Lykhny ( ka, ლიხნი; ) is a village in the

Gudauta District Gudauta District is a district of Abkhazia, Georgia (country), Georgia's breakaway republic. It corresponds to the eponymous Administrative divisions of Georgia (country), Georgian district. Its capital is Gudauta, the town by the same name. The po ...

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

, a disputed region on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast.

History

In medieval Georgian sources the village is also known as ''Zupu'' (''ზუფუ''). The village lies along the narrow

plain of Abkhazia at an elevation of 50 meters above sea level. Lykhny is located five kilometers from the administrative center of

Gudauta Gudauta ( ka, გუდაუთა, ; , ''Gwdowtha''; , ''Gudauta'') is a town in Abkhazia, Georgia, and the capital of the eponymous district. It is situated on the Black Sea, 37 km northwest of Sokhumi, the capital of Abkhazia. It is the ...

. There are several important historical monuments in and around Lykhny. Of particular importance are the 10-11th century Church of the Virgin Mary and the ruins of a two-storey palace which was used as a residence by the princes of

(the palace collapsed in 1866 when the Russian

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...

attacked the village). An older monument, the fortress of Abaanta (built in the 7th century) is located at the edge of the village on the left bank of the Khipsta River. Lykhny palace ruins

''Lykhnashta'', a large square located centrally in the village, is one of the

seven shrines of the Abkhaz people The Seven Shrines of the Abkhaz in Abkhazia are considered holy in the Abkhaz neopaganism, Abkhaz traditional religion and are known and respected by most Abkhazians. Shrines See also * Abkhaz neopaganism * Council of Priests of Abkhazia Ref ...

and the place where is held the

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual Festival, celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different ...

every October. The square was also the place of the gathering of all the Abkhaz in 1931 and 1989.Shervashidze, L. ''Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia.'' 1983. Book 6. p. 271. Abkhaz Communist revolutionary

Nestor Lakoba Nestor Apollonovich Lakoba, ''Nest’or Ap’olonis Dze Lak’oba'' (1 May 189328 December 1936) was an Abkhaz communist leader. Lakoba helped establish Bolshevik power in Abkhazia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, and served as the ...

was born in Lykhny in 1893.

References

Populated places in Gudauta District Sukhumi okrug Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia {{georgia-geo-stub