Ninotsminda Cathedral
Ninotsminda Cathedral (Georgian: ნინოწმინდის მონასტერი) (c. 575) is located in the village of Sagarejo, in the Kakheti region, Georgia.
Ninotsminda Cathedral is highly significant to the development of Georgian architecture, as it predates Jvari Monastery in Mtskheta, and served as a model for the development of the later tetraconch (four-apse) form. [citation needed] The site is ruins today, with only the eastern apse and a portion of the western wall remaining. Outlines of the foundations indicate that the church originally had an octagonal center, surrounded by corner niches. Historical records indicate that restoration work was undertaken in the 10th and 11th centuries, and also during 1671 and 1774. However, the cathedral collapsed during earthquakes in 1824 and 1848 and was not reconstructed.
The large
The Ninotsminda complex is surrounded by a fortification, with corner towers and a crenellated curtain wall, dating from the 16th-17th centuries. The fortified entrance gate has protruding towers with beehive machicolations.
The complex is currently operated as a
References
- Rosen, Roger. Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus. Odyssey Publications: Hong Kong, 1999. ISBN 962-217-748-4