The town was established as a
Greek colony in
Colchis, called Triglite (). 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. The town and the whole region of
Colchis remained part of
Byzantine Empire. It was known to the
Genoese merchants and the Gagra harbour might have been used by them. 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.
Gagra within the Russian Empire In the 16th century, Gagra and the rest of western Georgia were conquered by the
Ottoman Empire. The western merchants were expelled and the town entered a prolonged period of decline, with much of the local population fleeing into the mountains. By the 18th century, the town had been reduced to little more than a village surrounded by forests and disease-ridden swamps. Russia built a small fort in Gagra in 1833 which was destroyed during the
Crimean War. The
Sadz Abkhaz who inhabited the land between Gagra and the Khosta were
expelled to the Ottoman Empire after fierce battles. The swamps around the town were drained and the town was rebuilt around a new military hospital. Its population, however, was still small; in 1866, a census recorded that 336 men and 280 women, mostly local families or army officers and their dependents, lived in Gagra. The town suffered badly in the
Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, when Turkish troops invaded, destroyed the town and expelled the local population. Russia won the war, however, and rebuilt Gagra again. In 1904 the town was discovered by
Duke Alexander of Oldenburg, a member of the Russian royalty. He saw the potential of the region's sub-tropical climate and decided to build a high-class resort there. Having raised a large sum of money from the government, he built a palace there for himself and constructed a number of other buildings in an eclectic variety of architectural styles from around Europe. A park was laid out with tropical trees, and parrots and monkeys were imported to give it an exotic feel. Despite the expensive work, the resort was not initially a success, although it did later attract a growing number of foreign tourists visiting on cruises of the Black Sea. Following the founding of the resort, the area was ceded from
Sukhumi Okrug to
Black Sea Governorate in 1904. Gagra and the Abkhazian capital
Sukhumi were at the centre of the fighting and suffered heavy damage. To this date ethnic Georgians have an IDP status and have not been able to return to their homes. == Monuments ==