After reconstruction works began last year in October, the Tbilisi Statement University Ropeway is on the verge of reopening. First built in 1983 to soar across the Vere River gorge and link the university dormitories to the Bagebi neighbourhood, the system fell into disuse in the 90s and was finally abandoned in 2004. Once the...
For urban gondola enthusiasts, Georgia seems to be one of those gifts that keep on giving. It appears that another fascinating ropeway system has been (re)discovered in the mountainous and picturesque regions of Georgia. At a length of 4,500m, the Tsnori-Sighnaghi Cableway was the longest passenger ropeway ever built in the country. The aerial tram, designed in...
Central Tbilisi is undergoing tremendous change as the Georgian capital modernizes its aging infrastructure. In recent years, a growing number of visitors are flocking to Georgia with a record setting 2.3 million international tourist arrivals in 2016. To support this growth, a new Tourism Development Fund was created to finance eight major hotel developments worth US$680 million. For...
Georgian ropeways continue to be a source of curiosity and fascination. Perhaps its relative remoteness adds a degree of mystique to the many cable car systems now being (re)discovered. Luckily, as technology improves, we’re beginning to learn more and more about the treasure trove of ropeways in Georgia. Below are a few videos that we recently...
As part of our research into the state of urban cable cars in Tbilisi, we’re starting to learn more and more about the 10+ ropeways in the Georgian capital. One fascinating development we’ve received information about is the reconstruction of the Tbilisi State University (TSU) – Bagebi Ropeway. This 334m Soviet-era system was built in 1983 to...
Update February 10, 2017: As we’ve alluded to in our original post, filtering and interpreting Soviet-era information with a high degree of precision is proving to be a little more challenging than we first expected. To compound these difficulties, we’ve learned this week that much of the history for Georgian/Tbilisi ropeways may have been lost forever. During the tumultuous...
In the 8 years in which the Gondola Project has been online, our team has been on a journey to uncover the secrets of the urban gondola world and to share that knowledge with our readers. Most recently, a fellow researcher has helped our team learn more about the fascinating passenger cable lifts in Georgia (the country, not...