page_title: Mtskheta
section_title: Monuments
hierarchical_section_title: Mtskheta / Monuments
caption_attribution_description: ქართული: გუმბათიანი ტაძარი This is a photo of a monument in Georgia identified by the ID 2506
context_page_description: Mtskheta is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. One of the oldest cities of Georgia and its former capital, it is located approximately 20 kilometres north of Tbilisi, at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers. Currently a small provincial capital, for nearly a millennium until the 5th century AD, Mtskheta was a large fortified city, a significant economical and political centre of the Kingdom of Iberia.
  Due to its historical significance and several cultural monuments, the "Historical Monuments of Mtskheta" became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. As the birthplace and one of the most vibrant centers of Christianity in Georgia, Mtskheta was declared as the "Holy City" by the Georgian Orthodox Church in 2014.
  In 2016 the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta were placed by UNESCO under Enhanced Protection, a mechanism established by the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
context_section_description: Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century), Samtavro Monastery (4th century) and Jvari Monastery (6th century) in Mtskheta are amongst the most significant monuments of Georgian Christian architecture, and are historically significant in the development of medieval architecture throughout the Caucasus. Of special significance are early inscriptions, which form a valuable reference in the study of the origins of the early Georgian alphabet. Samtavro necropolis, a burial place north of the monastery, is dated between the middle of the 3rd millennium BC and the 10th century.
  In the outskirts of Mtskheta are the ruins of Armaztsikhe fortress (3rd century BC), the Armaztsikhe acropolis (dating to the late 1st century BC), remains of a "Pompey's bridge" (according to legends built by Roman legionnaires of Pompey the Great in the 1st century BC), the fragmentary remains of a royal palace (1st–3rd century AD), a nearby tomb of the 1st century AD, and the fortress of Bebris tsikhe (14th century). The Institute of Archaeology, and the garden of Mikheil Mamulashvili are also worthy of note. There is also a monument to sculptor Elena Machabeli.
  A mausoleum of rich woman from 1st century AD was recovered near Mtskheta train station. The structure imitates a house with well-processed quadrats and a fronton. The roof was covered with tile. Among the findings inside the mausoleum was a small bronze statue of young man playing flute.
caption: Samtavro Monastery
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