ეროვნული სასახლე - National Palace

The Pioneers’ Palace was a real oasis of education that time. When I say education,
I should remark that it was not a high school, university or any other school, but it
was an institution based separately from school. This was the main characteristic of
it’s foundation in a very hard period, shortly before the beginning and had its own
entrepreneurs and enthusiasts, trying to create a place which would unite a huge
number of students and be able to “out of school” education.
Number of important events took place in the Palace.It became a gathering point for
many generations, with its door wide open to anyone regardless their profession. The
poetry evenings were especially remarkable in later 50s and 60s. The life was seething.
We always thought that those who came through this school, would never have bad
intentions- that’s how important it was to us.
Roin Metreveli
Professor
Academician of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences
I spent a significant period with my friends at the palace. By the way, this
period included the time, when a person learns a lot… I was the president of the
international friendship club, yes i had this ambitious title - the president, and this
was the first time I heard this word. That’s how the club tutors decided. I thought
then, and even think about it now, that the Palace was a small copy of the country
of that period, having different purposes and goals. The international friendship
club had the same meaning as the ministry of foreign affairs - we hosted any
important delegation visiting Tbilisi that time, were telling the important stories
including the history of Pioneers’ organization, but we did not feel the common
soviet ideology pressure at all.
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