Peter's Fortress is a Byzantine fortress with well—preserved ruins. The fortress is located on the Black Sea coast 17 kilometers north of Batumi. The fortress was built in the 6th century by order of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. The need to build the fortress was due to its strategic location on the trade route connecting Persia, Armenia and Byzantium with Western Georgia, as well as its proximity to sea transportation. In 541, the Persian Shah Khosrow I captured the fortress of Peter, and then fortified it even more. In 549, Justinian sent a large army to regain the fortress and power in the Lazar kingdom. In 551, another Byzantine commander, Bessus, was able to capture Peter's fortress, and in order not to have to retake the strategic object in the future, it was decided to destroy the fortress. The name "Petra" comes from the Greek word meaning "stone, rock". Due to the protective factors, the fortress became impregnable to enemies, which gave rise to its second name — "Gareji" (enchanted fortress). The architecture of the fortress is a combination of Byzantine and Georgian architecture. On the territory of the fortress there are ruins of fortress walls, towers, residential and outbuildings, as well as St. Peter's Church, from which the fortress probably got its name. 7-meter-high double walls with loopholes and embrasures for guns, as well as several massive towers, have been preserved. In the center of the territory is the foundation of a three—nave basilica with fragments of exterior cladding and a bathhouse. There is a food storage room on site, a half—sunk structure with a stone arched vault and steps. A dilapidated clay bowl embedded in the ground, where rainwater is now collected, used to be a reservoir for storing drinking water. The territory of the fortress is open to the public. There are walking routes inside, and information signs are installed. There are viewing platforms with views of the sea and mountains. In 2020, a large-scale reconstruction of the fortress was carried out: it was cleared of dense thickets of bushes and ivy, a new path was built to the top and an observation deck was set up directly above the sea. Since 1989, the fortress has been officially declared a historical and architectural museum-reserve.

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Petra Fortress

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