Hugo Huppert Street

Overview

Hugo Huppert Street (Georgian: ჰუგო ჰუპერტის 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) data, it runs from west to east in an almost straight line and is about 2.2 km long. Its eastern end is at the junction of Nestan-Darejan Street and Eredvi Street.

The name corresponds to Hugo Huppert (1902–1982), an Austrian poet and translator who translated Shota Rustaveli’s epic poem The Knight in the Panther’s Skin (Vepkhistkaosani) into German (first edition 1955). The official decision naming the street could not be found.

Location

In OSM the street is mapped as a single way of 2,218 m. The western end is at about 41.7847° N, 44.7228° E, and the eastern end at about 41.7815° N, 44.7491° E. The two ends are about 2.2 km apart in a straight line, so the street is almost straight, trending slightly south as it runs east. Its midpoint is at about 41.7831° N, 44.7360° E. OSM maps it as a residential street with a fine-gravel surface. According to OSM and Nominatim, the postcode is 0159.

From west to east, the street crosses or meets (distance from the western end, per OSM):

• Henrik Hrinevski Street — about 85 m

• Maks Tilke Street — about 0.33 km

• Oskar Shmerling Street — about 0.66 km

• Timote Beloi Street — about 0.95 km

• Ian Homer Street — about 1.27 km

• Rafiel Danibegashvili Street — about 1.6 km

• Niko Buri Street — about 1.94 km

• Nestan-Darejan Street and Eredvi Street — eastern end, about 2.2 km

Several unnamed roads also join it. Christian Steven Street runs roughly parallel to it, about 0.35–0.4 km to the north.

Transport

There is no metro station near the street. Based on OSM coordinates, the nearest stations are Ghrmaghele (about 3.85 km) and Guramishvili (about 3.9 km), both measured in a straight line from the eastern end of the street. The nearest bus stop mapped in OSM, “Baron de Baye Street #77” (No. 4355), is about 90 m from the street.

The name: Hugo Huppert

No official decision naming the street could be found in the Legislative Herald of Georgia (matsne.gov.ge), so the date of naming is unknown and the dedication is not confirmed by a document. The Georgian street name matches the form of the poet’s name used in Georgian Wikipedia, “ჰუგო ჰუპერტი”. OSM records the street as “ჰუგო ჰუბერტის ქუჩა” (Hugo Hubert Street).

According to Georgian Wikipedia (based on the Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia) and German and Russian Wikipedia, Hugo Huppert was born on 5 June 1902 in Bielitz (now Bielsko-Biała, Poland), then in Austria-Hungary, and died on 25 March 1982 in Vienna. He was an Austrian poet, prose writer, essayist, critic and translator. He joined the Communist Party of Austria in 1921. He studied in Vienna, at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the Institute of Red Professors in Moscow, and in 1928–1932 worked at the Marx–Engels Institute in Moscow. He is regarded as the leading German translator of Vladimir Mayakovsky.

In 1949 Huppert came to Georgia (according to German Wikipedia, he was banished to Tbilisi) and began work on translating The Knight in the Panther’s Skin. He completed the translation in 1954. It was first published in 1955 as Der Recke im Tigerfell, with his own foreword, “Rustaveli and His Poem”, and illustrations by S. Kobuladze, and was reissued in 1970, 1980 and 1982. In April 1956 he returned to Vienna, where he lived for the rest of his life.

Georgia is one of the main themes of Huppert’s work. His poetry collection Georgischer Wanderstab appeared in 1954. He published articles on Rustaveli and Tbilisi in East German magazines, and from 1958 gave a series of lectures on Georgia in Austrian cities. In 1966 he took part in the Rustaveli jubilee celebrations. His awards included the Heinrich Heine Prize (1964), the National Prize of the GDR (1967) and the Soviet Order of the Badge of Honour (1967); in 1969 Austria gave him the honorary title of Professor.

Nearby places

• Didi Dighomi Park — about 0.7 km (north of the eastern end of the street).

• Baron de Baye Street bus stop — about 90 m.

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

FAQ

1) Where is Hugo Huppert Street?
In the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi, in Didi Dighomi, in the north-west of the city; its eastern end is at the junction of Nestan-Darejan and Eredvi streets.

2) Who is the street named after?
The name corresponds to the Austrian poet and translator Hugo Huppert (1902–1982), who translated The Knight in the Panther’s Skin into German. The official naming document could not be found.

3) How long is the street?
According to OSM, about 2.2 km (2,218 m).

4) Which streets does it cross?
Henrik Hrinevski, Maks Tilke, Oskar Shmerling, Timote Beloi, Ian Homer, Rafiel Danibegashvili and Niko Buri streets; it ends in the east at Nestan-Darejan and Eredvi streets.

5) When did Huppert translate The Knight in the Panther’s Skin?
He started in 1949 and finished in 1954; the translation was first published in 1955 and reissued in 1970, 1980 and 1982.

6) What was Huppert’s connection with Tbilisi?
He lived in Georgia from 1949 until April 1956, translated Rustaveli’s poem there, and later published articles about Tbilisi and Rustaveli.

7) What is the nearest metro station?
Ghrmaghele (about 3.85 km) and Guramishvili (about 3.9 km), in a straight line from the eastern end of the street.

8) Is the street paved?
OSM records its surface as fine gravel; conditions on the ground may change.

9) Why do some maps say “Hugo Hubert Street”?
OSM records the Georgian name as “ჰუგო ჰუბერტის ქუჩა” (Hugo Hubert Street); Georgian Wikipedia and the Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia spell the poet’s surname “ჰუპერტი” (Huppert).

Sources

• Hugo Huppert Street (mapped as “Hugo Hubert Street”) — OpenStreetMap

• Nestan-Darejan Street — OpenStreetMap

• Didi Dighomi — OpenStreetMap

• Didi Dighomi Park — OpenStreetMap

• Bus stop “Baron de Baye Street #77” — OpenStreetMap

• Ghrmaghele metro station — OpenStreetMap

• Guramishvili metro station — OpenStreetMap

• Hugo Huppert — Georgian Wikipedia

• Hugo Huppert — German Wikipedia

• Hugo Huppert — Russian Wikipedia

• Kakabadze N., “Huppert, Hugo”, Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 11, Tbilisi, 1987, pp. 696–697 (cited in Georgian Wikipedia)