Gagra

Triglyt colony and Trakheia fortress  

In the 2nd century BC, a Greek trading colony by the name of Triglite was founded at the location of modern-day Gagra. Several centuries later, the Romans built a fortress by the name of Nitica on the same spot, and a settlement sprung up around it. Nitica is mentioned in the works of the renowned Roman historian Flavius Arrianus (2nd century BC).

In the 6th century AD, a Greek historian, Procopius of Caesarea, described a settlement in the area built near the fortress of Trachea. It was at this fortress that the Abazgs had fought the Byzantines in the course of the historical Trachean Battle. The Byzantines took over the fortress, plundered it and burned it down, killing most of the inhabitants and taking others captive. Yet the settlement around the fortress remained, and sometime in the 6th or 7th century, a church with a gabled roof was built where the fortress once stood. One of the most ancient churches in Abkhazia, it has a very simple architecture, without the traditional dome over the altar. The church walls are built of large, differently sized hewn boulders, with the in-between spaces filled with flat pebbles and secured with mortar.

Genoese settlement Kakura of XIII century. Russian garrisons in the XIX century 

Kakura, a Genoese settlement, was established in the area by the end of the 1300s, and marked down on the map drawn by the famous Italian traveler Pietro Visconti. In 1641, a famous Turkish traveler, Evliya Celebi, referred to Gagra as "Kakur Harbor."

In 1830, twenty years after Abkhazia was annexed by the Russian Empire, a Russian garrison was quartered in Gagra. The military reconstructed the old fortress, built ramparts and made embrasures in the walls. In those days, Gagra could not very well be considered a resort: surrounded by swamps and infested by fever, the Russian base was constantly under attack from highlanders. After the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878, Gagra ceased being a military fort.

Resort  of high society

In 1891, a highway was built through Gagra. In 1901, Prince Alexander of Oldenburg, a close relative of Tsar Nicholas II, took it upon himself to turn Gagra into a high society health resort that would meet European quality standards. The government allotted approximately 14500 hectares of land and about 3 million rubles to the cause. Among the palaces and villas built during that period, the one erected for Princess Eugenia of Oldenburg was among the most gorgeous. It survives to this day, currently housing Gagrypsh Restaurant. Interestingly, the building was assembled from parts ordered from Norway and Vienna. Yet the most dramatic architectural wonder in the area is the palace built for Prince of Oldenburg himself, completed in 1904.

All-Union health resort and the present

Once Soviet government was established in Abkhazia, Gagra's palaces and mansions were nationalized and turned into hotels and retreats. After WWII, there was another period of intensive construction, when thirty new health spas, hostels, hotels and retreats were built and opened for tourists year-round. Gagra became a major vacation destination for the Soviets.

Gagra had suffered greatly during the 1992-1993 war with Georgia. Following Georgian occupation and subsequent battles for liberation, many buildings were wrecked.

Today, Gagra is Abkhazia's most dynamically growing resort. There is intensive construction, with new entertainment centers and restaurants being built, and customer service keeps improving. Gagra is also the site of Abkhazia's only water park.