Georgia can rightly be called one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Such an abundance of diverse natural beauty and fascinating cultural sites is rare on our planet.

At the beginning, it was not at all obvious that the Georgians would be blessed with such miracles. How it came about is described in a legend:

God was in the process of dividing his land among the people, each people getting their deserved share. But the Georgians were too busy celebrating, drinking wine and serving delicacies to arrive on time to receive their piece of land. When they stood before God the next day, still intoxicated from the exuberant celebration, God said: "I'm sorry, I have no land left for you, why did you come so late?"

The Georgians, still in excellent spirits, replied: "Lord, please forgive us, we had a feast in your honor, drank to you and lost track of time! But it doesn't matter, God come with us and let us continue celebrating!"

God was impressed by the sincere cheerfulness and hospitality, as well as the passion for good food and drink, and decided to give the Georgians the last piece of land that He had reserved for Himself - Georgia.

But Georgia has of course much more to offer than legends......

And there is some truth in this, God's favorite landscape - the bar is set incredibly high compared to other countries.

Georgia is a small country with enormous diversity!

• There are fantastic hiking regions not only in the high mountains of the Greater Caucasus, but throughout the entire country the spectacular nature invites you to lace up your outdoor boots.
• There are dense, intact forest regions and subtropical vegetation similar to the rainforest.
• The beaches on Georgia's Black Sea coast are among the most beautiful on this large inland sea.
• Bizarre desert landscapes tempt you to exciting off-road experiences.
• Early Christian churches and impressive monasteries are scattered throughout the country and offer insights into an ancient culture.
• Georgian cuisine offers culinary specialties that cannot be compared to any other cuisine.
• Georgian wine culture is perhaps the oldest in the world and something very special.
• The cities are bustling with life and the capital Tblisi is one of the most interesting in Europe.
• And the Georgian script is perhaps the most beautiful in the world - at least one of the oldest.

Georgia is located on the very eastern edge of Europe, at the interface with the Middle East, at the other end of the Black Sea. It covers an area of 69,700 km² and is therefore just about as big as Bavaria if you include the occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Without these "autonomous republics" the country covers 57,215 km².

The country has a population of 3.7 million, which is half as many people as live in Hong Kong.

The capital is Tblisi, in German Tiflis is also used, although it is outdated.

Georgians pay with Lari (1 Lari is about 30 cents), and the average citizen has about 2000 of these at his disposal per month. This is actually not a small amount, as the price level is much lower compared to Western Europe. Even in the "low-price country" of Albania, the prices for many services and products are now higher.

The time difference to Central Europe is 3 hours. If you fly directly from Munich or Frankfurt, it will take a good 4 hours. From Vienna it is quicker, 3 hours.

The peaks of the Greater Caucasus in Georgia are often over 5,000 meters high; the highest mountain, Shuamta, is 5,201 meters high, Dzjanga 5,051 meters high and Kazbek 5,047 meters high. They are covered in snow all year round. The air has practically become too thin for the Swiss Matterhorn just 500 meters earlier.

Most of the mountain passes to remote regions such as Tusheti or Khevsureti also lead well above 2,000 meters, which means that you do not need to set off there before the end of May.

Touristisch blickt Georgien, privilegiert am Südhang des Großen Kaukasus gelegen, auf eine lange Tradition zurück. Die fantastische Natur, die lebensfrohen und feierfreudigen Menschen, das milde Klima und die subtropischen Strände sowie die zahlreichen Kurorte waren schon zur Zarenzeit echte Sehnsuchtsziele der Russen. Und im 20. Jahrhundert stieg Georgien zum Reiseziel Nummer 1 der Sowjetbürger auf.

Als das sowjetische Staatengebilde Anfang der 1990er-Jahre komplett in seine Einzelteile zerfiel, war es auch im südöstlich angrenzenden Georgien vorbei mit der touristischen Blüte. Das Land schlitterte in eine riesige wirtschaftliche und politische Krise und bekam sogar den Stempel als ein gefährliches Reiseland aufgedrückt.

2004 betrat der Sympathieträger Michail Saakaschwili die politische Bühne, krempelte das Land von Grund auf um, bekämpfte unermüdlich mit einem gewissen Erfolg Korruption und Kriminalität. Georgien verlor seinen Schrecken als unsichere Destination, konnte so an die touristische Entwicklung von früher anknüpfen und sich somit einen gewissen "Wohlstand" zurückholen.

Heute gilt das Land am Großen Kaukasus als ein absolut sicheres Reiseland.

Mit den Einnahmen wurde auch der Straßenbau immens vorangetrieben und jeder Landesteil ist inzwischen mobil erreichbar, wenngleich manche Regionen immer noch nur über abenteuerliche Schotterpisten erreichbar sind.

Trotzdem ist und bleibt (vorerst) Georgien ein Ziel für Abenteurer, will man tief in Land und Kultur eintauchen. Eine Reise nach Tuschetien, Chewsuretien, in Teile Swanetiens und zu manchen Orten im Kleinen Kaukasus wird dabei zu einer spannenden Expedition in die Vergangenheit und wer sich darauf einlässt, wird hierbei tiefe Einblicke in das Erbe der Kaukasusbewohner bekommen.

Andernorts prallen Tradition und Moderne aufeinander und bilden einen absolut interessanten Kontrast. Ja, Georgien ist ein Land der Gegensätze, lässt einen in seiner Faszination kaum mehr los und ist auf dem besten Weg ein ganz großer Star unter den Reisedestinationen zu werden.

Es gibt einen georgischen Wahlspruch, der bei dieser Entwicklung genau ins Schwarze trifft:

"ძალა ერთობაშია – dsala ertobaschia - die Kraft liegt in der Einheit“!

In diesem Sinne:

გამარჯობა და კეთილი იყოს თქვენი მობრძანება საქართველოში - gamardshoba da k’etili iq’os tkveni mobrdzaneba sakartveloshi - Guten Tag und herzlich willkommen in Georgien!