Europe Square, Batumi: The Medea Statue and the Golden Fleece

Europe Square sits at the heart of central Batumi, in Adjara on the Black Sea coast of Georgia — the country in the South Caucasus — a well-proportioned open space surrounded by buildings in a European architectural style that gives this part of the city its most consistently elegant character. It's one of the main orientation points in the city center and a natural gathering place for residents and visitors alike, its cafés and terraces reliably occupied through the day and into the evening in the warmer months.

What is Europe Square?

Europe Square is the elegant central plaza of Batumi, redeveloped during the city's 2000s–2010s transformation, surrounded by European-style facades, cafés, and restaurants. At its center stands a tall column topped by the gilded statue of Medea holding the Golden Fleece — a reference to the ancient kingdom of Colchis (western Georgia), the destination of Jason and the Argonauts in Greek myth. The square is a free, lively public space, especially in the evening, and a natural starting point for exploring central Batumi: the Piazza, the boulevard, and the Old Town are all a short walk away.

The square

Europe Square was developed and substantially redesigned during the urban transformation of Batumi in the 2000s and 2010s, when the city invested heavily in its public spaces as part of a broader effort to position itself as a regional tourism destination. The surrounding buildings — decorative 19th- and early-20th-century facades from Batumi's oil-boom era, alongside newer additions, with balconies and arcade-level ground floors housing restaurants and shops — were arranged to read as a coherent European city square, and the result feels noticeably more ordered and architecturally unified than much of the rest of the city. The cobblestone paving and the general quality of the public realm give Europe Square a refinement that sets it apart from Batumi's more improvised districts. One building on the square carries a notable astronomical clock (made in Germany and installed around 2010) that displays not only the time but astronomical information such as the moon phase.

The Medea statue

At the center of the square stands a tall column topped by a gilded figure of Medea holding the Golden Fleece aloft. The statue was created by the Georgian sculptor Davit Khmaladze and unveiled in 2007, and the ship Argo is depicted on its pedestal. The choice of Medea for Batumi's principal square is a deliberate invocation of the ancient geography that placed the land of Colchis — the destination of Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece — on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, in what is now western Georgia.

In the myth, Medea was the daughter of Aeetes, king of Colchis; she fell in love with Jason, helped him obtain the Golden Fleece, and fled with him aboard the Argo. One of the most famous stories in the Greek tradition, it is reclaimed here with Medea as a Colchian — that is, a Georgian — figure rather than simply a character in a Greek story. The Fleece she holds (actually gilded) refers to the legend that gave the Colchian civilization its enduring association with wealth and gold in the ancient imagination — a legend often linked to the real Colchian practice of using sheep's fleeces to catch gold particles in mountain streams. Placing this mythological identity at the literal center of a square named for Europe connects the deep past to the contemporary, westward-looking aspiration the city has invested in the square's name.

The statue is visible from the approaches to the square in most directions, and its gilded surface catches the light in a way that gives the center of the space a focal point the surrounding architecture, pleasant as it is, cannot match for visual impact.

The square in use

Europe Square functions differently through the day in ways that make the timing of a visit worth considering. In the morning it's calm, the cafés filling gradually and the cobblestones relatively clear of the later crowds. By midday the surrounding restaurants are busy with lunch, and the afternoon brings a steady flow of pedestrian activity that peaks in the early evening, when the lighting of the surrounding buildings creates the most atmospheric version of the space.

The evening transformation of Europe Square is one of the better examples in Batumi of how the city's public spaces come alive after dark — the warm facade lighting, the full café and restaurant terraces, and the general social energy combine to produce an environment that genuinely rewards an extended stay rather than a brief photo stop. Street musicians perform here on occasion, and in the summer season the square is one of the more reliably animated spots in the city center. It's also the city's main venue for festive events — concerts, festivals, and New Year celebrations are held here.

Connections

Europe Square connects naturally to the adjacent areas of central Batumi. The Piazza is a short walk to the east, a more enclosed and intimate complement to Europe Square's openness. The Batumi boulevard and the seafront are a few minutes' walk to the west. The Old Town streets — where Batumi's late-19th- and early-20th-century oil-boom architecture survives most intact — begin immediately to the north and east. The concentration of these different urban environments within a compact, walkable area makes Europe Square a natural starting point for exploring the central districts on foot, and a convenient anchor for any city-center walking route.

Practical information

• Location: Europe Square, central Batumi, Adjara (on Memed Abashidze Avenue, in the Old Town area).
• Hours: Open at all times; surrounding cafés and restaurants typically run from morning until midnight or later.
• Admission: Free (public square; cafés and restaurants charge separately).
• Best time: Early evening for the atmosphere and lit facades; morning for a quieter look at the architecture and the Medea statue.
• Combine with: The Piazza, the Batumi boulevard, and an Old Town walk.