Avshni Street

Overview

Avshni Street (Georgian: ავშნის ქუჩა) is a residential street in the Nadzaladevi district of Tbilisi, in Temqa, in the part of it known as Avshniani. It runs from Nushi Street in the north-west towards the south-east and east, crossing or meeting Nikoloz Janashia, Vakhtang Firtskhalava, Anton Meori and Iveri Frangishvili streets on the way. Several smaller streets that share its name branch off it: Avshni 2nd, 3rd and 4th Lanes, Avshni 1st Exit and Avshni 1st Dead End.

According to OpenStreetMap (OSM) data, the street is made up of three sections with a combined length of about 1.5 km. In OSM it is mapped as a residential street, and the address data place it in the Nadzaladevi district, Temqa, Avshniani, postcode 0178. The midpoint of the street is at about 41.7746° N, 44.8318° E.

Location

According to OSM, the north-western end of the street is at its junction with Nushi Street (about 41.7787° N, 44.8244° E). From there it runs south-east. In order, it meets Nikoloz Janashia Street, Avshni 2nd Lane, then a junction with Vakhtang Firtskhalava Street and Anton Meori Street (about 41.7747° N, 44.8317° E), and a little further on Avshni 3rd Lane and Avshni 4th Lane (about 41.7743° N, 44.8328° E).

East of that point the street turns east. It meets Iveri Frangishvili Street (about 41.7732° N, 44.8371° E), then Avshni 1st Exit and Avshni 1st Dead End. In OSM the named street ends at about 41.7726° N, 44.8403° E, where it continues as an unnamed track and service road.

The western section (from Nushi Street to Avshni 3rd and 4th Lanes) is about 860 m long, the middle section (to Iveri Frangishvili Street) about 400 m and the eastern section about 270 m. The side streets of the same name are, according to OSM, roughly: Avshni 2nd Lane 250 m (unpaved), Avshni 3rd Lane 450 m, Avshni 4th Lane 360 m (gravel) and Avshni 1st Exit 520 m (unpaved).

The nearest metro station is Akhmeteli Theatre, about 1.6 km from the street in a straight line. According to OSM, the border with the Gldani district runs close to the street: Khvamli Arena, about 190 m away, is already on the Gldani side.

Name

No official document giving the reason for or date of the street’s naming could be found, so the namesake is not confirmed. The name matches the Georgian word avshani (ავშანი; genitive “avshnis”), the name of the plant genus Artemisia (wormwood). According to Georgian Wikipedia, which draws on the Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, the genus has up to 500 species, 27 of them in the Caucasus and 12 in Georgia. One species, Artemisia fragrans, grows in the steppes and semi-deserts of eastern Georgia and forms winter pastures for sheep.

The same root is in the name of the area, Avshniani (ავშნიანი). In botany, “avshniani” is the term for a semi-desert and desert plant formation dominated by Artemisia; in Transcaucasia it is formed by Artemisia fragrans. Whether the street and the area were named for this vegetation is not confirmed by an official source.

Temqa

According to Georgian Wikipedia, Temqa is another name for the Zghvisubani settlement in the north of Tbilisi, in the Nadzaladevi district, near the Tbilisi Sea. It was earlier called the Khevdzmari settlement. The name Temqa comes from the abbreviated name of the Tbilisi Electric Locomotive Plant, built in the area in the Soviet period. Construction of the settlement began in the 1960s, and it was planned in 1971 and 1988.

Nearby places

• Khvamli Arena (sports centre) — about 190 m, in the Gldani district.

• Kindergarten No. 80 — about 320 m.

• Public School No. 142 — about 400 m.

• Churches — the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, St Nicholas Church and St George Church are each about 0.6 km away.

Distances are straight-line, calculated from OSM coordinates to the nearest point of the street.

FAQ

1) Where is Avshni Street?
In the Nadzaladevi district of Tbilisi, in Temqa (Avshniani), between Nushi Street in the north-west and Iveri Frangishvili Street and beyond in the east.

2) How long is the street?
According to OSM, about 1.5 km in three sections.

3) Which streets does it connect?
Nushi, Nikoloz Janashia, Vakhtang Firtskhalava, Anton Meori and Iveri Frangishvili streets.

4) Which side streets share its name?
Avshni 2nd, 3rd and 4th Lanes, Avshni 1st Exit and Avshni 1st Dead End.

5) What is the street named after?
This is not confirmed by an official source. The name matches the Georgian word “avshani”, the plant genus Artemisia (wormwood).

6) What does “Avshniani” mean?
In botany it is the term for a semi-desert plant formation dominated by Artemisia; it is also the name of the area around the street.

7) What is the nearest metro station?
Akhmeteli Theatre, about 1.6 km in a straight line.

8) What is Temqa?
Another name for the Zghvisubani settlement in the Nadzaladevi district; it comes from the abbreviated name of the Tbilisi Electric Locomotive Plant.

9) Is there a school nearby?
Public School No. 142 is about 400 m away and Kindergarten No. 80 about 320 m, in a straight line.

Sources

• Avshni Street (western section) — OpenStreetMap

• Avshni Street (middle section) — OpenStreetMap

• Avshni Street (eastern section) — OpenStreetMap

• Avshniani — OpenStreetMap

• Temqa — OpenStreetMap

• Nadzaladevi District — OpenStreetMap

• Avshani (Artemisia) — Georgian Wikipedia (Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 1, 1975, p. 183)

• Avshniani (plant formation) — Georgian Wikipedia

• Zghvisubani (Temqa settlement) — Georgian Wikipedia