Gagra church
| Church of Gagra გაგრის ეკლესია(in Georgian) Гагратәи ауахәама (in Abkhaz) | ||
|---|---|---|
Year consecrated 6th century | | |
| Status | active | |
| Location | ||
| Location |  Gagra, Gagra District, Abkhazia, Georgia | |
| Municipality | Gagra | |
  Shown within Abkhazia  Gagra church (Georgia) | ||
| Geographic coordinates | 43°19′31″N 40°13′25″E / 43.32528°N 40.22361°E | |
The Gagra Church (Georgian: გაგრის ეკლესია, romanized: gagris ek'lesia, Abkhaz: Гагратәи ауахәама), also known as Abaata, is an Early Medieval Christian church at Gagra in Abkhazia, Georgia. One of the oldest churches in Abkhazia, it is a simple three-nave basilica built in the 6th century by Anchabadze dynasty. It was reconstructed in 1902.[2]
History
The Gagra church stands in the territory of the contemporaneous fortress known as Abaata, which was also built by Anchabadze dynasty in the 4th-5th AD ruling dynasty in Abkhazia ( Georgia) at the time. The fortress is now completely in ruins.
It is built of blocks of rough
Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg, a member of the Russian imperial family, who turned Gagra into a spa town. On 9 January 1903 it was consecrated as the Church of Saint Hypatius.[4] At the same time, the old fortress of Abaata was demolished to pave way to the construction of a hotel. In the Soviet era, the church building was used as a museum of old weaponry. The church underwent some renovation in 2007 and it was restored to Christian use in 2012.[citation needed
]
The Gagra church is inscribed on Georgia's list of Monuments of National Significance.[3]
References
- Russian-occupied territory.
- ^ Basilica in old Gagra town Historical monuments of Abkhazia — Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.
- ^ a b Gelenava, Irakli, ed. (2015). Cultural Heritage in Abkhazia (PDF). Tbilisi: Meridiani. p. 14.
- ^ Гагры. Климатическая станция на Черноморском побережье [Gagry, a climate spa on the Black Sea coast] (PDF) (in Russian). St. Petersburg. 1905. p. 8.
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