Samtsevrisi Castle is a large medieval
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
castle or fortress in the village of Samtsevrisi,
Kareli Municipality
Kareli ( ka, ქარელის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Karelis municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Shida Kartli. Some northern territories of the district are part of the self-proclaimed ...
, in
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 ...
's
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
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 ...
. Its construction time and ownership have been unknown. Presumably, it belonged to noble
Panaskerteli-Tsisishvili ancestors, who settled here in the 15th century. One of the castle towers, though, belongs to the early medieval times. Meanwhile, the place was already inhabited by the 2nd millennium B.C. Part of the castle currently serves as the premises of
Samtsevrisi Monasteri (since 1997).
History
It is not clear when and who built the castle. Archeological discoveries on the place revealed large amount of ceramic fragments, dating from the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C. to the late medieval times. The large tower of the castle was built in the early medieval period. The large size of the castle presumes that it belonged to a rich prince, probably of
Panaskerteli
The Tsitsishvili ( ka, ციციშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, with several notable members from the 15th century through the 20th.
The Tsitsishvili family was a continuation of the medieval house of Panaskerteli, known in the pr ...
family, who settled in the castle in the 15th century.
[Zakaraya, P. (1983) Pamyatniki Vostochnoi Gruzii. Iskusstvo, Moskva, 376 p. akaraya, P. Monuments of the Eastern GeorgiaIn Russian)]
Architecture
Built on the high, right bank of
Mtkvari River
The Kura is an east-flowing river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus while its main tributary, the Ar ...
, near the mouth of
Dzama River, the castle has a shape of a prolonged
polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
, with the area of 2000 sq. meters. The castle garrison was homed in its northern part, separated from the southern
citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
. The southern part also has a
hall church
A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...
. The prominent largest tower was exceptionally well-built. The citadel encircled the family palace.
References
*
{{coord, 42.0188, 43.8389, type:landmark_region:GE, display=title
Buildings and structures in Shida Kartli
Castles and forts in Georgia (country)
Tsitsishvili family
Georgian Orthodox monasteries