Country guide
Georgia
2 sacred sites across 1 regions.
Traditions present in Georgia
Prominent site types
Imereti
2 sites
Bagrati Cathedral, Kutaisi
Kutaisi, Imereti, Georgia
Kutaisi is a city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: 42.27723, 42.70430. Attributes: built, cultural, pilgrimage. Tradition: Christianity. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kutaisi ( koo-TY-see, Georgian: ქუთაისი pronounced [ˈkʰut̪ʰais̪i] ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Republic of Georgia. One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the fourth-most populous city in Georgia after Tbilisi, Batumi and Rustavi. It lies 221 kilometres (137 miles) west of Tbilisi, on the Rioni River, and is the capital of Imereti. Historically one of the major cities of Georgia, it served as the political center of Colchis in the Middle Ages as the capital of the Kingdom of Abkhazia and Kingdom of Georgia and later as the capital of the Kingdom of Imereti. From October 2012 to December 2018, Kutaisi was the seat of the Parliament of Georgia as an effort to decentralize the Georgian government. Located in ქუთაისი, იმერეთი, საქართველო.
Gelati Monastery
Kutaisi, Imereti, Georgia
Founded in 1106 by King David IV as both monastery and academy, Gelati rises on a wooded hillside above the Tskaltsitela River as the spiritual and intellectual heart of Georgia's Golden Age. For nine centuries, monks have maintained an unbroken chain of prayer here, interrupted only during Soviet rule. Today, Orthodox liturgy continues within walls that hold some of the finest medieval Byzantine art east of Constantinople.