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Akhaltsikhe (Municipality, Georgia)

ახალციხე

Flag and arms of Akhaltsikhe - Images communicated by The State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia, 25 January 2011

Presentation of Akhaltsikhe
Flag of Akhaltsikhe

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Georgia

Presentation of Akhaltsikhe

The town of Akhaltsikhe (46,134 inhabitants), lit. "New Castle", also known as Lomsia, is located in the Samtskhe-Javakheti Region (southwestern Georgia). The town is situated on the banks of river Potskhovi, which separates the town into the old part in the north and the new part in the south.

Jens Pattke, 31 July 2010

Flag of Akhaltsikhe

The flag and arms of Akhaltsikhe are prescribed by the Municipal Council (official date of adoption unknown).

The flag of Akhaltsikhe is white with a red sword placed horizontlly and pointing to the hoist, surrounded by two red "Georgian" crosses patty; in the bottom of the flag is placed a green embattled horizontal stripe. The height of this stripe, crenellation included, is 1/5 of the flag's hoist.
The coat of arms is "Per fess embattled, 1. Argent a sword gules per fess pointing dexter surrounded by two crosses patty gules, 2. A wall vert masoned sable a lion couchant or. The shield surmounted by a three-towered mural crown argent fimbriated sable. Under the shield a scroll argent fimbriated sable charged with the name of the town in Georgian capital letters sable".

Source: The State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia (website).

The wall represents the fortress of Akhaltsikhe.
The fortress of Akhaltsikhe was besieged three times in the 19th century during the Russian-Turkish wars. On 9 August 1828, the Russian troops commanded by General Ivan Paskevich seized the fortress, which resulted in the Turkish withdrawal from the town on 16 August. On 20 February 1829, 20,000 Turkish soldiers and mercenaries commanded by General Ahmet-Bek besieged the fortress defended by 1,164 Russians commanded by General Nikolai Muraviov; the Ottomans withdrew 12 days later after having lost 4,000 men. The Treaty of Adrianople, signed on 14 September 1829, confirmed the Russian rule over the fortress. On 12 November 1853, in the beginning of the Crimean War, Ali Pasha, commanding 18,000 men, attempted to seize the fortress, defended by 7,000 men commanded by Prince Andronikov. The Ottomans lost 3,000 men and had to withdraw, which marked, for a while, the end of the Ottoman aspirations in Caucasus.

Ivan Sache, 30 May 2012