Lado Gudiashvili Square

Lado Gudiashvili Square is near Liberty Square, in Tbilisi. It is located at the crossroads of Lermontovi, B. Akhospireli, Gia Abesadze, Abo Tbileli and other streets. It is a historical square, the plan of the square dates back to the middle Ages. There are 11 buildings around the square. Nine of them have historical significance. The most noteworthy is the house on the corner of the square and Lermontov Street. It is the editorial office of the newspaper "Literaturuli Sakartvelo"(Literature of Georgia), which is known as "Tsisperi Sakhli"(Blue House). Russian Army headquarters and the Officers' Hotel were located in this building. In 1838 the poet Mikhail Lermontov spent the night in the "Blue House". In the late Middle Ages the square was called "Bejana Garden". Until 1828, people called the house Moghnisi in honor of the Armenian Church of the Virgin Mary standing near the square. In the XIX century, this area was the administrative center of the Caucasian dominions of the Russian Empire. It was named Lado Gudiashvili square in honor of the greatest Georgian painter in 1988.