53 Items
Matskhvarishi village, Latali community, Svaneti
The Church of the Holy Archangels in Matskhvarishi village in the Latali community in Svaneti is C14th. As with other later churches in Svaneti, its relevance to this project is the fact that it preserves and reflects earlier traditions - not least that Svaneti has the largest concentration of frescoes in Georgia with some dating back to the C9th-C10th. This church has remnants of the Svan practice of decorating church exteriors with C16th frescoes still extant on the apse exterior. This is especially unusual given the harsh climate of Svaneti in the winter months.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C14th, C16th, Church, Fresco, Georgia, Holy Archangels, Latali, Matskhvarishi, Zemo Svaneti
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
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