Ambrolauri

The territory of Ambrolauri has not been systematically studied archaeologically. The toponym Ambrolauri is known from the 17th century. The Russian diplomat Alexey Yevlev, who visited the Kingdom of Imereti in 1650, and then the Georgian scholar Prince Vakhushti, writing {{circa}} 1745, mention a royal castle at Ambrolauri, where the Krikhula River becomes a tributary of the Rioni. Only insignificant ruins of that palace have survived. The name of the city may have been derived from the surname Amarolisdze, while the settlement could have earlier been known as Metekhara, a toponym recorded in the 11th-century charter to the Nikortsminda Cathedral.{{cite book|editor1-last=Gamkrelidze|editor1-first=Gela|title=ქართლის ცხოვრების ტოპოარქეოლოგიური ლექსიკონი [A Topoarchaeological dictionary of Kartlis tskhovreba (The history of Georgia)]|date=2013|publisher=Center of Archaeology, National Museum of Georgia|location=Tbilisi|isbn=978-9941-15-896-4|page=30|edition=1st|url=http://dspace.nplg.gov.ge/bitstream/1234/41521/1/KartlisCxovrebisTopoarqeologiuriLeksikoni.pdf|language=ka|chapter=ამბროლაური (Ambrolauri)|display-editors=etal}}

In 1769, the Imeretian king Solomon I granted Ambrolauri to a prince from the Machabeli family, Zurab, an in-law of the Tsulukidze, one of the leading families in Racha. An old three-storey tower built of stone and lime, located in the city, is still known to the locals as the Machabeli Tower. Ruins of a stone hall church are also found nearby. An inscription from the church doorway makes mention of King George III of Imereti (r. 1605–1639) and his family. A hoard of hundreds of coins buried early in the 17th century, including those with Arabic inscription stuck at Tbilisi and those issued in the name of George II of Imereti (r. 1565–1585), was unearthed in 1909.

After the Russian conquest of Imereti in 1810, Ambrolauri became a part of the Racha district (uyezd). In Soviet Georgia, it became the seat of the Ambrolauri district (raion) in 1930 and acquired the city status in 1966. In 1934, Ambrolauri was renamed into Enukidze after the Soviet statesman Avel Yenukidze, upon whose execution in 1937, the city's old name was restored.{{cite book|last1=Pospelov|first1=Yevgeny|title=Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь|trans-title=City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary|date=1993|publisher=Russkiye slovari|location=Moscow|page=27|language=ru}} In 1968, Ambrolauri had a population of 4,400.{{cite book|title=Большая советская энциклопедия [Great Soviet Encyclopaedia]|year=1978|publisher=Sovetskaya entsiklopediya|location=Moscow|edition=3rd|url=http://bse.chemport.ru/ambrolauri.shtml|language=ru|chapter=Амбролаури [Ambrolauri]}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The city was damaged by the 1991 Racha earthquake. It experienced a demographic decline and economic activity in the years of post-Soviet crisis. Ambrolauri became the seat of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti regional administration in 1995. As a result of the local government reform in 2014, Ambrolauri was split from the homonymous municipality as a self-governing city and the city's population directly elected its first mayor ever.{{cite news|title=Final Results of the Election Day according to ISFED Data|url=http://www.isfed.ge/main/719/eng/|access-date=9 July 2015|publisher=International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy|date=16 June 2014}} In 2017, this decision was reverted and Ambrolauri, like six other cities, lost its self-governing status again when the central government deemed this reform too expensive and inefficient.{{Cite web|url=https://old.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=30234|title=Civil.Ge | Parliament Reduces Number of Self-Governing Cities|website=old.civil.ge}}

Highest recorded temperature: {{Convert|41.8|C|F|abbr=on}} on 30 July 2000

Lowest recorded temperature: {{Convert|-19.0|C|F|abbr=on}} on 30 December 2006

{{Weather box

|location = Ambrolauri (1991–2020, extremes 1981-present)

|metric first = y

|single line = y

|width = auto

|Jan record high C = 17.0

|Feb record high C = 23.0

|Mar record high C = 28.3

|Apr record high C = 33.5

|May record high C = 35.5

|Jun record high C = 36.9

|Jul record high C = 41.8

|Aug record high C = 41.2

|Sep record high C = 39.5

|Oct record high C = 33.5

|Nov record high C = 24.2

|Dec record high C = 19.8

|year record high C = 41.8

|Jan high C = 5.6

|Feb high C = 8.4

|Mar high C = 13.2

|Apr high C = 18.8

|May high C = 23.8

|Jun high C = 27.5

|Jul high C = 30.0

|Aug high C = 30.7

|Sep high C = 26.5

|Oct high C = 20.7

|Nov high C = 13.1

|Dec high C = 7.0

|year high C = 18.8

|Jan low C = -3.1

|Feb low C = -2.3

|Mar low C = 1.5

|Apr low C = 5.6

|May low C = 10.1

|Jun low C = 13.9

|Jul low C = 16.9

|Aug low C = 16.8

|Sep low C = 12.9

|Oct low C = 7.8

|Nov low C = 2.0

|Dec low C = -1.8

|year low C = 6.7

|Jan record low C = -17.8

|Feb record low C = -18.8

|Mar record low C = -12.4

|Apr record low C = -5.5

|May record low C = 0.0

|Jun record low C = 4.5

|Jul record low C = 5.5

|Aug record low C = 7.0

|Sep record low C = 1.0

|Oct record low C = -3.5

|Nov record low C = -9.0

|Dec record low C = -19.0

|year record low C = -19.0

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 83.4

|Feb precipitation mm = 62.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 86.2

|Apr precipitation mm = 80.1

|May precipitation mm = 102.2

|Jun precipitation mm = 91.0

|Jul precipitation mm = 83.3

|Aug precipitation mm = 75.8

|Sep precipitation mm = 91.5

|Oct precipitation mm = 116.1

|Nov precipitation mm = 91.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 91.0

|year precipitation mm = 1055.2

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days =11.6

| Feb precipitation days =9.4

| Mar precipitation days =10.7

| Apr precipitation days =10.8

| May precipitation days =11.8

| Jun precipitation days =10.5

| Jul precipitation days =7.6

| Aug precipitation days =7.1

| Sep precipitation days =8.2

| Oct precipitation days =9.1

| Nov precipitation days =10

| Dec precipitation days =10.2

| year precipitation days =

|source 1 = NOAA {{cite web

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Georgia/CSV/Ambrolauri_37308.csv | format = CSV | title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020: Ambrolauri-37308 | publisher = National Centers for Environmental Information | access-date = 15 March 2024}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211009215740/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-VI/Georgia/WMO_Normals_Georgia.xls

| archive-date = 9 October 2021

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-VI/Georgia/WMO_Normals_Georgia.xls

| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010

| publisher = National Centers for Environmental Information

| access-date = 9 October 2021}}

}}

File:Ambrolauri Museum of Fine Arts (Photo A. Muhranoff, 2011).jpg

between 2014 and 2017 Ambrolauri was a self-governing city with its own municipal governance—a representative council (sakrebulo) and an executive body headed by a mayor. Effective the 2017 local election cycle, the governance of the City of Ambrolauri merged back with the Ambrolauri Municipality, a self-governing territorial subdivision. Both the council and mayor are elected for a four-year term since 2017. As result of the roll-back of the self-governing status, the city only had its own mayor for one 3-year term.

Ambrolauri is the seat of the State Commissioner (or governor), representing Georgia's central government in the city of Ambrolauri and four other municipalities grouped together into the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region. Ambrolauri also houses the bodies of local self-government of the Ambrolauri Municipality, which is a separate self-governing community.

Ambrolauri is home to the Museum of Fine Arts,{{cite web|title=Ambrolauri Fine Art Museum|url=http://www.georgianmuseums.ge/?lang=eng&id=1_1&sec_id=10&th_id=192#|website=Georgian Museums|publisher=Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection of Georgia, ICOM National Committee in Georgia, Georgian Museums Association, Culturological Research Association|access-date=9 July 2015}} and a theatre. The environs of Ambrolauri are rich in historical monuments such as the churches of Barakoni and Nikortsminda. A recreational zone is being developed at Shaori Lake, south of Ambrolauri.{{cite news|title=Moscow-based Georgian Businessman to Build a Hotel on the Shaori Lake|url=http://cbw.ge/home/moscow-based-georgian-businessman-to-build-a-hotel-on-the-shaori-lake/|access-date=9 July 2015|work=Caucasus Business Week|date=14 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710221508/http://cbw.ge/home/moscow-based-georgian-businessman-to-build-a-hotel-on-the-shaori-lake/|archive-date=10 July 2015}}

Ambrolauri is served by an airport, opened in January 2017, which can serve small planes carrying 15–20 passengers. Its runway is 1.1 km long and a terminal of 600 square meters can serve about 50 people at a time.{{cite news|title=Georgia welcomes airport in western Racha region|url=http://agenda.ge/news/73189/eng|access-date=14 January 2017|work=Agenda.ge|date=14 January 2017}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Commons category inline|Ambrolauri}}

{{Cities and towns in Georgia (country)}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:Cities and towns in Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti

Category:Kutaisi Governorate

Category:Populated places in Ambrolauri Municipality