Georgia Built a 115-Foot Monument to Its Entire History, and Never Finished It

On a hill above Tbilisi stands a monument so large that people walking beneath it look almost miniature. The Chronicle of Georgia consists of 16 enormous pillars rising as high as 35 meters, or about 115 feet, above Keeni Hill near the northern end of the Tbilisi Sea. Each column is covered with giant bronze reliefs depicting Georgian rulers, national heroes and scenes from Christianity. From a distance, the structure can look ancient. It is actually younger than many of the apartment buildings visible from the hill. Construction began in 1985, during the final years of the Soviet Union, under Georgian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. The monument was conceived as an enormous visual history of Georgia, combining the country's political past with its long Christian tradition. It was never completely finished. That unfinished condition is one of the more unusual parts of the site. Despite its enormous scale and elaborate artwork, portions of the complex still appear incomplete decades after construction began. The monument is arranged almost like a forest of stone and bronze. Visitors climb a long staircase before entering between the massive columns. Once inside, the scale becomes difficult to judge. Human figures carved into the monument can themselves be several meters tall, while horizontal blocks connect some of the pillars high overhead. The upper portions tell the story of Georgia's rulers and national history. Kings, queens, warriors and other important figures appear in monumental relief. Georgia has existed at the crossroads of Europe and Asia for centuries, surviving invasions, rival empires and repeated political upheaval. The Chronicle attempts to compress that enormous history into a single architectural space. The lower sections turn toward religion. Scenes from the life of Jesus appear alongside figures important to Georgian Christianity. The division is deliberate. Georgia's political history occupies the upper sections while its Christian history is represented closer to ground level. That religious element is especially important in Georgia. The country adopted Christianity in the fourth century, making it one of the earliest states in the world to officially embrace the religion. Saint Nino, traditionally credited with bringing Christianity to Georgia, is represented at the site through a large grapevine cross. A small chapel also stands beside the main monument. The setting makes the structure even more dramatic. Keeni Hill overlooks the enormous reservoir commonly called the Tbilisi Sea. From the monument, visitors can see across the water and over sections of northern Tbilisi. The city stretches below while the dark pillars rise above the hilltop. The reservoir itself is artificial. It was created in the 1950s by connecting and expanding several smaller salt lakes northeast of central Tbilisi. Today it serves as both a reservoir and recreational area, creating a huge blue backdrop behind the Chronicle. The monument's designer, Zurab Tsereteli, became known for working on an enormous scale. Born in Tbilisi in 1934, he created monumental sculptures in Georgia, Russia and several other countries. His work frequently involved oversized historical and religious figures designed to dominate the landscapes around them. The Chronicle of Georgia may be one of the clearest examples of that approach. There is almost nothing subtle about it. The columns are huge. The human figures are huge. The staircase is broad, the hilltop is exposed, and the monument can be seen from far across the surrounding area. Yet the amount of detail becomes apparent only when someone walks directly beneath it. Individual panels contain groups of people, weapons, clothing, religious symbols and architectural details. Some sections resemble enormous pages from an illustrated history book, except the pages are made from bronze and rise several stories into the air. This is where the monument's name begins to make sense. It is not simply a memorial to one battle, ruler or event. It attempts to function as a physical chronicle of an entire country. That ambition is partly why visitors sometimes compare it to Stonehenge. The nickname "Georgian Stonehenge" comes from the arrangement of the gigantic vertical columns and horizontal blocks, although the two sites have no historical connection. Stonehenge is prehistoric. The Chronicle of Georgia dates from the 1980s. The comparison is visual rather than historical, and the Georgian monument is dramatically taller. Its timing is also interesting. Construction began only six years before the Soviet Union collapsed. Georgia declared independence in 1991 and then went through years of political instability, economic crisis and conflict. The monument that had begun under Soviet rule suddenly belonged to an independent Georgia trying to redefine its national identity. Work continued intermittently, but the original project was never fully completed. That unfinished state does not necessarily stand out from a distance. The major columns are already so enormous and visually complete that the site can appear finished in photographs. Walking around it reveals sections where surfaces, foundations and architectural elements do not have the same level of completion. The result gives the Chronicle an unusual character. It is simultaneously a functioning national monument and a decades-old construction project that never quite reached its intended final form. Despite its size, it is located well outside the historic center where most visitors spend their time. Tbilisi's most famous attractions cluster around the Old Town, Freedom Square, Narikala Fortress and the banks of the Mtkvari River. The Chronicle sits several miles north, above residential districts near the Tbilisi Sea. That separation helps explain why such a massive structure can remain unfamiliar to many international visitors. Someone can spend days exploring central Tbilisi without ever seeing it. Drive north toward the reservoir, however, and the monument eventually appears on the hill. Up close, the 16 columns surround visitors with kings, saints, warriors and biblical scenes towering overhead. It was designed to tell thousands of years of Georgian history in one place. Forty years after construction began, the story is still standing above Tbilisi, even if the monument telling it was never completely finished.