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.
Creator
Emma Loosley
Date of Visit
4th August 2016
Contributor
Emma Loosley
Rights
Metadata and all media released under Creative Commons
unless otherwise indicated
Type
Architecture
Tags
Architecture, C17th, C8th-C9th, Church, Domed Basilica, Georgia, Gurjaani, Kakheti, Kvelatsminda
Collection
The Early Christian Architecture of Georgia
Item Type
Architecture
Citation
Emma Loosley, “Kvelatsminda Gurjaani,” Architecture and Asceticism, accessed April 24, 2024, https://architectureandasceticism.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/742.