Zestafoni
Zestafoni
| Zestafoni ზესტაფონი |
|
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
 |
|
 Zestafoni
|
|
| Coordinates: 42°06′20″N 43°02′09″E / 42.10556°N 43.03583°E | |
| Country |  Georgia |
| Mkhare | Imereti |
| District | Zestaponi District |
| Area | |
| - Total | 163.3 sq mi (423 km2) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - Total | 76,208 |
| Time zone | Georgian Standard Time (UTC+4) |
Zestafoni or Zestaponi (Georgian: ზესტაფონი) is the capital of Zestaponi District in Western Georgia, which is part of Imereti province. It is an important industrial center, with a large ferro-alloy plant processing manganese ore from nearby Chiatura. Zestafoni is in the Kolkheti lowlands, a semi-tropical region with relatively cold winters averaging -4°C in January and hot summers averaging 24°C in August. The surrounding countryside is a wine-growing region.
Zestafoni lies two kilometers south of the small but ancient fortress town of Shorapani, founded by Pharnavaz I of Iberia in the 3rd century BC. The town of Zestafoni is first mentioned in historical records in the 1560s. In the 1820s a Cossack army was posted in the town, which was then called "Kvirila" after the river that runs through it. In the 1920s the name was changed again to "Jugeli", after a famous revolutionary. Only later did the city regain its historical name.
Industry
The town of Zestafoni and the smaller neigboring town of Shorapani are industrial centers. The Zestafoni ferro-alloy plant processes raw manganese ore shipped by rail down the Kvirila valley from Chiatura, supplying 6% of world demand. The largest ferroalloy plant in the country, in 1998 it produced 35,000 tonnes of silicomanganese and 11,000 tonnes of medium-carbon manganese alloy. This was well below its previous peak production of 110,000 tonnes of manganese-based alloys. The British steel trading company Stemcor acquired the ferro-alloy plant in February 2006.
Two other plants in the Zestafoni / Shorapani area produce electrical products, aluminum and copper cable and wire. There were more plants in the Soviet era producing fireproof clay, marble and clothing, and processing grapes, but many have closed down.
Sports and culture
The local football club, FC Zestafoni, plays in the top league in Georgia and won the league championship in the 2010-11 season.. The city's stadium was built by Zestafoni Ferro-alloy Plant in 1952 and since renovation has a capacity of 4,100.
The writer Boris Akunin and philosopher Tengiz Tsereteli were born in Zestafoni. The psychologist and philosopher Dimitri Uznadze was born in the nearby village of Sakara in 1886. Famous Georgian actors Shalva Ghambashidze, Ushangi Chkheidze, Sergo and Bukhuti Zakariadze were also born in Zestafoni.
- ^ a b c "Zestafoni Region". PS News. http://www.psnews.ge/eng/zestafoni-region_eng.php. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ "History". Football Club Zestafoni. http://www.fczestafoni.ge/Eng/Sity/Sity.htm. Retrieved 2010-2-2.
- ^ MITCHELL, ROBERT W. (April 2, 1999). "Russia plans to up output of ferroalloys.". American Metal Market. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-54301945.html. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ Margarita Antidze (February 23, 2006). "Stemcor says acquires Georgian ferro-alloy plant". http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/060222/3/3yvlp.html. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ "Official web-site of FC “Zestafoni”". FC “Zestafoni”. http://www.fczestafoni.ge/Eng/FcZestafoni.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ "Чхартишвили, Григорий" (in Russian). Collection of materials by Lenta.ru. http://www.lenta.ru/lib/14183665/. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- ^ Georgy Ketchuashvili2. "Dimitri Uznadze (1886–1950)". PROSPECTS: the quarterly review of comparative education vol. 24, no.3/4, 1994, p. 687–701. UNESCO: International Bureau of Education. http://www.vidyaonline.net/thinkers/uznadzee.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
Coordinates: 42°06′20″N 43°02′09″E / 42.10556°N 43.03583°E
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
