diff --git a/lib/mbtiles.js b/lib/mbtiles.js
index c7fc7e3..f8a50ee 100644
--- a/lib/mbtiles.js
+++ b/lib/mbtiles.js
@@ -31,8 +31,11 @@ MBTiles.schema = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/schema.sql', 'utf8');
 // - callback: Will be called when the resources have been acquired
 //       or acquisition failed.
 require('util').inherits(MBTiles, require('events').EventEmitter)
-function MBTiles(uri, callback) {
-    if (typeof uri === 'string') uri = url.parse(uri, true);
+function MBTiles(uri, callback) {    
+    if (typeof uri === 'string') {
+        uri = url.parse(uri, true);
+        uri.pathname = qs.unescape(uri.pathname);
+    }
     else if (typeof uri.query === 'string') uri.query = qs.parse(uri.query);
 
     if (!uri.pathname) {