Georgia's Soviet industrial heritage directly complements its famous sanatoriums — the factories that produced manganese and ferroalloys, tea and wine, steel and textiles that supported the USSR's Georgian republic. The Chiatura manganese mines supplied the Zestafoni Ferroalloy Plant (opened in 1933, furnaces shut for the first time in November 2024) for over 90 years. Rustavi's Metallurgical Plant — built by 5,000 young workers "mobilized" from across Georgia in the 1940s — once employed 15,000. The Soviet wine factories of Kakheti, the tea processing plants of Samegrelo, and the derelict battery plant of Rustavi create a Georgian industrial dereliction landscape of extraordinary variety. Discover the 5 best abandoned factories in Georgia, selected from our Georgia Urbex Map — 100+ verified GPS locations.
Why Georgia's Soviet Industrial Heritage Is Among the Most Striking in the Caucasus
Georgia's Soviet factories were built on an ideological scale — the mosaic murals depicting workers on the facade of the Zestafoni plant, the Rustavi metallurgical monotown built for 15,000 workers, the wine factories of Kakheti designed as secular temples to Georgian viticulture. The post-Soviet dereliction reflects the same ambition in reverse.
1. Chiatura Manganese Mine Infrastructure – Chiatura, Imereti — Mining Since 1879, Soviet Era Peak, 3,600 Workers, Mines Shut November 2024, Derelict Processing Facilities (Known Location)
Georgian Manganese decided to place its manganese mines and Zestafoni ferroalloy plant on care and maintenance from November 1, 2024, until March 1, 2025, citing ore shortages and declining SiMn prices. Manganese mining in Chiatura has faced multiple suspensions since 2019 due to month-long strikes by residents, who protested environmental damage in residential areas and occasionally blocked mine entrances. The derelict mine infrastructure around Chiatura's gorge — loading facilities, ore processing stations, and the cable car network that connected the mines to the valley town — creates the most industrially complex abandoned landscape in Georgia. All GPS locations are in our Georgia Urbex Map.
🔗 Sources: WanderLush – 13 Things to Do in Chiatura | JAM News – Georgian Manganese Shutdown 2024
2. Derelict Soviet Wine Factory – Kakheti or Imereti — Traditional Georgian Wine Region, Soviet-Era Kvevri or Industrial Wine Production, Concrete Vat Complex, Vine-Covered Ruins (Known Location)
A stained glass window in an abandoned winery in Georgia's industrial heritage landscape. Georgia is the birthplace of wine — 8,000 years of viticulture — and the Soviet state industrialized Georgian wine production on an enormous scale in Kakheti and Imereti, building concrete wine factory complexes that processed millions of liters annually. When the Soviet market collapsed in 1991, many of these industrial wineries became economically unviable overnight and closed. Several derelict Soviet wine factory buildings across Kakheti — with the concrete fermentation vat rows still in place, the bottling lines frozen, and wild vines reclaiming the exterior — survive as the most specifically Georgian post-Soviet industrial dereliction. All GPS locations are in our Georgia Urbex Map.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Soviet Abandoned Buildings in Georgia →
3. Soviet Tea Factory – Samegrelo or Adjara — Georgian Tea Industry Peak USSR, Processing Plant Closed Post-1991, Subtropical Vegetation Reclaiming, Western Georgia
Georgia was one of the Soviet Union's primary tea-producing regions — the subtropical climate of Samegrelo, Adjara, and Guria allowed industrial-scale tea cultivation that supplied the entire USSR. The Soviet tea processing factories built across western Georgia in the 1950s-70s became economically unviable when the USSR collapsed and the captive Soviet market disappeared. Several of these concrete tea processing plants in western Georgia stand in states of post-Soviet dereliction: the processing machinery still on the factory floor, the dried tea smell still faintly present, and the subtropical Georgian vegetation reclaiming the exterior with the extraordinary speed of the Colchic lowland climate. All GPS locations are in our Georgia Urbex Map.
4. Rustavi Derelict Factory – Rustavi, Kvemo Kartli — Soviet Monotown Built 1940s, Former Battery or Chemical Plant, 15,000-Worker Industrial Complex, Tbilisi Day Trip (Hidden on Our Map)
Rustavi is a Soviet-era monotown purpose-built around the Rustavi Metallurgy Plant in the 1940s — the perfect Tbilisi day trip for lovers of history, architecture, and urbexing. Tires in the factory town of Rustavi and a canister of liquid in a former battery plant. Beyond the still-operating Rustavi Metallurgical Plant, Rustavi's industrial district contains several derelict Soviet-era chemical, battery, and ancillary factory buildings: the monotown's secondary industrial infrastructure, now empty and decaying between the still-active main plant. The scale of Rustavi's Soviet industrial monotown is extraordinary even in partial dereliction. GPS in our Georgia Urbex Map.
5. Derelict Soviet Textile or Food Factory – Kutaisi or Tbilisi — Light Industry Post-Soviet Closure, Soviet Machinery in Place, Urban Setting, Mosaic Facade Detail (On Our Map Only)
Georgia's Soviet light industry — the textile mills of Kutaisi, the food processing plants of Tbilisi, and the consumer goods factories scattered across the republic — closed in large numbers in the 1990s as the Soviet planned economy's captive market vanished. Several of these Soviet light industry buildings in Kutaisi and Tbilisi retain their Soviet-era machinery on the factory floor, the workers' canteen furniture in place, and — in the finest examples — the spectacular Soviet mosaic murals on the exterior facades that were the artistic signature of the Soviet industrial building program. GPS in our Georgia Urbex Map.
Safety Tips
- Mine shaft hazard: NEVER enter any mine shaft opening near Chiatura — lack of ventilation, unstable ground, and toxic gas accumulation make abandoned mine shafts life-threatening; document from surface only
- Chemical contamination: Rustavi's former chemical and battery plant sites may have soil contamination — never disturb the ground surface near former chemical processing areas
- Active industrial sites: some Georgian factories that appear abandoned are still partially active — always check for signs of activity before approaching; the Zestafoni plant and Rustavi steel mill are private property with active security
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person; Georgia emergency: 112
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous abandoned factory in Georgia?
The Chiatura manganese mine infrastructure — the Soviet cable car network, derelict ore processing stations, and above-ground mining facilities in the extraordinary Kvirila gorge setting. The Chiatura mines were shut down for the first time in November 2024 by Georgian Manganese due to financial difficulties, adding a new layer of contemporary industrial dereliction to the already extensive Soviet-era abandoned infrastructure. GPS in our Georgia Urbex Map.
Can I visit the Zestafoni Ferroalloy Plant?
The Zestafoni Ferroalloy Plant is not hosting tours at present. Starting from November 1, 2024, the furnaces were turned off for the first time in the factory's history. The plant remains private property with active security — exterior documentation from the road is possible; check the WanderLush Zestafoni guide for current tour availability when operations resume.
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