Tribute to the Belgian Engineer Behind the Tbilisi Funicular 🇬🇪🇧🇪

The Tbilisi Funicular is one of the city’s highest-rated attractions. As a tour guide, I often take my guests on this short but unforgettable 10-minute ride from the lower station to the top of Holy Mountain (Mtatsminda). I always see how impressed they are by the views and the experience they take in during this journey.

Tbilisi funicular

A funicular is a type of railway transport system designed to move people or goods up and down steep slopes. It usually consists of two connected cars attached to the same cable—when one car goes up, the other goes down, balancing each other.

Behind these impressive views lies an equally impressive story related to the construction of the funicular in 1905, almost 120 years ago, when it first started operation. At that time, Georgia was part of the Russian Empire (1801–1917), so most infrastructural projects were organized from Moscow.

Tbilisi funicular 1905

The idea was to build a new district of the city on the top of Holy Mountain. A small tram was planned as public transport from Sololaki to the top of the mountain. However, due to revolutionary movements in Russia in 1905, the construction of the new district failed. The railway, however, had already been built, so it eventually became a city attraction instead.

To go back to the history of the funicular: construction started in 1900, and the main idea came from the Belgian engineer Alfons Robys. His company was also operating the Tbilisi Konka (horse-drawn tram) since 1896. Many other engineers and architects participated in the construction of the funicular as well, including the Georgian public figure Niko Nikoladze.

Finally, it started operating in 1905. According to early accounts, people were initially afraid to use the tram. The Belgian company even offered money to encourage people to ride it. However, this soon changed, and there was a queue for tickets. Since 1905, it has remained an important part of the city’s transport and history, with a major reconstruction carried out in 2012.

Today, only around 10 European capitals have

funiculars.

• Tbilisi — Mtatsminda Funicular

• Prague — Petřín Funicular

• Lisbon — Bica, Glória and Lavra funiculars

• Budapest — Buda Castle Funicular

• Istanbul — modern urban funicular lines

• Kiev — Kyiv Funicular

• Zagreb — Zagreb Funicular

• Vilnius — hill funiculars

• Athens — Lycabettus funicular

Tbilisi’s is among the highest, located at about 727 meters above sea level. In terms of age, it is among the oldest, after Budapest (1870) and Zagreb 1891

Mukhran Guliashvili

Used sources:

1.https://www.scribd.com/doc/115292899/%E1%83%97%E1%83%91%E1%83%98%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1-%E1%83%A1%E1%83%90%E1%83%A5%E1%83%90%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90%E1%83%A5%E1%83%9D-%E1%83%A2%E1%83%A0%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C%E1%83%A1%E1%83%9E%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%A2%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1-%E1%83%92%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%97%E1%83%90%E1%83%A0%E1%83%94%E1%83%91%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1-%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%A2%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%98%E1%83%93%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C

2.https://kvirispalitra.ge/article/40267-tbilisis-punikulioris-istoria-ras-cerda-1905-cels-iveria-kalakis-axal-girsshesanishnaobaze/