Shavnabada ( ka, შავნაბადა) is a mountain and

extinct volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

of 770 m height in southeastern

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 ...

, some 96 km from the nation’s capital

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

. The mountain is notable for a medieval

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

monastery built there in honor of St. George who, according to a local legend, wore a black cloak (Georgian: ''shavi nabadi'', hence the mountain’s name) when leading the army of the

king of Georgia This is a list of kings and queens regnant of the kingdoms of Georgia before Russian annexation in 1801–1810. For more comprehensive lists, and family trees, of Georgian monarchs and rulers see Lists of Georgian monarchs. Kings of Iberia ...

in one of the victorious battles. The monastery is known for its rare variety of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

, also called Shavnabada, made by the monks.List of churches and monasteries in the Mtskheta-Tbilisi Diocese
Unofficial website of the Georgian Orthodoxy. Accessed on September 28, 2007. "Shavnabada" is also a moniker for the 13th "Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion of the

Georgian Army The Defence Forces of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალები, tr), or Georgian Defence Forces (GDF), are the combined military forces of Georgia, tasked with the defense of the nation's indep ...

which was based at this mountain in the 1990s.

References

{{Reflist Georgian Orthodox monasteries Volcanoes of Georgia (country) Georgian words and phrases Mountains of Kvemo Kartli Extinct volcanoes of Europe