Khertvisi is a village in
Aspindza Municipality
Aspindza ( ka, ასპინძის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Aspindzis munitsipalit'et'i'') is a municipality in southern Georgia, in the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 10,372 (2021). Its main town and a ...
of
Samtskhe-Javakheti region, the
Republic of Georgia
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although a ...
. Situated at the confluence of the rivers
Mtkvari
The Kura, also known in Georgian as Mtkvari ( ), is an east-flowing transboundary river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of ...
and
Paravani
The Paravani ( ka, ფარავანი) is a river of southern Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or f ...
, the village was set on a number of terraces.
According to the chronicles, in ancient times Khertvisi was a town. The last mention was in the second half of the 18th century. The large
Khertvisi Fortress
Khertvisi fortress ( ka, ხერთვისის ციხე) is one of the oldest fortresses in Georgia and was functional throughout the Georgian feudal period. It is situated in Khertvisi village of Aspindza Municipality, Southern Georgia ...
was built here presumably in the 10th-11th centuries. In 1771, when the fortress was temporarily taken back from Turks by
King Erekle II, a large amount of valuables and goods was evacuated. This hinted historians that Khertvisi was indeed a town.
[Закарая, П. (1983) Памятники Восточной Грузии. Искусство, Москва, 376 с. akaraya, P. Monuments of Eastern GeorgiaIn Russian)]
References
Populated places in Samtskhe–Javakheti
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