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Fortress · Mtskheta, Mtskheta Municipality, Mtskheta-Mtianeti

Bebris Tsikhe

ბებრისციხე · Bebristsikhe Fortress

A ruined hilltop fortress on the right bank of the Aragvi just north of Mtskheta, built to shut the town's approach from the Aragvi valley, with its citadel and lower yard still traceable.

Where it is

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41.8554, 44.7229

Why go

Comparatively little stands, and the interest lies in the outline and its history. The citadel had a tower at each corner: the south-western one rose three storeys, the northern tower keeps all its floors, and of the eastern tower only foundations survive. Arrow slits pierce the two better-kept towers, which were living quarters as well as defences. Demetre I, eldest son of David the Builder, died in the fortress in 1156 and was later reburied at Gelati. Local legend adds an angel sent to help defend it.

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Historic town

Mtskheta

Mtskheta was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Iberia and is the place where Georgia adopted Christianity in the fourth century. Today it is a small, walkable town twenty kilometres from Tbilisi holding Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the hilltop church of Jvari, the working convent of Samtavro and the archaeological remains of the pre-Christian royal city, inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is simultaneously Georgia's most important pilgrimage destination and its most accessible serious historical site.

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