GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Dadiani Palaces Historic House Museum

Where Samegrelo's princesses kept Napoleon's death mask

Dadiani Palaces Historic House Museum

Why go

The Dadiani Palaces stand as the last seat of the Dadiani princes, who ruled Samegrelo for centuries and intermarried with Napoleon's nephew. The neo-Gothic complex, built in the 1870s under Princess Ekaterine Chavchavadze-Dadiani, houses Georgia's most significant noble collection: arms, icons, and the extraordinary death mask of Napoleon, acquired through family connection. Beyond the imperial relic, the palace reveals the cosmopolitan ambition of a Georgian nobility that looked simultaneously to European courts and local power. The botanical garden—one of Georgia's oldest—preserves the princess's passion for exotic planting.

On the ground See

  • Napoleon's death mask and the small Dadiani collection of Bonaparte memorabilia in the palace museum
  • The palace chapel with its gilded iconostasis and tombs of the Dadiani ruling family
  • The 19th-century botanical garden with its towering magnolias and rare subtropical specimens

Practical Know before you go

Open Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00; closed Mondays; located in central Zugdidi, 90 minutes by marshrutka or train from Kutaisi.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly