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Chazhashi ( ka, ჩაჟაში) is a village in the
Mestia Municipality Mestia ( ka, მესტიის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Mesṫiis municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. Its main town is Mestia. It has an area of 3,045 km2 and ...
,
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti ( Georgian: სამეგრელო-ზემო სვანეთი) is a region (Mkhare) in western Georgia with a population of 308,358 (2021) and a surface of . The region has Zugdidi as its administrative center, ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. It is located in the southern foothills of the
Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...
mountains, in the upper
Enguri River The Enguri ( ka, ენგური, tr, xmf, ინგირი, ingiri, ab, Егры, ''Egry'' russian: Ингури, ''Inguri'') is a river in western Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Svaneti Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians. Geography Situated o ...
and center of the
Ushguli Ushguli ( ka, უშგული) is a community of five villages located at the head of the Enguri gorge in Svaneti, Georgia. Ushguli is one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe. Compared to somewhat more developed towns li ...
community. Its medieval fortified structures are inscribed on the registry of Georgia's
Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance The Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance ( ka, ეროვნული მნიშვნელობის კატეგორიის კულტურის უძრავი ძეგლები) are buildings, structures ...
and listed as a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
as part of the Upper Svaneti entity.


Geography

Chazhashi is the main settlement of Ushguli, a conglomeration of four villages and one of the highest inhabited places in Europe. Under Georgia's current subdivision, it is part of the Mestia Municipality, located some 45 km west of the municipal center, the town of
Mestia Mestia ( ka, მესტია ) is a highland townlet ('' daba'') in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of in the Caucasus Mountains. General information Mestia is located in the Svaneti region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province (''mkhare''), ...
, at the confluence of the Enguri and Shavtskala rivers.


Cultural heritage

Chazhashi is home to dozens of structures dating from the medieval and early modern periods of the history of Georgia, namely, its northwestern highland province of
Svaneti Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians. Geography Situated o ...
. Of these are 13 well-preserved Svanetian
tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
s—a typically three- to five-floor structures attached to the family houses—as well as four medieval castles, including one called Tamar's Castle in reference to the queen-regnant
Tamar of Georgia Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...
( r. 1184–1213), who is believed by local folk tradition to have used it as her summertime residence. There are also two stone churches and several accessory buildings. The churches, one named St. George (Jgrag) and the other named the Lamaria (after the goddess
Lamaria Lamaria (also Lamara or Lamia; ) is a goddess in Georgian mythology, specifically of the Svan ethnic subgroup. Like many other deities of the Svan pantheon, her name is derived from a Christian figure; in her case, Mary, mother of Jesus. Lamaria ...
in Savneti mythology), date from the 10th and 11th–12th centuries, respectively. The former is part of the Tamar Castle; the latter is
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
ed. Several monuments of Chazhashi were damaged by a massive avalanche in January 1987. Beginning in 2000, the Georgian government and the National Committee of the
International Council on Monuments and Sites The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; french: links=no, Conseil international des monuments et des sites) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the worl ...
(ICOMOS Georgia), presided over multidisciplinary research of the village's cultural heritage and restoration and conservation projects.


Population

Chazhashi is a village, with the permanent population of only 28 persons, all
Svans , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = File:Kartvelian languages.svg , caption = Distribution of the Svan language in relation to other Kartvelian (South Caucasian) languages. , population = –80,00 ...
, an ethnic Georgian subgroup, as of the 2014 nationwide census.


See also

*
Svan towers Svan towers ( ka, სვანური კოშკი, tr) refers to the tower houses built as defensive dwellings in the Georgian historical region of Svaneti (present-day Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti). These towers are unique to the region and wer ...


References

{{Reflist World Heritage Sites in Georgia (country) Populated places in Mestia Municipality Svaneti Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia