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Nikortsminda Cathedral

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Raca-Leçhumi ve Kvemo Svaneti, Ambrolauri Municipality, Village of Nikortsminda

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Raca-Leçhumi ve Kvemo Svaneti, Ambrolauri Municipality, Village of Nikortsminda

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Level 22 Local Expert

Very beautiful and ancient. The thousand–year-old Nikortsminda in Racha is a lace made of stone and a Last Judgment that you will not forget. Nikortsminda is famous for its carved stone facade and amazingly preserved frescoes. It is the only temple of the Georgian Golden Age in Racha. It was built in 1010-1014 (almost simultaneously with the construction of Svetitskhoveli in Mtskheta) under Tsar Bagrat III, the same one by whose order the famous Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi was created. In the XVI-XVII centuries, Nikortsminda was renovated and frescoed on the walls - they have survived to this day. In the 19th century, a bell tower was added to the temple. In 1923, after the Sovietization of Georgia, the cathedral was closed, and some of the icons and outrigger crosses were lost. The antiquities that were saved were transported to the Kutaisi Museum. Worship in Nikortsminda was resumed in the 1980s, and in 1991 the cathedral was damaged during an earthquake (they often happen in Racha). In 2012, researchers carried out a restoration, discovered previously unknown frescoes and the name of one of the artists, Javakhadze. The stone carvings in Nikortsminda are the richest – you can use them to study the ornaments of the Golden Age. The facade has perfectly preserved images of angels, the Second Coming of Christ, and the Transfiguration, and inside there are bas–reliefs with animal figures unusual for a Christian temple. The frescoes are even more impressive: there is not a single "empty wall" in Nikortsminda. You will definitely not miss the Last Judgment and the sinners in agony at the exit of the temple – the images will be just at your eye level.

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Варвара Тринько

Level 4 Local Expert

I was there as a child, I was very impressed by the interior decoration! I want to visit there again.

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