This square is considered to be a geographical center of Tbilisi. It has a very interesting history. The square was initially named after Ivan Pashkevich – Erivan Square. Ivan Pashkevich got his title (the Count of Erivan) in honour of his conquest of Erivan for Russian Empire.
That’s how the square looked like at that time.
The city name that is written on this picture is Tiflis. This is how the capital of Georgia was called till 1936. Since 20th of August 1963 the name was changed to Tbilisi – it is more closer to national pronunciation of the city name.
GPS coordinates for Garmin/Navitel: N41.693396, E44.801497
Let’s get back to the second half of 19th century. Famous Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin lived in one of the houses located near the square at that time. So there is a small park near the Freedom Square that is named after Pushkin.
In 1851, the square was named as Theater Square. In 1918 it was named “Freedom Square”, but this name was changed with coming of the Soviet Union. During Soviet Union time, the square was named first “Beria Square” and then “Lenin Square”.
On November 23, 2006, the monument (depicting Saint George slaying the dragon) created by Zurab Tsereteli was unveiled.
