Unesco Heritage of Georgia
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UNESCO Heritage of Georgia
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (Georgian:
სვეტიცხოვლის საკათედრო ტაძარი,
svet'icxovlis sak'atedro t'adzari; literally, "the
Living Pillar Cathedral") is a Georgian Orthodox
cathedral located in the historical town of
Mtskheta, Georgia, 20 km (12 mi) northwest of
the nation's capital of Tbilisi.
Svetitskhoveli, known as the burial site of
Christ's mantle, has long been the principal
Georgian church and remains one of the most
venerated places of worship to this day.[1] It
presently functions as the seat of the
archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi, who is at
the same time Catholicos-Patriarch of All
Georgia.
The current cathedral was built in the eleventh
century by the architect Arsukisdze, though the
site itself is even older dating back to the early
fourth century and is surrounded by a number
of legends associated primarily with the early
Christian traditions.
It is the second largest church building in the
country, after the recently consecrated Holy
Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, and is listed as an
UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other
historical monuments of Mtskheta.
The Glory of Iberia (1880s), an icon by Mikhail
Sabinin illustrating the legend of Living Pillar.
The original church was built in 4th century A.D.
during the reign of Mirian III of Kartli (Iberia). St.
Nino is said to have chosen the confluence of
the Mtkvari (Kura) and Aragvi rivers as the place
of the first Georgian Church.
According to Georgian hagiography, in the 1st
century AD a Georgian Jew from Mtskheta
named Elias was in Jerusalem when Jesus was
crucified. Elias bought Jesus’ robe from a
Roman soldier at Golgotha and brought it back
to Georgia. Returning to his native city, he was
met by his sister Sidonia who upon touching the
robe immediately died from the emotions
engendered by the sacred object. The robe
could not be removed from her grasp, so she
was buried with it.[2] The place where Sidonia is
buried with Christ's robe is preserved in the
Cathedral. Later, from her grave grew an
enormous cedar tree. Ordering the cedar
chopped down to build the church, St. Nino had
seven columns made from it for the church’s
foundation. The seventh column, however, had
magical properties and rose by itself into the
air. It returned to earth after St. Nino prayed
the whole night. It was further said that from
the magical seventh column a sacred liquid
flowed that cured people of all diseases. In
Georgian sveti means "pillar" and tskhoveli
means "life-giving" or "living", hence the name
of the cathedral. An icon portraying this event
can be seen on the second column on the right-
hand from the entrance. Reproduced widely
throughout Georgia, it shows Sidonia with an
angel lifting the column in heaven. Saint Nino is
in the foreground: King Mirian and his wife,
Queen Nana, are to the right and left.[2]
Georgia officially adopted Christianity as its
state religion in 337.
Jvari Monastery (Georgian: ჯვრის
მონასტერი) is a sixth century Georgian
Orthodox monastery near Mtskheta, eastern
Georgia. Along with other historic structures of
Mtskheta, it is listed as a World Heritage site by
UNESCO.
Jvari Monastery stands on the rocky
mountaintop at the
confluence of the
Mtkvari and Aragvi
rivers, overlooking
the town of
Mtskheta, which was
formerly the capital
of the Kingdom of
Iberia.
According to
traditional accounts,
on this location in the
early 4th century Saint Nino, a female
evangelist credited with converting King Mirian
III of Iberia to Christianity, erected a large
wooden cross on the site of a pagan temple.
The cross was reportedly able to work miracles
and therefore drew pilgrims from all over the
Caucasus. A small church was erected over the
remnants of the wooden cross in c.545 named
the "Small Church of Jvari".
The present building, or "Great Church of Jvari",
is generally held to have been built between
590 and 605 by Erismtavari Stepanoz I. This is
based on the Jvari inscriptions on its facade
which mentions the principal builders of the
church: Stephanos the patricius, Demetrius the
hypatos, and Adarnase the hypatos. Professor
Cyril Toumanoff disagrees with this view,
identifying these individuals as Stepanoz II,
Demetre (brother of Stepanoz I), and Adarnase
II (son of Stepanoz II), respectively.[1]
The importance of Jvari
complex increased over
time and attracted
many pilgrims. In the
late Middle Ages, the
complex was fortified
by a stone wall and
gate, remnants of which
still survive. During the
Soviet period, the
church was preserved
as a national
monument, but access was rendered difficult by
tight security at a nearby military base. After
the independence of Georgia, the building was
restored to active religious use. Jvari was listed
together with other monuments of Mtskheta in
1994 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
However, over the centuries the structures
suffered damage from rain and wind erosion
and inadequate maintenance. Jvari was listed in
the 2004 World Monuments Watch list by the
World Monuments Fund.
Bagrati Cathedral (Georgian: ბაგრატი;
ბაგრატის ტაძარი, or Bagratis tadzari), is an
11th-century cathedral in the city of Kutaisi, the
Imereti region of Georgia. One of the early
masterpieces of the medieval Georgian
architecture, the cathedral suffered heavy
damage throughout centuries and was
reconstructed to its present state through a
gradual process starting in the 1950s, with
major conservation works concluding in 2012. A
distinct landmark in the scenery of central
Kutaisi, the cathedral rests on the Ukimerioni
Hill.
Bagrati Cathedral was built in the early years of
the 11th century, during the reign of King
Bagrat III, due to which it was called "Bagrati",
i.e., Bagrat’s cathedral. An inscription on the
north wall reveals that the floor was laid in
"chronicon 223", i.e., 1003. In 1692, it was
devastated in an explosion by Ottoman troops
who had invaded the Kingdom of Imereti. The
incident caused the cupola and ceiling to
collapse.
Conservation and restoration works, as well as
archaeological studies at the Cathedral began in
the 1950s under the leadership of a Georgian
architect Vakhtang Tsintsadze. The restoration
works headed by Tsintsadze were divided into
six stages and continued for several decades
through 1994.[1] That same year in 1994
Bagrati Cathedral, together with the Gelati
Monastery, was included in UNESCO's World
Heritage Site list as a single entity. In 2001,
ownership of the cathedral was transferred
from the Georgian state to the Georgian
Orthodox Church. It is presently of limited use
for religious services, but attracts many pilgrims
and tourists. It is also frequently used as a
symbol of the city of Kutaisi, being one of its
main tourist attractions.
Pre-restoration eastern wall of the Bagrati
Cathedral seen in 2005 with its ceiling still
collapsed
In 2010, under the leadership of an Italian
architect Andrea Bruno, Georgia commenced
reconstruction works aimed at returning Bagrati
Cathedral to its original state as a religious
space.[2] In July 2010 UNESCO added Bagratli
cathedral to its list of endangered world
heritage sites in part because of the continuing
reconstruction, which it feared would affect the
structural integrity and authenticity of the
site.[3] Even before the reconstruction works, in
2008 ICOMOS was concerned about the
deteriorating state of Bagrati, but it
commended that any conservation efforts by
the Government should not include a type of
reconstruction which would affect the site's
historical value.[4] In 2011 UNESCO urged the
Georgian government authorities to develop a
rehabilitation strategy that would reverse some
of the changes made to the site in recent years,
but it acknowledged that these alterations may
be "almost irreversible".[5] In 2013, architect
Andrea Bruno was awarded a Georgian state
gold medal for his role in the Bagrati Cathedral
reconstruction and was subsequently
recognized for this project with the University
of Ferrara Domus International Prize for
Restoration and Conservation.[6] [7]
Gelati (Georgian: გელათის მონასტერი) is a
monastic complex near Kutaisi, Imereti, western
Georgia. It contains the Church of the Virgin
founded by the King of Georgia David the
Builder in 1106, and the 13th-century churches
of St George and St Nicholas.
The Gelati Monastery
for a long time was
one of the main
cultural and
intellectual centers in
Georgia. It had an
Academy which
employed some of the
most celebrated
Georgian scientists,
theologians and
philosophers, many of
whom had previously
been active at various
orthodox monasteries abroad, one of which
was the Mangana Monastery in Constantinople.
Among the scientists were such celebrated
scholars as Ioane Petritsi and Arsen Ikaltoeli.
Due to the extensive work carried out by the
Gelati Academy, people of the time called it "a
new Hellas" and "a second Athos".[citation
needed]
The Gelati Monastery has preserved a great
number of murals and manuscripts dating back
to the 12th to 17th
centuries. The
Khakhuli triptych was
enshrined at Gelati
until being stolen in
1859.
In Gelati is buried one
of the greatest
Georgian kings, David
the Builder. Near his
grave are the gates of
Ganja, which were
taken as trophies by
king Demetrius I in 1138.
In 1994, Gelati Monastery was recognized by
UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The site was
included in the 2008 World Monuments Watch
List of 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World
Monuments Fund to draw attention to
deterioration caused by prolonged neglect.[1]
Preserved by its long isolation, the Upper
Svaneti region of the Caucasus is an
exceptional example of mountain scenery with
medieval-type villages and tower-houses. The
village of Chazhashi still has more than 200 of
these very unusual houses, which were used
both as dwellings and as defence posts against
the invaders who plagued the region.
Preserved by its long-lasting geographical
isolation, the mountain landscape of the Upper
Svaneti region is an exceptional example of
mountain scenery with medieval villages and
tower houses.
The property occupies the upper reaches of the
lnguri River Basin between the Caucasus and
Svaneti ranges. It consists of several small
villages forming a community that are
dominated by the towers and situated on the
mountain slopes, with a natural environment of
gorges and alpine valleys and a backdrop of
snow-covered mountains. The most notable
feature of the settlements is the abundance of
towers.
The village of Chazhashi in Ushguli community,
situated at the confluence of the lnguri and
Black Rivers, has preserved more than 200
medieval tower houses, churches and castles.
The land use and settlement structure reveal
the continued dwelling and building traditions
of local Svan people living in harmony with the
surrounding natural environment. The origins of
Svaneti tower houses go back to prehistory. Its
features reflect the traditional economic mode
and social organization of Svan communities.
These towers usually have three to five floors,
and the thickness of the walls decreases, giving
the towers a slender, tapering profile. The
houses themselves are usually two-storeyed;
the ground floor is a single hall with an open
hearth and accommodation for both people and
domestic animals, the latter being separated by
a wooden partition, which is often lavishly
decorated. A corridor annex helped the thermal
insulation of the building. The upper floor was
used by the human occupants during summer,
and also served as a store for fodder and tools.
A door at this level provided access to the
tower, which was also connected with the
corridor that protected the entrance. The
houses were used both as dwellings and as
defence posts against the invaders who plagued
the region.
The property is also notable for the
monumental and minor arts. The mural
paintings are outstanding examples of
Renaissance painting in Georgia.
Used material:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetitskhoveli_Cathedral
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jvari_(monastery)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagrati_Cathedral
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelati_Monastery
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/709
https://www.google.ge/search?q=სვეტიცხოველი&biw=1280&bih=690&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=
X&ved=0ahUKEwicuabW9qHKAhWEKA8KHQiDAh8Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=rFzacizfrKr3WM%3A
https://www.google.ge/search?biw=1280&bih=690&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=ჯვრის+მონასტერი&oq=ჯვრ
ის+მონასტერი&gs_l=img.3...280549.285863.0.286190.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0.iIrJa
Cnlg8U#imgrc=Mq6veY9N-G_r9M%3A
https://www.google.ge/search?biw=1280&bih=690&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=ბაგრატის+ტაძარი&oq=ბაგრ
ატის+ტაძარი&gs_l=img.3...268593.274685.0.274962.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0.I-
6Z_VjBDZo#imgrc=k3gckAZjBVON2M%3A
https://www.google.ge/search?biw=1280&bih=690&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=გელათი&oq=გელათი&gs_l=i
mg.3...159321.163239.0.163633.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0.dSB2jyo4zvk#imgrc=cpnZZB
3ecZrGuM%3A
By Mariam Bokhua