Pitsunda (Abkh. Pikhunda, Georgian ბიჭვინთა – Bichvinta) – a city in Abkhazia (since June 10, 2007, formerly an urban-type settlement), located in the Gagra district of the partially recognized Republic of Abkhazia, according to the administrative division of Georgia – a village in the Gagra municipality of the Abkhaz Autonomous Republic, a seaside climatic resort on the cape of the same name on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, 25 km south of Gagra.

Geography
The city is located on the cape of the same name on the coast of the Pitsunda Bay of the Black Sea.
Rivers and lakes
River Bzyb.
Lake Inkit.
Lake Pitsunda.
Lake Anyshkhtsara.

Climate
The climate in Pitsunda is humid Mediterranean subtropical, similar to the climate of Gagra. Summers are warm (August temperature +29 °C), winters are mild, January temperature is about +11 °C, the average annual temperature is +16.5 °C.
Precipitation (about 1400 mm/year) falls throughout the year, mostly in the form of rain.

History
The first settlements on the site of Pitsunda appeared in the 4th century BC. e.
According to the version of the Slavist O.N. Trubachev, which is not shared by experts, the name of the ancient city goes back to the Indo-Aryan. * pitunda – pine.
Later, the Greeks founded the ancient city and port of Pitiunt (Old Greek Πιτυοῦς, Pine) on the cape. At the end of II – beginning of I century BC. e. he was part of the Hellenistic Pontic kingdom.
From the end of the 1st century BC e. a Roman fortress was located in Pitsunda, and from the 4th century one of the centers of the Christian religion in the Caucasus was founded here. In 407, St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, died on the road to Pitsunda. Under the altar of the Pitsunda Cathedral, a tomb was arranged for him, in which a particle of the relics of the saint, left during their transfer to Constantinople, was kept.
In the 780s, Pitiunt became part of the Abkhazian kingdom, and from the end of the 10th century, it became part of the united Abkhazian-Georgian state. Since the 11th century, Pitsunda has been mentioned in Georgian sources under the name of Bichvinta.
In the XIV-XV centuries, the Genoese trading post Pezonda (Italian Pezonda) was located here.
In the 17th-18th centuries, the city was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, and from the beginning of the 19th century, together with Abkhazia, it became part of the Russian Empire.
Archaeological excavations in the 1950s uncovered the remains of temples (including basilicas of the 4th-5th centuries with floor mosaics), fortifications and residential buildings, baths.
In the early 1990s, Pitsunda was one of centers of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict.

Sights
– The central embankment near the boarding houses of the OPK Pitsunda.
– Sculptural composition “Sea”. Author Irakli Ochiauri. Referred to in some sources as “Bathers”, “Oyster Catchers” or “Divers”. A naked young man and a girl dive into the water, where at the very bottom there is a huge oyster, and around there are species of marine animals: dolphins, eels, fish.
– Lighthouse of Pitsunda. Located on the coastline, next to multi-storey boarding houses. It is an iron tower surrounded by a metal frame. It is now closed and is a tourist attraction. The new lighthouse is installed on the roof of the fifteen-story building of the Mayak boarding house.
– Monument “Stone Girl”.
– Sculpture of Medea. Author Merab Berdzenishvili, People’s Artist of Georgia.
– Reserve of relic Pitsunda pine. The grove stretches along the coast for 4 km, covers an area of ​​about 200 hectares. Some trees are up to 200 years old. Healing sea air with the aroma of pine needles and resins attracts thousands of tourists every year.
– A three-nave cross-domed cathedral in honor of St. Andrew the Apostle of the 10th century (part of the museum). The temple is equipped with a concert hall for 350 seats with an organ. The narthex contains frescoes from the 16th century.
– Figured bus stops made in the style of a mosaic. Author Zurab Tsereteli.
– Relic Boxwood Grove. It is in critical condition after being attacked by the boxwood moth (Cydalima perspectalis).
– Остатки античного города Питиунта (II век BC e.).
– An old water tower on a man-made hill.