Ikorta Church

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Ikorta Church (west gable)

The Ikorta Church of the Holy Archangel ( Georgian იკორთის მთავარანგელოზის ტაძარი ) is a Georgian Orthodox church from the 12th century in the Georgian Inner Kartlien region , in the municipality of Gori , near the village of Ikorta of the same name .

The Ikorta Church was built in 1172 by order of the ducal family of Ksani during the reign of the Georgian King Giorgi III. built. In addition to its sacred and ceremonial significance for the area, the church and its surroundings also served as the burial place of the ducal family of Ksani ( Georgian ქსნის ერისთავები ). The brothers Schalwa and Elisbar von Ksani and Bidsina Tscholoqaschwili were buried here. They fought successfully against the Persian rule over Kakheti in 1659 and were canonized after their death by the Georgian Orthodox Apostle Church .

Building description

The Ikorta Church is a symmetrically constructed, rectangular building with a semicircular apse in the east, which cannot be seen from the outside in the facade. The walls, which were originally richly decorated with biblical motifs, now only show fragments of the original wall paintings in the area of ​​the apse, on the north wall and on the dome base. The facades and the lower part of the dome are richly decorated with Georgian ornaments.

The structure has a length of 19 meters, a width of 14 meters and an interior height of 20 meters.

The church was thoroughly renovated in the 17th century, while the original pictorial program was retained. The church has two entrance portals, they are in the south and west. The associated vestibules were later removed, and a new vestibule was added to the south. There is a sundial on the south facade and an old Georgian Assomtavruli inscription on the west facade informs about the building of the church.

The church was damaged during the 1991 earthquake. The vibrations have weakened the stability and stability of the masonry overall, but the dome was hit hardest, the static stability of which now urgently needs to be restored. A (state?) Renovation project to save the church is already underway. The news about the earthquake damage also reached the internationally active World Monuments Fund . The church was added to the list of the 100 most endangered cultural monuments in the reporting period 2000–01 in 1999 as an outstanding, but endangered architectural monument.

In the vicinity of the church there are structural remains of a fortification of a former monastery.

literature

  • G. Abramishvili, P. Sakaraia, I. Zizischwili (2000): ქართული არქიტექტურის ისტორია (History of Georgian Architecture), pp. 139–141
  • Dsch. Gwasalia, T. Sanikidze: Georgische Sowjetenzyklopädie , Volume 5.P. 105, Tiflis 1980

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b G. Abramishvili, P. Sakaraia, I. Zizischwili (2000), ქართული არქიტექტურის ისტორია (History of Georgian Architecture), pp. 139–141.
  2. ↑ a b Ikortha . In: Nodar Janberidze, Irakli Tsitsishwili: Architectural Monuments of Georgia . Strojizdat, Moscow 1996, pp. 240-247 ISBN 5-274-02223-5
  3. ^ Georgia: Ikorta Church of the Archangel. ICOMOS World report 2001-2002 on monuments and sites at danger. Accessed on February 9, 2008.
  4. ^ Initial Rehabilitation and Conservation Works on the Church of the Holy Archangels in Ikorta.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund. Accessed on February 9, 2008.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.culturalheritage.ge