Kvatakhevi ( ka, ქვათახევი) is a medieval

Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Shida Kartli Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , S ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, about 5 km south east of the village Tsinarekhi and west of the nation’s capital of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. The Kvatakhevi monastic complex is situated near the village Kavtiskhevi at the end of the gorge cut by a stream in the northern slopes of the

Trialeti Range Trialeti Range ( ka, თრიალეთის ქედი) is an east-west mountain range of the Lesser Caucasus, Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the Samtskhe–Javakheti region of southern Georgia (country), Georgia. The eastern edge of the Ra ...

, protected on three sides by the steep mountain slopes. It dates to the 12th-13th century, and resembles the monasteries of Betania, Pitareti, and Timotesubani in its

architectural form In architecture, form refers to a combination of external appearance, internal structure, and the Unity (aesthetics), unity of the design as a whole, an order created by the architect using #Space and mass, space and mass. External appearance Th ...

and decoration, reflecting a contemporary canon of a Georgian domed church architecture. The overall plan is nearly a square, with the dome resting upon 2 freely standing pillars and 2 pillars fused with the ledges of the altar. The internal space of the church is formed by the arms of the cross and the dome which surmounts the crossing point. The building has two portals, one to the south and one to the west. The façades are covered with finely hewn white stone squares. The decoration abounds in fretwork, especially around the windows and the base of the dome; the eastern façade is adorned with a large ornate cross. Historically, Kvatakhevi was also a literary center where several manuscripts were copied. It also possessed a treasure with many artifacts of medieval Georgian jewelry, a sizeable portion of which was later acquired by and are now on display at the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

State Historical Museum The State Historical Museum () of Russia is a museum of History of Russia, Russian history located between Red Square and Manezhnaya Square, Moscow, Manege Square in Moscow. The museum's exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that li ...

.M. M. Postnikova-Loseva, Arthur Shkarovsky-Raffé (1985), ''The Historical Museum, Moscow: Jewellery'', p. 18. Aurora Art Publishers. The monastery was significantly damaged during

Timur's invasions of Georgia The Timurid invasions of Georgia ( ka, თემურლენგის ლაშქრობები საქართველოში, tr) were eight invasions between 1386 and 1403 of the Kingdom of Georgia in the Caucasus by the Timurid ...

in the 14th century, but was subsequently repaired, more completely under the patronage of Prince Ivane Tarkhan-Mouravi in 1854. A belfry was added in 1872.

References

Inline General *Nodar Sh. Dzhanberidze (1965), ''Architectural Monuments in Georgia'', p. 16. Literatura da Khelovneba. {{coord, 41, 47, 36, N, 44, 27, 29, E, region:GE_type:city_source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title Georgian Orthodox monasteries Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia