Kumurdo Cathedral, Akhalkalaki, Georgia

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 restored twice (1930; 1970–1980), but it stands without a dome.

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ლიეხიმ ეძიქილემ (2 years ago)
gorgeous place with medieval GEORGIAN cathedral but very aggressive people, which don't allow to see the church

sophio maisuradze (2 years ago)
ჭეშმარიტი ქართული ხელოვნება, ჭეშმაიტი რწმენა, ამ ორ რამეს აერთიანებს ეს ტადზარი. კუმურდოს ტადზარი ჯავახეთის ზეგანზე, სოფელ კუმურდოში მდებარეობს და მეათე საკუნის ბრწნვალე დზეგლია, ნახულობ კუმურდოს და თავში მოდის ფიქრი ბაგრატზე, სვეტიცხოველზე... გენიალურია! ამაჟად მიმდიანრეობს ტადზრის არდგენითი სამუშაოები... ყველამ უნდა ნახოთ, აუცლებლად...

David A (3 years ago)
X century Georgian Orthodox Cathedral which is under reconstruction nowadays

Ia Kakichashvili (3 years ago)
Historically rich place the monastery of Kumurdo, in the village Kumurdo. Village is populated by ethical Armenians who were sheltered in Georgia after the 1915 Genocide. It is medium size village in the center of which the Kumurdo church is situated. The church itself represents the place of historical scripts and th structure of the complex is interesting for the area it is placed. Worth of visiting in May, as it is quite hot in summer there. Be aware, that locals are not very positively attentive when see foreign visitors. They don't speak Georgian.

Арцви Навасардян (4 years ago)
Ararat peoples history

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Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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