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Gulripshi District
გულრიფშის რაიონი Гәылрыҧшь араион | |
|---|---|
 Dranda Cathedral is one of the oldest in Abkhazia | |
 Location of Gulripshi district in Abkhazia | |
| Coordinates: 43°06′00″N 41°25′01″E / 43.1000°N 41.4170°E | |
| Country | Georgia |
| De Facto state | Abkhazia[1] |
| Capital | Gulripshi |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Aslan Baratelia |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,835 km2 (708 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 18,032 |
| • Density | 9.8/km2 (25/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK) |
Gulripshi District (Georgian: გულრიფშის რაიონი, Abkhaz: Гәылрыҧшь араион) is a district of Abkhazia, one of Georgia’s breakaway republics. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian district. Its capital is Gulripshi, the town by the same name. Until the August 2008 Battle of the Kodori Valley, the north-eastern part of Gulripshi district was part of Upper Abkhazia, the corner of Abkhazia controlled by Georgia until the Battle of the Kodori Valley during the August 2008 South Ossetia War. Upper Abkhazia was home to 1,956 of the district's 19,918 inhabitants, most of whom were ethnic Svans (a subgroup of the Georgian people).[2] Most of these fled before the battle and have not yet returned.
Of note is the Dranda Cathedral sitting over a shrine built by Justinian in 551. The medieval principality of Dal-Tsabal was centered in the district. Abkhazia's main airport, Sukhumi Dranda Airport, is also located in Gulripshi district.
- ^ The political status of Abkhazia is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Georgia in 1992, Abkhazia is formally recognised as an independent state by 5 UN member states (two other states previously recognised it but then withdrew their recognition), while the remainder of the international community recognizes it as de jure Georgian territory. Georgia continues to claim the area as its own territory, designating it as Russian-occupied territory.
- ^ 2003 (2002) Census results