Historical Monuments of Mtskheta
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How it came to be
Mtskheta stands where the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers meet, about 20 km north-west of Tbilisi. From the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD it was the capital of Kartli, the East Georgian kingdom, and in 337 Christianity was proclaimed the state religion here.
Tradition says Saint Nino chose the site at the confluence and King Mirian III built the first church in the 4th century. The present Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was built between 1010 and 1029 by the architect Arsukidze at the invitation of Catholicos Melchizedek I. About 57.7 m long and 49 m high, it was destroyed by Timur and rebuilt at the end of the 14th century.
The cathedral was a place of coronation and royal burial, holding the tombs of Vakhtang Gorgasali and George XII, the last king of Georgia. The 6th-century Jvari Monastery on the hill above is still the most sacred place in Georgia. With Samtavro Monastery, where Mirian III is buried, the group was inscribed in 1994.
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