# Christian Steven Street
- URL: https://explore-georgia.ge/en/tbilisi/saburtalo/didi-dighomi/kristian-stiveni-street
- Type: street
- District: Saburtalo
- City: Tbilisi
- Coordinates: 41.7862, 44.7368

## Overview

**Christian Steven Street** (Georgian: კრისტიან სტივენის ქუჩა) is a residential street in the **Saburtalo district** of Tbilisi, in Didi Dighomi in the north-west of the city. According to OpenStreetMap (OSM), it runs from east to west, from **Niko Buri Street** to **Henrik Hrinevski Street**, and is **about 1.8 km long**.

The name corresponds to **Christian Steven** (Christian von Steven, 1781–1863), a Finnish-born botanist and entomologist of the Russian Empire. In 1804–1805 he worked in Georgia as assistant inspector of sericulture and studied the flora of Transcaucasia. Later he became the first director of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea.

## Location

According to OSM, the street consists of two sections with a total length of 1,811 m. The eastern end is at Niko Buri Street (about 41.7849° N, 44.7476° E). The western end is at Henrik Hrinevski Street (about 41.7877° N, 44.7261° E). The street is almost straight and trends slightly to the north-west; its ends are about 1.8 km apart in a straight line. The midpoint is at about 41.7862° N, 44.7368° E. The street's postcode is 0159 (OSM).

From east to west, the street crosses or meets:

- **Niko Buri Street** (eastern end)
- Rafiel Danibegashvili Street
- Ian Homer Street
- Timote Beloi Street
- Oskar Shmerling Street
- Max Tilke Street
- Max Tilke 1st Dead End
- **Henrik Hrinevski Street** (western end)

In OSM, the whole street is mapped as a residential street. The western section of about 0.21 km, between Max Tilke Street and Henrik Hrinevski Street, is unpaved.

Shermadini Street runs roughly parallel to it, about 0.5–0.6 km to the south. Six streets — Niko Buri, Rafiel Danibegashvili, Ian Homer, Timote Beloi, Oskar Shmerling and Max Tilke — connect the two.

## Transport

There is no metro station near the street. Based on OSM coordinates, the nearest stations, **Guramishvili** and **Ghrmaghele**, are about 4.1–4.2 km in a straight line from the eastern end. The nearest bus stops in OSM, both named “Ian Homer Street” (Nos. 3850 and 3851), are about 0.16 km from the street.

## The name: Christian Steven

We could not find the official decision naming this street in the Legislative Herald of Georgia, so its date is unknown. OSM gives the English name “Christian Steven Street”. The Georgian name of the street spells the surname “სტივენი”; Georgian Wikipedia spells the botanist’s name “კრისტიან ფონ სტევენი”.

According to Russian and English Wikipedia, Christian Steven was born on **19 (30) January 1781** in Fredrikshamn (now Hamina, Finland) and died on **18 (30) April 1863** in Simferopol. He studied at the Academy of Turku and in Saint Petersburg, and in 1799 he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

In 1800 he became assistant to **Friedrich August Marschall von Bieberstein**, chief inspector of sericulture (silk farming) in the Caucasus, and travelled with him in the North Caucasus. According to Russian Wikipedia, on 15 June 1803 he was appointed assistant inspector of sericulture in **Georgia** and went there in April 1804. He travelled widely in Transcaucasia and studied its rich and then little-explored flora. His findings were used in Bieberstein’s *Flora Taurico-Caucasica*. At the end of 1805 he left for Saint Petersburg; in 1810 he visited Tiflis again.

In 1812 Steven took part in founding the **Nikitsky Botanical Garden** in Crimea and directed it until 1827. He became a corresponding member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1815 and an honorary member in 1849. His works include *Monographia Pedicularis* and a list of the wild plants of the Crimean peninsula (1856–1857). In botanical names his author abbreviation is “Steven”.

## FAQ

**1) Where is Christian Steven Street?**
In Didi Dighomi, in the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi. It runs from Niko Buri Street in the east to Henrik Hrinevski Street in the west.

**2) How long is the street?**
About 1.8 km according to OpenStreetMap (two sections, 1,811 m in total).

**3) Who is the street named after?**
The name corresponds to Christian Steven (Christian von Steven, 1781–1863), a botanist and entomologist of the Russian Empire who worked in Georgia in 1804–1805. We could not find the official naming decision.

**4) What is Christian Steven’s link with Georgia?**
According to Russian Wikipedia, in 1803 he was appointed assistant inspector of sericulture in Georgia. He arrived in 1804, travelled widely in Transcaucasia and studied its flora. In 1810 he visited Tiflis again.

**5) What else is he known for?**
He took part in founding the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea in 1812 and directed it until 1827. He was a corresponding (1815) and honorary (1849) member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

**6) Why is the name spelled “Stiveni” in Georgian?**
The street name uses the spelling “სტივენი”, while Georgian Wikipedia writes the botanist’s surname as “სტევენი”. Both refer to the same surname, Steven.

**7) Which streets does it cross?**
From east to west: Niko Buri, Rafiel Danibegashvili, Ian Homer, Timote Beloi, Oskar Shmerling, Max Tilke and Henrik Hrinevski Streets.

**8) Is the whole street paved?**
No. According to OpenStreetMap, the western section of about 0.21 km, between Max Tilke Street and Henrik Hrinevski Street, is unpaved.

**9) What is the nearest metro station?**
There is no metro nearby. Guramishvili and Ghrmaghele stations are about 4.1–4.2 km in a straight line from the eastern end of the street.

## Sources

- [Christian Steven Street (main section) — OpenStreetMap](https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/61737919)
- [Christian Steven Street (western section) — OpenStreetMap](https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/556800409)
- [Steven, Christian Khristianovich — Russian Wikipedia](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Стевен,_Христиан_Христианович)
- [Christian von Steven — English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_von_Steven)
- [Christian von Steven — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/კრისტიან_ფონ_სტევენი)

## This page in other languages

- [Georgian](https://explore-georgia.ge/ka/tbilisi/saburtalo/didi-dighomi/kristian-stiveni-street)
- [Russian](https://explore-georgia.ge/ru/tbilisi/saburtalo/didi-dighomi/kristian-stiveni-street)