Metekhi Church

source: photo.kuda.ua

Along with the other attractions of Tbilisi great interest represents the Metekhi temple. It lies at the edge of a rocky shore of the Kura River, at its left bank, in the important historical quarter of the same name and dates back supposedly from the XII^th century. The church is the last resting place of the Queen Shushanika Ranskaya, Georgia`s first Christian martyr.

The first record of the church appears in historical sources of the XIIIth century. Throughout the centuries, the temple have been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt again. Most of all it suffered from the Mongol invasion, at that time took place its firs restoration. In the XV^th century it was destroyed again, this time by the Persians. In the XVI - XVII^th centuries Georgian kings rebuilt Metekhi. Then it was restored in the middle of the XIX century, the building around the temple were dismantled then, and in their place was built a prison.

Over the centuries, the temple have been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt again. It was seriously damaged during the Mongol invasion and reconstructed in the late XIII^th century. In the XV^th century it was destroyed again at the hands of the Persian invaders. Between the XVI^th and the XVII^th centuries, Georgian kings rebuilt Metekhi. Near the temple the highlight is a bronze statue of the founder of Tbilisi, Vakhtang Gorgasale on horseback.