Tsageri ( ka, ცაგერი , ''Cageri'') is a town in

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 ...

, located in

Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti ( ka, რაჭა-ლეჩხუმი და ქვემო სვანეთი, ''Rach’a-Lechkhumi da Kvemo Svaneti'' ) is a region (mkhare) in northwestern Georgia (country), Georgia with a population o ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in the west of the country and serving as an administrative center of the

homonymous In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; ''homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or ''homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciatio ...

district. Tsageri is located at 475 m above sea level, on the right bank of the Tskhenis-Tsqali, an affluent of the

Rioni river The Rioni ( ka, რიონი ; , ) is the main river of western Georgia. It originates in the Caucasus Mountains, in the region of Racha and flows west to the Black Sea, entering it north of the city of Poti (near ancient Phasis). The city ...

. As of the 2014 census, the town had a population of approximately 1,320, mostly

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

History

In medieval Georgia, Tsageri was an episcopal see, with a cathedral described by the early 18th-century geographer

Vakhushti Vakhushti ( ka, ვახუშტი; 1696 – 1757) was a Georgian royal prince ('' batonishvili''), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, '' Description of the Kingdom of Georgia'' and the ''Ge ...

as "the cupola church of Tsageri, superbly built." The original three-nave basilica design was significantly altered by the cathedral's late 19th-century restorers; the original wall paintings, including the portraits of Queen Tamar and her son

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, were also lost in the process. Under the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and early

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

government, Tsageri functioned as an administrative center of the Lechkhumi Uyezd of the Kutaisi Governorate. It acquired the status of a town in 1968.

Culture and religion

There is the residence of the

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

bishop of Tsageri and

Lentekhi Lentekhi ( ka, ლენტეხი, ) is a small town and Lentekhi District's ( Raion) capital in Georgia's western region of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, 323 km northwest to the nation's capital Tbilisi. Situated on the southern s ...

in Tsageri. A local museum exhibits several thousands of archaeological artifacts unearthed in Lower

Svaneti Svaneti (Svan language, Svan: შუ̂ან, ლემშუ̂ანიერა; ''shwan, lemshwaniera'', and Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georg ...

and Lechkhumi. In the vicinity of Tsageri, there are the ruins of the medieval fortress of Muris-Tsikhe which might have been the place of exile and death of the Christian theologian

Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor (), also spelled Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christianity, Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, Maximus was a civil se ...

(c. 580 – 662). There still exists a monastery dedicated to St. Maximus. The nearby located

Khvamli Khvamli ( ka, ხვამლი) or Khomli (ხომლი) is a limestone massif in western Georgia (country), Georgia, located on the territories of Tsageri district, Tsageri and Tsqaltubo district, Tsqaltubo municipalities and forming the wat ...

caves, according to the medieval records, preserves the treasury of the kings of Georgia. It has been listed among the national monuments of Georgia and has recently attracted a renewed interest from scholars.TBC ბანკმა, კომპანია ‘ბორჯომმა’ და ‘ელიტ ელექტრონიკსმა’ ‘ხვამლის’ გადაღება დააფინანსეს ("TBC Bank, Borjomi and Elite Electronics sponsored the film "Khvamli")
''The 24 Hours'', cited at ''News.ge''. 2008-04-20.

References

{{Cities and towns in Georgia (country) Cities and towns in Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Kutaisi Governorate Populated places in Tsageri Municipality