Cathedrals in Georgia
Virgin Mary Cathedral
The temple was built as a Catholic church between 1806 and 1810. In 1920, it was heavily damaged by an earthquake. During Soviet times, Gori’s Music School was situated in the church. The building was handed over to the Georgian Orthodox Church in the 1990s. Currently, Samtavisi and Gori Cathedral belong to the episcopacy.
Founded: 1806-1810 |
Location:
Gori, Georgia
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral located in the historic town of Mtskheta, A masterpiece of the Early Middle Ages, Svetitskhoveli is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is currently the second largest church building in Georgia. History The original church was built in 4th century A.D. during the reign of Mirian III of Kartli. According to Georgian hagiography, ...
Founded: 1010-1029 |
Location:
Mtskheta, Georgia
Alaverdi Monastery
Alaverdi Monastery is a Georgian Eastern Orthodox monastery located 25 km from Akhmeta. While parts of the monastery date back to 6th century, the present day cathedral was built in the 11th century by Kvirike III of Kakheti, replacing an older church of St. George. The monastery was founded by the Assyrian monk Joseph Alaverdeli, who came from Antioch and settled in Alaverdi, then a small village and former paga ...
Founded: 6th century AD |
Location:
Akhmeta, Georgia
Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral
Following a medieval Georgian tradition of naming churches after particular places in the Holy Land, the Sioni Cathedral bears the name of Mount Zion at Jerusalem. It is commonly known as the 'Tbilisi Sioni' to distinguish it from several other churches across Georgia bearing the name Sioni. It was initially built in the 6th and 7th centuries. Since then, it has been destroyed by foreign invaders and recon ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Tbilisi, Georgia
Nikortsminda Cathedral
Nikortsminda Cathedral was built in 1010-1014 during the reign of Bagrat III of Georgia and was repaired in 1634 by the King Bagrat III of Imereti. Three-storied bell-tower next to the Cathedral was built in the second half of the 19th century. Frescoes inside the Cathedral date from the 17th century. Nikortsminda has a massive dome and has unbroken arcatures as its twelve windows, which are decorated with ornamente ...
Founded: 1010-1014 |
Location:
Nikortsminda, Georgia
Samtavisi Cathedral
Samtavisi is an eleventh-century Georgian Orthodox cathedral 45km from Tbilisi. According to a Georgian tradition, the first monastery on this place was founded by the Assyrian missionary Isidore in 572 and later rebuilt in the 10th century. Neither of these buildings has survived however. The earliest extant structures date to the eleventh century, the main edifice being built in 1030 as revealed by a now lost stone ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Samtavisi, Georgia
Holy Trinity Cathedral
The Holy Trinity Cathedral (known as Sameba) is the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church located in Tbilisi. Constructed between 1995 and 2004, it is the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world and one of the largest religious buildings in the world by total area. Sameba is a synthesis of traditional styles dominating the Georgian church architecture at various stages in history and has s ...
Founded: 1995-2004 |
Location:
Tbilisi, Georgia
Skhalta Cathedral
Skhalta Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox monastery and cathedral church in Adjara, Georgia, dating from the mid-13th century. It is a large hall church design, with fragments of the 14th or 15th century Paleologian-style wall painting. Skhalta is the only medieval church in Adjara that survived both the Ottoman and Soviet periods to become functional again in 1990. It currently serves as a seat of the Georgi ...
Founded: c. 1250 |
Location:
Adjara, Georgia
Dranda Cathedral
Dranda Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox Cathedral located in Dranda, in the Gulripshi district of the de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia, internationally recognised to constitute a part of Georgia. According to the Roman historian Procopius of Caesarea, in 551 emperor Justinian I built a temple in these environs, this is believed by some to have been what is now the cathedral in Dranda. In the Georgi ...
Founded: 6th century AD |
Location:
Drandra, Georgia
Bedia Cathedral
Bedia Cathedral is a medieval Georgian Orthodox cathedral located in Bedia, in a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. Bedia Cathedral was originally built at the close of the 10th century and consecrated in 999 on the behest of King Bagrat II of Abkhazians, who would go on to become King of the Georgians as Bagrat III and who was interred at the church after his death. The extant edifices, however, date back ...
Founded: 999 AD |
Location:
Ochamchire, Georgia
Mokvi Cathedral
Mokvi Cathedral consists of five naves, built in the third quarter of the 10th century, during the reign of king Leon III of Abkhazia. According to a non-extant inscription (found by Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem who visited Mokvi in 1659) the church was painted during the reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and David IV of Georgia. In the Catholicate of Abkhazia Mokvi was the seat of a Bishop at least until ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Ochamchire, Georgia
Pitsunda Cathedral
The Pitsunda or Bichvinta Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox Cathedral located in Pitsunda, in the Gagra district of the de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia, internationally recognised as constituting a part of Georgia. The cathedral is currently used by the Abkhazian Orthodox Church and serves as that body"s seat, although this usage is disputed by the Republic of Georgia and is considered irregular ...
Founded: 10th century |
Location:
Pitsunda, Georgia
Bagrati Cathedral
Bagrati Cathedral is an 11th-century cathedral church in the city of Kutaisi. A masterpiece 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 ...
Founded: c. 1003 |
Location:
Kutaisi, Georgia
Bolnisi Sioni Cathedral
Bolnisi Sioni Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox basilica was built in 478–493. It is the oldest extant church building in Georgia. Bolnisi Sioni Cathedral is known for its Georgian Bolnisi inscriptions. These are one of the oldest historical documents of the Georgian alphabet.
Founded: 478-493 AD |
Location:
Bolnisi, Georgia
Ertatsminda Cathedral
The Ertatsminda Cathedral of Eustathius of Mtskheta was built in the 13th century. The Ertatsminda cathedral stylistically resembles the other Georgian churches of the 12th-13th centuries.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Ertatsminda, Georgia
Kumurdo Cathedral
Kumurdo Cathedral is situated on Javakheti Plateau, 12 km southwest from Akhalkalaki. According to the inscriptions on the walls, written with the ancient Georgian writing of Asomtavruli, the Kumurdo Cathedral was built by Ioane the Bishop during the reign of king of the Abkhazians Leon III in 964. During the Middle Ages, Kumurdo was an important cultural, educational and religious center. The cathedral was restore ...
Founded: 964 AD |
Location:
Akhalkalaki, Georgia
Manglisi Cathedral
Manglisi Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral near the town of Manglisi. The first church was built in 4th century. The current cathedral was constructed in 6th-7th century. The cathedral went through a huge restoration in 1002.
Founded: 6th century AD |
Location:
Manglisi, Georgia
Poti Cathedral
Poti Cathedral is an imitation of Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, and it was built in 1906-07 with the great contribution of Niko Nikoladze, the mayor of Poti. Notably, Niko Nikoladze chose the location of the cathedral in the center of the town to make it viewable from every side of Poti. A. Zelenko and M. Marfeld were the architects of this Neo-Byzantine cathedral and the capacity of the church is 2,000 people. The orna ...
Founded: 1906-1907 |
Location:
Poti, Georgia
Tsalenjikha Cathedral
The Tsalenjikha Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration of Savior is a medieval Georgian Orthodox cathedral at the town of Tsalenjikha. It is best known for a unique cycle of murals which exemplifies the direct import of Byzantine Palaeologan style and even artists in Georgia. Built in the 12th-14th centuries, the Tsalenjikha Cathedral is a central cross-domed church with a narthex and three arcaded galleries two ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Tsalenjikha, Georgia
Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Photo from Flickr, copyright Guido Rudolph
Historic Site of the week
Lübeck Cathedral
Lübeck Cathedral is a large brick-built Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of the Lübeck UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1173 Henry the Lion founded the cathedral to serve the Diocese of Lübeck, after the transfer in 1160 of the bishop's seat from Oldenburg in Holstein under bishop Gerold. The then Romanesque cathedral was completed around 1230, but between 1266 and 1335 it was converted into a Gothic-style building with side-aisles raised to the same height as the main aisle.
On the night of Palm Sunday (28–29 March) 1942 a Royal Air Force bombing raid destroyed a fifth of the town centre. Several bombs fell in the area around the church, causing the eastern vault of the quire to collapse and destroying the altar which dated from 1696. A fire from the neighbouring cathedral museum spread to the truss of the cathedral, and around noon on Palm Sunday the towers collapsed. An Arp Schnitger organ was lost in the flames. Nevertheless, a relatively large portion of the internal fittings was saved, including the cross and almost all of the medieval polyptychs. In 1946 a further collapse, of the gable of the north transept, destroyed the vestibule almost completely.
Reconstruction of the cathedral took several decades, as greater priority was given to the rebuilding of the Marienkirche. Work was completed only in 1982.
The cathedral is unique in that at 105 m, it is shorter than the tallest church in the city. This is the consequence of a power struggle between the church and the guilds.
The 17 m crucifix is the work of the Lübeck artist Bernt Notke. It was commissioned by the bishop of Lübeck, Albert II. Krummendiek, and erected in 1477. The carvings which decorate the rood screen are also by Notke.
Since the war, the famous altar of Hans Memling has been in the medieval collection of the St. Annen Museum, but notable polyptychs remain in the cathedral.
In the funeral chapels of the southern aisle are Baroque-era memorials by the Flemish sculptor Thomas Quellinus.