# Ketskhoveli Street
- URL: https://explore-georgia.ge/en/tbilisi/gldani/zahesi/ketskhoveli-street
- Type: street
- City: Gldani
- Coordinates: 41.8234, 44.7539

## Overview

**Ketskhoveli Street** (Georgian: კეცხოველის ქუჩა) is a residential street on the north-western edge of Tbilisi, in the **Zahesi settlement of the Gldani district**. According to OpenStreetMap (OSM), it is about 580 m long. It links **Tavisupleba Street** with **Mikheil Tsinamdzghvrishvili Street**.

OSM maps the street under the name of **Niko Ketskhoveli** (the surname is spelled “Kvtskhoveli” in the OSM entry, probably a typo). Niko Ketskhoveli (1897–1982) was a Georgian botanist, writer and academician. We could not find the official naming decision in the Legislative Herald of Georgia (matsne.gov.ge), so the date the street was named is not known.

## Location

Official city documents describe this area as “Tbilisi, Gldani district, Zahesi settlement”. For example, a Tbilisi City Council decision of 24 May 2024 renamed Avchala Street in Zahesi after Grigol Khandzteli. An official document from 2006 still calls Zahesi a “daba” (small town) of the Mtskheta district.

According to OSM, the street starts in the east at Tavisupleba Street (about 41.8236° N, 44.7570° E). It runs west and meets Tavisupleba Street a second time in its middle section. It ends at Mikheil Tsinamdzghvrishvili Street (about 41.8231° N, 44.7509° E). OSM maps it as a residential street **about 577 m** long. The approximate midpoint is at 41.8234° N, 44.7539° E.

There is no metro station in Zahesi. Based on OSM coordinates, the nearest station, Akhmeteli Theatre, is about 6.2 km away in a straight line.

## The name: Niko Ketskhoveli

According to Georgian Wikipedia and the encyclopedia *Sakartvelo*, **Nikoloz (Niko) Ketskhoveli** was born on 26 December 1897 in the village of Tkviavi (now in Gori Municipality). He died in Tbilisi in 1982. He was a botanist, writer and public figure, and one of the founders of the botanical school in Georgia.

He graduated from Tbilisi State University (TSU) in 1926. In 1937 he became a Doctor of Biology and a professor. He was a founding member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences and became an academician in 1941. He was the Academy’s vice-president in 1943–1945 and rector of TSU in 1945–1952. From 1963 until his death he directed the Academy’s Institute of Botany, which now bears his name.

Ketskhoveli also wrote literary essays, novellas and stories, including *In the Snowy Mountains* (1927), *Under the Nine-Eyed Sun* (1968) and *I Crossed the Ninth Mountain Too* (1976). He was a laureate of the Shota Rustaveli State Prize.

OSM also maps two other streets named after Niko Ketskhoveli in Tbilisi: one in the central microdistricts of Gldani and one in Kojori (Mtatsminda district).

## Zahesi

The settlement shares its name with the **Zemo Avchala hydroelectric power station**, known by the abbreviation ZAHES (Georgian: ზაჰესი). According to Georgian Wikipedia, it was the first large hydroelectric power station in Georgia. It was built on the Mtkvari (Kura), near the confluence of the Mtkvari and the Aragvi. The first stage of the plant was put into service on 9 April 1927.

## Nearby places

- **Public School No. 208** — about 0.1 km in a straight line from the eastern end of the street (OSM).
- **Church of St Nektarios of Pentapolis** — about 0.4 km in a straight line from the middle of the street (OSM).
- **Zemo Avchala hydroelectric power station (ZAHES)** — on the Mtkvari, near its confluence with the Aragvi.

## FAQ

**1) Where is Ketskhoveli Street?**
In Tbilisi, in the Zahesi settlement of the Gldani district, on the city’s north-western edge.

**2) How long is the street?**
About 577 m, according to OpenStreetMap.

**3) Which streets does it connect?**
Tavisupleba Street in the east and Mikheil Tsinamdzghvrishvili Street in the west. It meets Tavisupleba Street a second time in its middle section.

**4) Who is the street named after?**
OpenStreetMap maps it under the name of Niko Ketskhoveli. We could not find the official naming decision.

**5) Who was Niko Ketskhoveli?**
A Georgian botanist, writer and academician (1897–1982). He was rector of Tbilisi State University (1945–1952) and director of the Institute of Botany (from 1963).

**6) Which institute is named after Niko Ketskhoveli?**
The Institute of Botany of the Georgian Academy of Sciences, which he led from 1963 until his death.

**7) Are there other Ketskhoveli streets in Tbilisi?**
Yes. OpenStreetMap also maps a Niko Ketskhoveli Street in the central microdistricts of Gldani and one in Kojori.

**8) What is the nearest metro station?**
There is no metro in Zahesi. The nearest station, Akhmeteli Theatre, is about 6.2 km away in a straight line.

**9) Where does the name Zahesi come from?**
It is the abbreviated name of the Zemo Avchala hydroelectric power station (ZAHES), whose first stage began operating in 1927.

**10) What is near the street?**
Public School No. 208 (about 0.1 km) and the Church of St Nektarios of Pentapolis (about 0.4 km), both in a straight line.

## Sources

- [Niko Ketskhoveli Street, Zahesi — OpenStreetMap (street line, length, junctions; locations of School No. 208 and the church)](https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/61741190)
- [Niko Ketskhoveli — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/ნიკო_კეცხოველი)
- Encyclopedia *Sakartvelo* — article “Ketskhoveli Nikoloz” (georgianencyclopedia.ge, in Georgian).
- [Document on the building of the Niko Ketskhoveli Institute of Botany — Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)](https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/2094388)
- [Tbilisi City Council decision of 24 May 2024 (renaming Avchala Street in Zahesi after Grigol Khandzteli) — Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)](https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/6185546)
- [Document of 6 October 2006 (music school of the daba of Zahesi, Mtskheta district) — Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)](https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/1410399)
- [Zemo Avchala hydroelectric power station — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/ზემო_ავჭალის_ჰიდროელექტროსადგური)

## This page in other languages

- [Georgian](https://explore-georgia.ge/ka/tbilisi/gldani/zahesi/ketskhoveli-street)
- [Russian](https://explore-georgia.ge/ru/tbilisi/gldani/zahesi/ketskhoveli-street)