102 Items
Ninotsminda
Ninotsminda means St. Nino and is one of several locations in Georgia named after the evangeliser of Georgia. The church is one of the first four-lobed centrally-planned buildings in Georgia and is seen as part of the evolution of this type of architecture. The church dates from the C6th with alterations continuing up until C10th. The site is now the home to a new religious community who live in a range of buildings around the central church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C10th, C6th, Centrally-Planned, Church, Convent, Fresco, Georgia, Kakheti, Ninotsminda, Sagarejo, St. Nino
Sioni, Tbilisi
Sioni (Zion) was the most important church in Tbilisi until the new Cathedral of the Trinity was built on the other side of the river. Its foundations date back to late antiquity but it has been continuously altered and been almost completely rebuilt since the end of Communism.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C20th, Cathedral, Church, Georgia, Late Antique, Shida Kartli, Sioni, Tbilisi, Zion
Anchiskhati
Anchiskhati is a C6th basilica in Tbilisi that was named after the miraculous icon housed within it. This icon is now in the Art Museum in Tbilisi and is a C6th representation of the Mandylion. The basilica has been altered since the C6th, notably by raising the height of the building, and has a bell tower dated 1675.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Anchiskhati, Architecture, Bell Tower, C17th, C6th, Church, Georgia, Icon, Mandylion, Shida Kartli, Tbilisi
Alaverdi
Alaverdi monastery is one of the sites associated with the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers and remains one of the most important religious sites in Georgia. It is located in Kakheti in the east of the country, a region dominated by wine production and the monastery is known for its wine. The church is C11th and the walled monastery complex dates from the C17th.
Type: Architecture
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Alaverdi, Architecture, C11th, C17th, Church, Georgia, Kakheti, Monastery, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers
Svetiskhoveli
Svetiskhoveli is the national cathedral of Georgia and translates as the "Life-giving Pillar". The foundational legend of the church says that a Georgian Jew named Elias bought Christ's cloak from the soldier who had drawn lots for it. On his return to Mtskheta he was met by his sister Sidonia who died on embracing the cloak. She was buried holding the cloak and an oak tree grew out of her grave. When St. Nino evangelised Georgia she had the tree cut down and made into seven columns for a new church but the seventh hovered above the earth and displayed miraculous powers before finally being lowered into its place.
The current cathedral dates from the C11th and is built on the foundations of a series of earlier church buildings. It includes a (stone) pillar associated with the miraculous origins of the church and a medieval replica of the Holy Sepulchre within it.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C11th, Cathedral, Christ, Church, Elias, Fresco, Georgia, Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Jew, Middle Ages, Mtskheta, Sculpture, Shida Kartli, Sidonia, St. Nino, Svetiskhoveli
Antioki
Antioki (Antioch) is the name given to a C5th basilica in Mtskheta by the confluence of the two rivers. It is believed that the district may have housed people from Syria or Asia Minor (more specifically maybe from Antioch itself) in antiquity and that this was the reason for the toponym that has now been attached to the church. Archaeological evidence suggests that the basilica was originally dedicated to St. Stephen and today small church comprises the northern aisle of the original building. The central nave and southern aisle of the basilica are no longer extant although their outline is clearly visible in the gardens surrounding the extant church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Antioch, Antioki, Architecture, Asia Minor, C5th, Church, Georgia, Mtskheta, Shida Kartli, St. Stepanos, Syria
View of Jvari from Mtskheta
A view of Jvari from Mkskheta showing the line of sight between the capital and the place where St. Nino raised the Cross.
Type: Landscape
Tags: Church, Cross, Georgia, Jvari, Landscape, Mtskheta, Shida Kartli, St. Nino
Samtavro
Samtavro is the place just outside the ancient settlement of Mtskheta where St. Nino is believed to have lived. A small chapel thought to have C4th origins stands beside a bush which Georgians believe to replicate the burning bush witnessed by Moses in the Sinai desert. The C11th church beside the chapel of St. Nino was the place of burial for a number of Georgian kings and queens, most significantly King Mirian I and Queen Nana historically the first Christian rulers of the country. The belltower in the complex is C13th.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bell Tower, Burning Bush, C11th, C13th, C4th, Church, Georgia, Grave, Mirian, Mtskheta, Nana, Samtavro, Shida Kartli, Sinai, St. Nino
Confluence of the Aragvi and Mktvari Rivers and general view of Mtskheta
Mtskheta is the ancient capital of Kartli and believed by Georgians to be the first place in the country to accept Christianity in the C4th. It is the location of the national Cathedral, Svetiskhoveli, which is named for the miraculous 'life-giving' pillar at its heart. The confluence of the Aragvi and Mktvari Rivers can be seen most clearly from the hill of Jvari. This confluence is remarked upon as the waters of the two rivers are very different colours and this is clearly visible from above.
Type: Landscape
Tags: Aragvi, Georgia, Landscape, Mktvari, Mtskheta, River, Shida Kartli
Davit Gareja
Davit Gareja is the name given to a complex of monasteries in the semi-desert on the Georgian-Azeri border. It refers specifically to the largest and most important of the monasteries, the Lavra, which has been re-established since the fall of communism. The Lavra dates from the C6th onwards and is associated with Davit Garejeli who is considered the most important (and possibly the leader of) the Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers.
Type: Architecture
Tags: (As)Syrian Fathers, Architecture, C6th, Davit Gareja, Desert, Georgia, Kakheti, Lavra, Monastery, Thirteen (As)Syrian Fathers