991, the settlement was known as
Gantiadi (განთიადი, ), from the Georgian word for
Dawn. After the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia, Gantiadi was renamed as Tsandrypsh by the de facto government, but the name Gantiadi is still used informally among Abkhazians and widely in other languages.
The name Tsandrypsh derives from the princely family Tsanba.
History
Gantiadi is said to have been the historical capital of the principality of
Saniga before the 6th century AD. It later became the capital of
Sadzen.
Demographics
In 2011, Gantiadi had a population of 5,170. Of these, 55.9% were
Armenians, 19.6%
Abkhaz people, 18.4%
Russians, 1.2%
Ukrainians, 0.9%
Georgians and 0.7%
Greeks.
[ 2011 Census results]
Main sights
Tsandrypsh houses a 6th-century Georgian Christian
Gantiadi Church.
[ V. Jaoshvili, R. Rcheulishvili, Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, V. 2, p. 680, Tbilisi, 1977.] A personal residence of
Joseph Stalin is also located here.
See also
Notes
External links
