Dadiani Palaces Museum

Constructed in the 17th century and renovated in the 19th, the palace is a Neo Gothic building. The main structure of the complex is known as the Queen's Palace, since it belonged to the Queen Regent of Mingrelia.

• Name — Dadiani Palace • Native Name — დადიანების სასახლე • Established — 1840 • Location — Palace of Princess Ekaterine Chavchavadze-Dadiani, 2, Zviad Gamsakhurdia str., Zugdidi, Georgia • Type — Art museum, Design/Textile Museum, Historic site • Collection Size — 41,000 • Website — https: www.georgianmuseums.ge/

The main structure of the Dadiani Palace in its present form is credited to the English architect Edwin Race (b. 1819), who was active in Georgia throughout the 19th century. The building is primarily in neo-Gothic style but also incorporates elements of Georgian, Russian, Islamic, and Tudor architecture. The first exhibition at the palace displayed archaeological excavations of the ancient city of Nakalakevi, which was prepared by Megrelian prince David Dadiani, and took place in 1840. Three palaces form the modern museum complex, parts of which are also Blachernae Virgin Church and Zugdidi Botanical Garden. The Dadiani Palaces History and Architecture Museum houses some exhibits of natural cultural heritage of Georgia – Tagiloni treasure materials, Mother of God holy vesture, the icon of queen Bordokhan – mother of queen Tamar of Georgia, manuscripts from 13th – 14th centuries, miniatures, memorial relics of Dadiani dynasty, and objects connected to emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte – brought to the palace by the husband of David Dadiani's daughter Salome Dadiani, prince Prince Charles Louise Napoléon Achille Murat (1847-1895), grandson of Napoleon's sister Caroline Bonaparte. The palace was fully transformed into a museum on May 1, 1921, at the initiative of Georgian ethnographer and geologist Akaki Chanturia.