Kvatakhevi ( ka, ქვათახევი) is a medieval

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

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

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 , Sh ...

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 ...

, west of the nation’s capital of

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

. 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 Mountains in the Samtskhe–Javakheti region of southern Georgia. The eastern edge of the Range runs along the western border o ...

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

Pitareti Pitareti Monastery ( ka, ფიტარეთის მონასტერი) is a medieval Orthodox Christian monastery in Georgia, approximately 26 km southwest of the town of Tetritsqaro, Kvemo Kartli, southwest of the nation's capita ...

, and

Timotesubani Timotesubani ( ka, ტიმოთესუბანი) is a medieval Georgian Orthodox Christian monastic complex located at the eponymous village in the Borjomi Gorge, Georgia's Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The complex consists of a series of ...

in its architectural form 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 ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

State Historical Museum The State Historical Museum ( Russian: Государственный исторический музей, ''Gosudarstvenny istoricheskiy muzyey'') of Russia is a museum of Russian history The history of Russia begins with the histories of ...

.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 Kingdom of Georgia, a Christianity, Christian monarchy, kingdom in the Caucasus, was subjected, between 1386 and 1403, to several disastrous invasions by the armies of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur, whose Timurid Empire, vast empire stretched ...

in the 14th century, but was subsequently repaired, more completely under the patronage of Prince Ivane

Tarkhan-Mouravi The Tarkhan-Mouravi ( ka, თარხან-მოურავი) (Tarkhnishvili, თარხნიშვილი, or Tarkhan-Mouravishvili, თარხან-მოურავიშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, claiming descent ...

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