I wouldn’t call The Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi, Georgia an eyesore but during the bright daylight hours is certainly sticks out against the backdrop of the “old” part of town. Sitting above the Kura River that winds its way through the middle of Tbilisi, The Bridge of Peace (built in 2010) practically screams, “I am modern!” next to places that are well over 800 years old. Georgians, who are probably the friendliest people I’ve ever encountered, will tell you enthusiastically to visit the bridge, and you should, though I’d amend that to add: at either sunrise, sunset, or after dark.
That’s when the over 10,000 LED lights built into The Bridge of Peace are illuminated, quite a lovely sight as the dusk sky turns slightly orange. You’ll find families, teenagers skipping their homework, and young lovers walking over to the large park just behind my camera from the angle above. It’s a long walk up the bridge from the other side, strangely with the entrance right in front of a casino. (Whose bouncers do not appreciate you taking photos of. You’ll have to sneak a few and trust you’re faster than Mr. Air Muscles standing outside.)
So after visiting The Bridge Of Peace at sunrise, sunset, and in the middle of the night (after partaking in the Georgian pastime of drinking far too much wine), I could go back to my enthusiastic Georgian friends and tell them what an impressive sight I saw. The Bridge Of Peace was designed by Italian Michele De Lucchi, built in Italy, then broken down into 200 pieces and driven to Tbilisi. Considering how far Georgia has come since 2003 and 2008, it seems only appropriate a bridge of peace would be put together in this capital city.
Well, I found it a little bit out of the place, there at a two steps away from the old city… but if they like it, I cannot opose 🙂 I also found the new Cathedral too big… anyway, it is time for huge structures in the Orthodox world – we also build the world’s largest church here in Bucharest (or almost the largest 🙂
Yes, definitely I agree and hope it’s not part of a trend. There is something very personable about old part, look, and feel of the city. And the new Cathedral is huge! So many of the rest of the churches in Georgia are so, so much smaller in comparison. I’ll now have to look up that church in Bucharest if I haven’t seen it before…
Well, I am an architect; therefor to my opinion it is very striking without overpowering the historical surroundings. Maybe a bit unusual for any body’s taste
Enjoy your travels Anil.
Ukraine and Georgia also on my wishlist for later this year
I’ll say it definitely grew on me, the lighting was key in my case but very interested to hear your point of view as an architect 🙂
Hope you’re enjoying your continued travels as well! It’s a good time to visit Georgia as not many others are.
Anil. for me, the Orthodox religious architecture tradition was characterised by small, humble, quite dark churches where you could somehow connect with the God. Probably, one reason was that the Orthodox nations were occupied for quite a lot of time (either by Moslem or Catholics), however, places like Romania (East and South), Georgia or Russia were free most of the time and we still built smaller structures which in my imagination are more similar to the original constructions and atmosphere from the beginning of Christianity. The only mega-church was obviously St. Sofia of Constantinopole, but its size was a political statement rather than an act of religion
After 1918, in Romania, in Transylvania, appeared the huge Orthodox cathedrals which had the objective to clearly state who is now the boss – dwarfing as much as possible the Catholic or Protestant ones. In the last years, I see lots of mega-structures – from the St. Sava Cathedral in Belgrade to the one in Tbilisi and ending to the Cathedral of Nation’s Saving (how it will be called in Bucharest). You could not see the new one in Bucharest as they just started the construction behind the Palace of Parliament (the right spot for the size of the Cathedral)
That is very interesting and reminds me quite of the south of Spain, where you find churches on practically every corner. Many of which the locals say was a reaction to being under Moorish rule for so many centuries.
Though I am now very curious about the new cathedral in Bucharest, to contend with the Palace of the Parliament it’s probably going to be massive!
Great pictures and thanks for sharing your experience. Have a wonderful trip. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed the photo, thanks!
I’ve looked and I’ve studied – and I’m a big fan of the Bridge of Peace. There’s a lot of this in the northwest of England (on a smaller scale) where we’re from. Modern bridges that really challenge you to stop and stare, erected in the midst of a Victorian backdrop. Clever architecture – when it’s done right. Let’s hope the Bridge of Peace’s message works.
I guess that’s the sign of a good architect, to create something different and still have it blend with its surroundings. I’m now curious about the bridges in northwest England to see how they’ve been built into the surrounding architecture.
Actually all of this has me thinking I should visit Wigan next time I’m in England. Maybe on the way to the Isle of Man to see if the people there are really like in The Fast Show 😉