Vardsia
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Vardsia ( Georgian ვარძია ) is a cave city west of the city of Akhalkalaki in the municipality of Aspindsa , in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region in southern Georgia , in the Lesser Caucasus , on the left bank of the Mtkvari . It was built in a wall of Mount Erusheti in the 12th century. The cultural monument was registered by Georgia in 1993 for the list of UNESCO World Heritage .
The builder was the Georgian King Giorgi III. He planned the city as a border fortress against Turks and Persians . His daughter, Queen Tamara , completed the building and turned it into a monastery. During a military conflict with the Seljuk Turks , she lived in the city with her entourage from 1193 to 1195.
Wardsia was carved into a rock face that rose about 500 meters from the valley. The builders used projections and recesses to create deep caves, which are connected by tunnels, stairs, terraces and galleries. Originally 3,000 apartments were built for the residents on up to seven floors, which offered space for 50,000 people. Each apartment consisted of three rooms. There was a treasury, a church, a library, bakeries, stables and swimming pools. Water flowed from ceramic pipes.
After an earthquake in 1283, 750 rooms are still preserved on an area of around 900 square meters. The main attraction is the monastery church of the Assumption of Mary with a magnificent column portal, a large hall in the form of a barrel vault , apse and narthex . It is decorated with colored frescoes , including depictions of the builder, King Giorgi III. and Queen Tamara. In 2018 5 monks and 3 novices lived in Vardsia, who also act as tour guides.
Below the cave city, in the Mtkvari Valley, there is a traditional sulfur bath.
literature
- Isolda Tschitschinadze: The painting of Vardsia. In: Georgica. 12: 77-78 (1989)
- KN Melitaurii: Vardzia. Sabchota Sakartvelo, Tbilisi 1963
- Givi Gaprindashvili: Vardzia: History, architecture, wall painting, applied arts. Aurora Art, Leningrad 1975
Web links
- Vardzia Historical-Architectural Museum-Reserve. (PDF; 5.8 MB) heritagesites.ge
Coordinates: 41 ° 22 ′ 31 ″ N , 43 ° 15 ′ 27 ″ E
Individual evidence
- ^ Marie Arnaud, Jacques Debs: Monastères d'Europe - Les témoins de l'invisible . Arte Éditions, Issy-les-Moulineaux 2018, ISBN 978-2-7369-0316-9 , pp. 171 .