Gagra Colonnade

The Gagra colonnade stands in the centre of Old Gagra, a few steps from the seaside park laid out by the Prince of Oldenburg and from the Gagripsh restaurant. It is a white semicircular structure in the Moorish style: four towers linked by arcaded galleries of eight arches each, more than sixty metres in all. In front of it lies a square with a fountain, in Soviet years named the Square of the USSR Constitution. Together with the Gagra winter theatre and cinema of 1951 the colonnade became the symbol of the town; after it appeared in the Soviet film Winter Evening in Gagra, the flow of tourists to Abkhazia grew markedly.

Building of the colonnade began in the post-war years, lasted two years and was completed at the end of 1955; the ceremonial opening took place in January 1956. Money was short throughout, because most funds went to rebuilding the country's economy. The winter theatre nearby had been built in 1951.

Today the square in front of it is lined with souvenir stalls, cafés and excursion desks, while the nearby cinema stands half-ruined. Because of the occupation Georgia cannot study the condition of the monument.

The colonnade stands on an open square in the centre of Old Gagra; the seaside park, the Old Gagra beach, the winter theatre and the Gagripsh restaurant are close by. Excursions around Abkhazia are sold at the desks on the square.

Abkhazia is an occupied territory. Under Georgian law entry to the region is lawful only through the Enguri crossing; entry from Russia is a breach of Georgian law. Check the current conditions of movement before travelling.