History starts here. This is the motto of the National Youth and Children’s Palace, located in the center of Tbilisi at 6 Shota Rustaveli Avenue. It was in this majestic building that the history of Azerbaijan’s independence began.
As many as 104 years ago, on May 26, the independence of Georgia was proclaimed in the historic building, where the palace of the viceroy of the tsar in the Caucasus was once located, or, as it was called by the people, the Vorontsov Palace, and two days later - Azerbaijan and Armenia proclaimed their independence. On May 28, 1918, the Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan was read out in the Mirror Hall of the palace.
The National Youth and Children’s Palace, which became the first witness of the proclamation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic - the first democratic republic in the Middle East, is undergoing major repair and restoration work.
Employees of the Georgian bureau of Report visited the building, got acquainted with the current stage of restoration work, including in the Hall of Mirrors.
The building was built in 1868 by German-born Russian architect Otto Simonson in the style of a Renaissance palazzo on the site of the governor’s palace built in 1802.
Since 1917, the government of the Transcaucasian Federation was located in the palace. Until 1937, the building housed the government of Soviet Georgia, and since 1941 - the Palace of Pioneers. In 2018, the palace was given the status of a museum.
Restoration work is carried out by the Tbilisi Development Fund. The Fund’s project manager Revaz Tsibirashvili said in an interview with Report that the building is very majestic and complex in its decorative elements. He noted that the first stage of restoration work has been completed and the work of the second stage is underway.
“Work is underway in the interior of the building, in the Mirror, Marble, White, Assembly halls. Attention is paid to every aspect - old drawings, decorative elements, preservation of paintings in their original form,” he said.
As for the work in the Hall of Mirrors, Tsibirashvili noted that the work carried out there requires a more detailed approach: “This hall is one of the most important in its historical significance. A full restoration of the mirrors is underway, undamaged patterns will be kept as they are, and the missing parts will be restored.”
Director of the Palace Tinatin Rukhadze said in an interview with Report that the building is one of the most significant in Tbilisi. She noted that the building has an important historical significance both for Azerbaijan and for the region.
Filming inside the building is not allowed for security reasons, as intensive repair and restoration work is underway.
During the repair and restoration work at the entrance to the Hall of Mirrors, the sign with the inscription in Azerbaijani, Georgian and English about the declaration of Azerbaijan’s independence is covered to avoid damage.
The service life of the building, which is over 200 years old, will be extended after a major restoration. The unique building, which has also preserved the historical memory of Azerbaijan, will serve future generations for many years to come, and will also become a witness to the history of Georgia in the future.