Culture Heritage: museums, tours, master-classes

Museums

Three excellent museums are located in Mestia. Even if you are not a museum fan, we strongly recommend to visit in order to feel the genio loci, the spirit of the place.

The Museum of History and Ethnography treasures magnificent pieces of medieval Svaneti art. The museum is ranked in the Top 10 European Ethnographic museums and its integration into the environment is unique. Good coffee in the lobby & a great view of Mt Banguriani and Mestia from the roof.

“Margiani Machubi”, located in Lanchvali area, is a traditional Svan Manor, complete with interior furnishing and tower which you can climb to get a bird’s eye view of Mestia.

The house-museum of the legendary Soviet alpinist Mikhail Khergiani, of Svaneti origin. This museum was lovingly created by Mikhail’s friends as a memorial to bravery and daring, true friendship and an unbendable spirit of adventure and achievement.

Tickets: 3-7 GEL.

Guided tour at History & Ethnography Museum: 45 GEL per group.

Culture-heritage tours

The golden age of Svaneti’s material culture and art is the period between the 10th and the 14th centuries. Legendary Svan towers, manors, churches and monasteries were all built during this period. The churches were beautifully decorated with wall-paintings, silverware, hammered and gold-plated ikons, illuminated manuscripts of the Gospels, precious vessels.  Due to the fact that Svaneti was so well protected from invasions, the entire Georgian Kingdom often used it as a treasury for safekeeping valuables from all over the country. A lot of this world-class culture heritage is there for us to see making Svaneti a living ethnographic museum under open sky.