Gagra
The chief landmarks of Gagra are:
- Ruins of the Abaata Fortress (4th-5th century AD)
- A 6th-century Church of Gagra, said to be the oldest in Abkhazia
- Marlinsky defensive tower (1841)
- 19th-century palace of the Prince of Oldenburg
The town was established as a Greek colony in the kingdom of Colchis, called Triglite, inhabited by Greeks and Colchians. Colchis came under the control of the kingdom of Pontus in the 1st century BC before being absorbed by the Roman Empire, which renamed the town as Nitica. Its geographical position led the Romans to fortify the town, which was repeatedly attacked by Goths and other invaders. After the fall of Rome, its successor, the Byzantine Empire, took control of the town and whole Colchis. It became a major trading settlement in which Genoan and Venetian merchants were prominent, trading in the town's main exports - wood, honey, wax and slaves. The name "Gagra" appeared for the first time on a map in 1308, on a map of the caucasus made by the Italian Pietro Visconti, which is now in the Library of Saint Mark in Venice.
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