Kwetera
| Kwetera | ||
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 The church with the dome and the ruins of the Kwetera complex |
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| Alternative name (s): | Kueteri | |
| Place: | Akhmeta , Kakheti | |
| Geographical location | 42 ° 3 '22.4 " N , 45 ° 5' 57.5" E | |
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Kwetera , Kwetari or Kueteri ( Georgian კვეტერა, კვეტარი, კუეტერი ) is a Georgian historical castle and city in the Kakheti region , Akhmetis Munizipaliteti . It is located on the right bank of the Ilto River , about 10 kilometers (as the crow flies) west of the city of Akhmeta .
The weir system was built on a mountain and has an area of around 280 × 120 m. The main castle with a palace and a church is located on the summit on the east side of the castle. The outer defensive wall with towers and two gates protected the parts of the lower castle outside the core castle with a second church, the farm and storage buildings as well as the accommodation for the castle crew. The location of all these buildings and their structural details have not yet been extensively researched archaeologically; they were probably distributed over the slope, which has a height difference of about 35 m. The main attraction in the Kwetera complex is a church with the dome.
In the Georgian sources Kwetera is only mentioned in the 11th century, but Georgian historian Wachuschti Bagrationi (Batonishvili) from the 18th century reports that Kwetera castle and town already existed in the 8th century. Archaeological excavations confirm this version of Wachuschti. Kwetera was a center of the principality of Kakheti and later also of the kingdom of Kakheti . The King of Kakheti Kwirike III. divided the kingdom into seven Saeristawo (regions), including Saeristawo of Kwetera with the political center in the city of Kwetera. In the 13th century the city of Kwetera became deserted and after that it was not repopulated. Since then, Kwetera has not been mentioned in Georgian sources.
In 1968 archaeological excavations were carried out in Kwetera. During the excavations, the ruins of a small church and several medieval dishes were found. This rich material is preserved today in the Museum of the City of Dusheti .
Web links
- A legend about Kweteri
- Kwetera, Dzeglebi.ge
- Kwetera, information and photos
- Tourist tours, Kwetera, Zchrakara, Bachtrioni