Georgian cultural heritage – masterpieces from prehistory to the present
Georgia is crammed full of spectacular and fascinating historical monuments. I’ve been driving out into the countryside for years, wandering all over every region, in search of medieval monasteries, Bronze–Age megalithic structures, and the ruins of grand fortresses – and yet there is always still more to discover. Whether you want a look around some of my favorite places or to go on a voyage of discovery with me, I’m ready for the adventure.
Monuments dating from as early as the Bronze Age can be explored in Javakheti region – mysterious megaliths crafted out of massive volcanic blocks in the high plateau. The first surviving Christian monuments date from the fifth and sixth centuries, and reached their artistic apex in the Georgian Golden Age of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Although the great treasures of medieval Georgia were repeatedly sacked by foreign invaders, churches and fortresses continued to be restored and new ones built. Some spectacular fortresses and beautifully ornamented chapels date from as late as the 19th century. In the 20th century, the Soviet occupation destroyed a large amount of Georgian cultural heritage, but the communist ideology also left its curious mark on the Georgian land, from masterpieces of Brutalism in the form of memorials and civic architecture, to the ubiquitous collective farms.
I don’t do set itineraries – if you love history or architecture and want to explore some of the spectacular diversity hidden in remote and untraveled regions of Georgia, get in touch and we can discuss some possibilities based on what you are most interested in. The pictures below are just a very small sample of the kinds of places we can go.
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Tsalenjikha Cathedral, Samegrelo.
Khorakert, an abandoned Armenian church in Kartli.
The ruins of Menji Sanatorium, a mid-20th century Soviet building in Samegrelo.
Chakvinji fortress in Samegrelo.
The water regulator of Shaori Reservoir in Racha.
Vernacular architecture: the Pigeon’s Spring of Nikortsminda, Racha.
The 19th-century Oni Synagogue in Racha.
Zeda Tmogvi, a medieval church that is the last surviving building of its village in Meskheti.
Okros Tsikhe, the “Golden Fortress” of Meskheti.
All that survives of a medieval church in Enteli, Meskheti.
Details from the wall carvings of Gona Chapel in Lechkhumi.
The Tejisi Megaliths and stone circle in Kvemo Kartli.
Skhvilo fortress in Shida Kartli.
Samtsevrisi Fortress in Shida Kartli.
The ruins of Samshvilde Cathedral in Kartli.
Kldekari fortress in Kartli.
Details from a carving on the belltower of Gudarekhi Monastery, Kartli.
Ertatsminda Cathedral in the Tedzami Valley, Kartli.
Drisi Fortress, Tedzami Valley, Kartli.
A ruined 19th century church in the woods near Kisiskhevi, Kakheti.
Didi Kvabebi, an abandoned cave monastery in the desert of Kakheti.
A prehistoric staircase leading to Shaori Fortress in Javakheti.
Katskhi Cathedral, Chiatura region, Imereti. A true masterwork of Georgian cultural heritage.
The Chokhatauri Udabno church dating from the 6th century, Guria.
Shemokmedi Monastery, Guria.
An old Soviet cultural center in Guria, which is now being used as a kind of Christian shrine.
Abuli Fortress in Javakheti, one of the best preserved Bronze Age megalithic structures in Georgia.
Khikhani fortress deep in the highlands of Adjara.