Narikala
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Narikala ( Georgian ნარიყალა ) is a fortress in the Georgian capital Tbilisi . It was built at the end of the 3rd century and was the most important medieval castle in Georgia . It has been in ruins since 1827 on the summit of the Sololaki ridge above the old town and consists of two walled sections.
The fortress was built under the occupation of the Persian Sassanids . Its current name comes from the Persian word Nari-Qala and means impregnable castle . In Georgian it was called Schuris ziche ("fortress of envy"). Their task was the military defense of the capital. For this purpose, it was built at the narrowest point of the Kura Gorge, where the roads from Europe to India and from north to south crossed.
Iberia's king, Vakhtang I Gorgassali, reinforced its walls in the second half of the 5th century. It was repeatedly besieged, destroyed and rebuilt by Arabs between the 7th century and 10th century, the Mongols in the 13th century, the Turks in the 16th century and the Persians in the 17th century.
The Arabs taught in the tower Fort Schachtachti in the 6th century an astronomical observatory one that worked until the 14th century. The Turks built the square Istanbul tower in the 16th century , which was a prison for centuries. The last time the Persians renovated Narikala was in the 17th century.
In 1827 lightning struck a powder magazine in the casemates , which then exploded. Large parts of the fortress collapsed. At that time Georgia was part of the Russian Empire and the castle was of no strategic importance. It was therefore no longer built.
The fortress consists of two parts: the upper and lower fortress. The upper fortress on the ridge is a citadel . In the event of a siege, it served as the last bastion of defense and was considered to be almost impregnable because it borders on an almost vertical slope on three sides. The lower fortress, Qala , is formed by parallel walls that stretch from the citadel to the river.
The majority of the buildings visible today date from the 8th century. They are made of hewn stone and bricks combined with lime and coarse-grained sand. From the time of King Wachtang Gorgassali only fragments of a tower remain at the northeast corner of the castle. The plinths of destroyed predecessor buildings are located underground in several layers.
The castle ruins are now a popular tourist destination. Their battlements can be climbed and offer views over the city. In the lower section of the fortress is the Nariqala Church , which is popular with the locals as a wedding church .
A panoramic path runs from the fortress to the statue of Kartlis Deda ("Mother Georgia") on a ridge above Tbilisi. The mountain station of the cable car, which opened in June 2012 and connects the Rike Park on the other bank of the Kura with Nariqala, is located between the fortress and the statue.
Web links
- The story of Nariqala ( Memento of October 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 41 ° 41 ′ 16 ″ N , 44 ° 48 ′ 31 ″ E