Ushguli ( ka, უშგული) is a community of five villages located at the head of the Enguri gorge in

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 ...

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 ...

.Svaneti and Its Inhabitants, Roland Topchishvili
/ref> Ushguli is one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Compared to somewhat more developed towns like

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''), ...

, Ushguli is not in an accessible location, which has preserved many of the villages' medieval characteristics, including unique defensive tower houses called

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 ...

. Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
9 reasons to visit Georgia now

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, 17 May 2016 Because of their preservation and traditional architecture, Ushguli, Mestia, and the surrounding area was recognized as the ''Upper Svaneti''

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 ...

in 1996.

Location and features

Ushguli is located at an altitude of near the foot of

Shkhara Shkhara ( ka, შხარა) is the highest point in the nation of Georgia It is located near the Russian-Georgian border, in Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region on the northern side, and the Svaneti region of Georgia in the south. Shkhara lies ...

, one of the highest summits 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. About 70 families (about 200 people) live in the area, enough to support a small school. The area is snow-covered for 6 months of the year, and often the road to

is impassable. The Lamaria religious complex (named for 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 Svaneti mythology) in Zhibiani is located on a hilltop dominating the village. The chapel dates back to the 12th century and contains

Georgian Golden Age The Georgian Golden Age ( ka, საქართველოს ოქროს ხანა, tr) describes a historical period in the High Middle Ages, spanning from roughly the late 11th to 13th centuries, during which the Kingdom of Georgia reac ...

-era frescoes. The most notable feature of the villages in Ushguli are the defensive

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 found throughout the community. These houses are between 3-5 stories tall were built primarily between the 9th and 12th centuries. Although many of the towers in the lower towns such as Mestia have fallen into disrepair, the isolation of Ushguli has preserved the towers. Chazhashi, one of the villages within the community, contains over 200 of these towers and has been preserved as a Museum-Reserve. The

Mikhail Kalatozov Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozov ( ka, მიხეილ კალატოზიშვილი, russian: Михаил Константинович Калатозов; 28 December 1903 – 26 March 1973), born Mikheil Kalatozishvili, was a So ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

documentary ''

Salt for Svanetia ''Salt for Svanetia'' ( ka, მარილი სვანეთს ''marili svanets''; russian: Соль Сванетии, Sol' Svanetii) is a 1930 Soviet-Georgian silent documentary film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. As one of the earliest e ...

'' was filmed in Ushguli.

Constituent villages of Ushguli

Zhibiani ( ka, ჟიბიანი) some above sea level;
Chvibiani or Chubiani ( ka, ჩვიბიანი);
Chazhashi or Chajashi ( ka, ჩაჟაში);
Murqmeli ( ka, მურყმელი);
Lamjurishi ( ka, ლამჯურიში).

References

External links

Ski – Svaneti Project
* {{World Heritage Sites in Georgia Populated places in Mestia Municipality World Heritage Sites in Georgia (country) Svaneti

Location and features

Constituent villages of Ushguli

See also

References

External links