A city with the fastest tourist development in Europe.

Batumi, city and capital of Ajaria, in southwestern Georgia, on a gulf of the Black Sea about 15 km north of the Turkish frontier. The city’s name comes from the location of its first settlement, on the left bank of the Bat River. With a history dating from the 1st millennium BC, Batumi was ceded by Turkey to Russia in 1878, it is an important port.

There is an oil refinery using petroleum piped from Baku. Other industries include a shipyard, machine-building, zinc-plating, and furniture factories, as well as a range of light industries. Although industrially developed, Batumi is an attractive city and popular resort. Its many gardens and its streets are lined with exotic plants.

north of the city is the Batumi Botanical Garden, with a rich collection of subtropical and tropical plants. Batumi is the centre of a tea- and citrus-growing area; there are tea plantations on the city’s outskirts. There are teacher-training and polytechnic institutes.