Zemo Nikozi church of the Deity
ზემო ნიქოზის ღვთაების ეკლესია | |
42°11′46″N 43°57′29″E / 42.196159°N 43.958144°E | |
Location | Zemo Nikozi, Gori Municipality, Shida Kartli, Georgia |
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Type | Cross-in-square church Bell-tower Episcopal Palace Circuit wall |
The Zemo Nikozi church of the Deity (
The complex stands in what is now the village of
The Zemo Nikozi church is the seat of a bishop of the Georgian Orthodox Eparchy of Nikozi and Tskhinvali, responsible for the territory of South Ossetia.[3] Some 100 m south stands the church of the Archangel, a small 10th-century domed structure.[3]
History
The first recorded mention of Nikozi occurs in a c. 800 chronicle of
The Nikozi cathedral and its complex was constructed over a several-century span. The extant church building dates mostly to the 14th–16th century, a bell-tower is a 16th–17th-century structure and an episcopal palace was built in the 9th–11th century. Several other buildings such as a bishop's residence, cells, a refectory, and various accessory structures were constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries.[3]
During the August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, Zemo Nikozi was a scene of heavy fighting between the Georgian and Russian forces and Russian air attacks on 10 August 2008, which damaged the Nikozi complex, especially the recently repaired episcopal palace. Its renovated roof, floor, and balconies were burned down, and the original south floor stones cracked due to fire. Monastic cells, a bishop's dwelling, and the refectory were completely destroyed.[3][7]
After the war, following an action initiated by the Council of Europe, a project was implemented for emergency stabilization works to the Nikozi complex, including preliminary onsite works, a new roof, consolidation and stabilization of the structure, and archaeological works, setting grounds for further rehabilitation works.[8][9]
Architecture
As systematic archaeological studies have not been conducted at Nikozi and the church has been remodeled several times in the course of history, neither the fire-temple nor the 5th-century shrine of St. Ražden mentioned in the chronicles has been identified.[2]
The extant cathedral is constructed in a
In the northwest corner of the complex stands a 16th–17th-century two-storey bell-tower, measuring 5.45 × 5.35 m., with its façades faced with grey hewn stone slabs. The ground floor acts as a vaulted porch with three bearing arches; the top storey a pyramidal structure containing bells. Façades contain several now barely legible asomtavruli inscriptions. The base between openings is a round pillar adorned with a capital. Each of the four façades of the bell-tower terminates in a gable, the peak of which is topped with a sculpted head of a ram. The bell-tower is flanked on either side by a stone wall, which is a later addition.[10][3]
An episcopal palace stands in ruins outside the wall, to the southeast. Dated to the 9th–11th century, it is a two-storey building set in a rectangular plan, with the dimensions of 11.2 × 21 m., and built of rubble, ashlars, and brick. The ground floor contains large arched porch and a fireplace; the top one was lit with four arched openings, leading to a wooden balcony.[10][3]
References
- ^ "List of Immovable Cultural Monuments" (PDF) (in Georgian). National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-9941-15-896-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Post-Conflict Immediate Actions for the Social and Economic Revitalisation of the Communities and Cultural Environment in the Municipality of Gori (Georgia). Preliminary Technical Assessment: Nikozi Monastery". Council of Europe. 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ISBN 0198263732.
- Wakhoucht, Tsarévitch (1842). Brosset, Marie-Félicité (ed.). ღეოღრაჶიული აღწერა საქართველოჲსა. Description géographique de la Géorgie [Description of the Kingdom of Georgia] (in Georgian and French). S.-Pétersbourg: A la typographie de l'Academie Impériale des Sciences. pp. 252–253.
- ISBN 978-9941-445-52-1.
- ^ Kaylan, Melik (September 24, 2008). "What the Russians Left In Their Wake in Georgia". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ "Emergency stabilisation of the Ephiscopal Palace of Nikozi monsatery complex". Georgian Arts & Culture Center. 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ISBN 9789287185839.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-25108-3.