- Collection: The Early Christian Architecture of Georgia
61 Items
Iprari village, Kala community, Svaneti
The Church of the Holy Archangels in Iprari village in the Kala community in Svaneti has a fresco cycle painted by the artist Tevdoré at the end of the C11th. It includes a Deesis in the apse.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C11th, Church, Deesis, Fresco, Georgia, Holy Archangels, Iprari, Kala, Tevdoré, Zemo Svaneti
Jvari
Jvari means 'cross' in Georgian but the place known as Jvari is the high point above the city of Mtskheta where St.Nino is believed to have raised a cross in the C4th, signifying the arrival of Christianity in Georgia. The centrally-planned church on the site dates to the turn of the C6th-C7th and is the prototype for a genre of vernacular church architecture in Georgia. The sculptures on the east façade represent the Erismtavari Stepanoz I (during whose reign Jvari was constructed) being blessed by Christ, Erismtavari Adarnarse I with his son Kobul-Stepanoz (later Stepanoz II) and Dimitri, brother of Stepanoz I. On the south façade Kobul-Stepanoz (Stepanoz II) is shown with St. Stephen ando over the main entrance is a sculpture depicting the Ascension of the Cross. The south west (women's) entrance has the Ascension of Christ above it. A later chapel added to the north of the main church has been recently renovated, causing damage to the historical integrity of this part of the complex.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Adarnarse, Architecture, Ascension, C4th, C6th-C7th, Centrally-Planned, Christ, Church, Cross, Dimitri, Erismtavari, Figure, Jvari, Kobul-Stepanoz, Mtskheta, Sculpture, Shida Kartli, St. Nino, St. Stepanos, Stepanoz
Katskhi
Katskhi pillar is the most well-known 'stylite' site in Georgia. In fact rather than being a column, as in Syria, in this case the 'pillar' is a pinnacle of rock that houses a chapel and some monastic cells on its summit. Although originally believed to date back to the sixth century, archaeological exploration suggests that it was inhabited no earlier than the ninth century and it has been pointed out that this manner of monasticism is closer to the monasteries of Meteora in Greece than it is to the Stylites of Syria. However, Katskhi remains fixed in Georgian opinion as the home of an ancient Stylite and there has thus far been little discussion as to the exact relationship between these variant interpretations of the practice of Stylitism.
Type: Architecture
Tags: C9th, Church, Georgia, Imereti, Katskhi, Medieval, Monastery, Pillar, Stylite
Khirsa Stepantsminda, Tibaani
The Church of St. Stepane Khirseli is actually located in the modern village of Tibaani, rather than the eponymous Khirsa in Kakheti. This is the easternmost site associated with the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers and, as with many other of the sites, has little if any evidence of early Christian occupation with the church dating to the medieval period and having been substantially renovated in the seventeenth century. As with a number of these sites a shrine around the saint's purported grave seems to be a relatively new phenomenon.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C17th, Church, Georgia, Kakheti, Khirsa, Medieval, Monastery, St. Stepane, Stepantsminda, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers, Tomb
Kindzmareuli
This small three church basilica follows the same pattern as elsewhere in Kakheti and was once at the centre of a (now lost) village. It is believed to date from the sixth or seventh centuries and has the same disposition on the north aisle as Dubi and Eniseli by having a pastophorion entered from the central nave at the east end of the aisle. However the shortened western section of this aisle terminates in a flat wall rather than an apse. On the south side the aisle terminates in an apse and, as at the Areshi large basilica, there is an open colonnade on this side. In this case there are two columns and three arches open to the outside. The north and south aisles were not built tied in to the central nave and, rather than interpreting this to mean that they were built later, it is more likely that this construction technique was intended to protect against the seismic activity in the region in late antiquity. Today the church stands in a small copse on a wooded island amidst the vineyards of the Kindzmareuli wine corporation, which is why it is referred to as Kindzmareuli church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Basilica, C6th-C7th, Church, Georgia, Kakheti, Kindzmareuli, Three Church Basilica
Kvelatsminda Gurjaani
The church of Kvelatsminda (All Saints) in Gurjaani, located in the Kakheti region of east Georgia is an architectural anomaly that does not have any parallel elsewhere in Georgia. The church dates back to the eighth to ninth centuries and uniquely boasts two small domes as well as a gallery level entry at the west end of the building. This first floor gallery leads to passageways that run to the north and south of the main nave and terminate in chambers of indeterminate function. Due to these passages the exterior windows of the church do not communicate with the nave below. Some questions remain as to how the church would have originally looked as it was extensively restored in the seventeenth century and this could have led to some changes in the interior disposition of the building.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C17th, C8th-C9th, Church, Domed Basilica, Georgia, Gurjaani, Kakheti, Kvelatsminda
Kvemo Bolnisi
The C5th-C6th church at Kvemo Bolnisi has been recently, and sympathetically, restored. The extant building is the central nave of a building that originally had aisles to the north and south. However, these aisles were only accessible through one door to the north and two doors to the south - they were not open to the central nave with a columned arcade or piers. The apse of the south aisle is still extant and to the north, most of the northern aisle stands to shoulder height and above, but lacks a roof.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Ascension, C5th-C6th, Church, Cross, Georgia, Kvemo Bolnisi, Kvemo Kartli, Three Church Basilica, Triple Basilica
Lagami vilage, Mestia community, Svaneti
The Church of the Saviour in Lagami, in the Mestia community in Svaneti is extremely unusual in being a two storied church. The lower church was built in the C10th and possesses an C11th-C12th fresco cycle. Above it is the C14th upper church which has both interior and exterior frescoes.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C10th, C11th-C12th, C14th, Church, Fresco, Georgia, Lagami, Mestia, Saviour, Two Stories, Zemo Svaneti
Lashtkhveri village, Lenjeri community, Svaneti
The Church of St. Gabriel in the village of Lashtkveri in Lenjeri community, Svaneti is also known as Mkheri Church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Church, Georgia, Lashtkhveri, Lenjeri, Mkheri, St. Gabriel, Zemo Svaneti
Lashtkhveri village, Lenjeri community, Svaneti
The Church of the Holy Archangels in Lashtkveri village in the Lenjeri community in Svaneti has frescoes on both its both its north and south sides dating to the C14th-C15th. The northern side depicts a scene from the ancient Georgian Amiran-Darejiani romance.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Amiran-Darejiani, Architecture, C14th-C15th, Church, Fresco, Georgia, Holy Archangels, Lashtkhveri, Lenjeri, Zemo Svaneti