Museum of Georgia - The museum currently houses a unique collection of natural and human history, with animal remains dating back 40 million years, and rich archaeological and ethnographic collections from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, Iron and Middle Ages.

The origins of the Museum of Georgia stem from the foundation of the Russian Royal Geographic Society's Museum of the Caucasian Department on May 10, 1852. In 1865, the Museum of the Caucasus was established as part of the aforementioned department, on the initiative of Gustav Rade. The first exhibition was held in 1867. In 1881, the Museum of the Caucasus took an active part in the fifth international congress of archeologists, held in Tbilisi. In 1919, the museum was renamed the Georgian Museum. 

In February, 1921, the Georgian Menshevik government made a decision to relocate state treasures from Georgian museums and churches out of Tbilisi, due to Bolshevik aggression towards Georgia. The treasure was first moved to Kutaisi and then to Batumi, but was eventually packed in 248 boxes and tranported to France. In spite of great obstacles, the famous Georgian public figure, Ekvtime Takaishvili, preserved and safely returned these treasures to Georgia at the close of the Second World War. 

After the Soviet occupation, a new stage of museum development began. In this period, the scale of scientific research increased markedly, and unique expeditions were held under the auspices of the state-supported museum. Since 1947, the museum has been known as the Simon Janashia museum. Due to tense political situations occurring before and after Georgia's independence from Soviet rule, the museum had to operate extremely carefully in order to protect its collections.

In 2004, the museum was incorporated into the Georgian National Museum complex. Today, the museum has carried out significant reforms in the pursuit of setting modern standards for the preservation and exhibition of Georgian heritage.

The museum has been under renovation for several years, and in June 2011, one part of the museum's exhibition halls reopened to the public. Currently, you can enjoy the permanent exhibition "The Archaeological Treasury" and temporary exhibitions held periodically at the museum.

fonte: @edisonmariotti #edisonmariotti http://museum.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=44

colaboração: 

Irma Arevadze