Ofreti

Overview

Ofreti (Georgian: ოფრეთი; also romanised Opreti) is a small mountain village in southern Georgia, in Marneuli Municipality of the Kvemo Kartli region. It lies on the northern slope of the Lok Range, on the upper course of the Shulaveri River, close to the state border with Armenia, at roughly 1,040–1,070 m above sea level.

Ofreti is the centre of the Ofreti administrative unit, which also includes the neighbouring village of Khokhmeli. The 2024 general population census counted 101 residents in Ofreti and 148 in the administrative unit as a whole. The village has a public school, and the medieval Ofreti fortress and the Goruli ensemble with its tower-house lie in the surrounding area.

Location

The village centre lies at approximately 41.2490° N, 44.6315° E (OpenStreetMap). Georgian Wikipedia gives an elevation of 1,070 m, while Russian Wikipedia (based on GeoNames) gives 1,041 m.

Ofreti is in the Shulaveri valley; the Shulaveri is a right tributary of the Khrami. The village is very close to the state border: the Armenian village of Jiliza lies about 2.3 km to the south in a straight line.

The municipal centre, the town of Marneuli, is about 29 km away in a straight line, to the north-east. An article based on the Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia gives the distance to Marneuli as 50 km.

Neighbouring villages

• Khokhmeli — about 1.7 km to the east (straight-line); part of the same administrative unit, 47 residents in 2024.

• Chanakhchi — about 2.8 km to the west-south-west.

• Khojorni — about 5.4 km to the south-east.

• Tserakvi — about 5.5 km to the north.

• Jiliza (Armenia) — about 2.3 km to the south, across the border.

Administrative status

In the 2024 census tables of Geostat (the National Statistics Office of Georgia), Ofreti is listed as the centre of the Ofreti administrative unit, which comprises two villages: Ofreti and Khokhmeli. In the 2014 census data the Ofreti community (temi) also consisted of these two villages, with a combined population of 139.

Population

Data from Georgia's national censuses:

• 2002 — 158 residents (71 men, 87 women)

• 2014 — 80 residents (39 men, 41 women)

• 2024 — 101 residents (54 men, 47 women)

The population almost halved between 2002 and 2014 and then grew by about a quarter between 2014 and 2024. In 2014 the village was home to Georgians (37 people, about 46%), Greeks (33, about 41%), Armenians (9, about 11%) and one Azerbaijani. Neighbouring Khokhmeli had 59 residents in 2014, of whom 55 were Armenians and 4 Greeks.

Education

The village has a public school — the LEPL Public School of Ofreti Village, Marneuli Municipality. Its reports for 2015 and 2017 are published in the Legislative Herald of Georgia (matsne.gov.ge). OpenStreetMap shows the school building in the village centre.

History

The village has its own entry in volume 7 of the Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia (1984, p. 608). It shares its name with the medieval Ofreti fortress, which, according to Georgian Wikipedia, is first mentioned in written sources in the 10th century. The fortress stood at a junction of four valleys, from where a road led over the Mglistskari pass into Tashiri. Today the fortress lies on the territory of Armenia.

Nearby sights

• Ofreti fortress — an early medieval (early feudal period) fortress south-east of the village, on the right bank of the Shulaveri, now in Armenia. It is built of medium-sized squared stones and enclosed by a wall with round towers; inside are remains of various buildings and a small church with a horseshoe-shaped apse.

• Goruli — a late medieval residential ensemble near Ofreti with a five-storey tower-house (probably 17th century) and two single-nave churches. According to OpenStreetMap the tower is about 3.3 km to the north-north-east of the village (straight-line).

FAQ

1) Where is Ofreti?
In Kvemo Kartli, Marneuli Municipality, on the upper Shulaveri River near the border with Armenia, about 29 km from Marneuli in a straight line.

2) How high is the village?
About 1,040–1,070 m above sea level (sources give 1,041 m and 1,070 m).

3) How many people live in Ofreti?
101 according to the 2024 census; 80 in 2014 and 158 in 2002.

4) Which administrative unit does Ofreti belong to?
The Ofreti administrative unit, centred on Ofreti itself; it also includes Khokhmeli. The unit had 148 residents in 2024.

5) Which villages are nearest?
Khokhmeli (about 1.7 km to the east) and Chanakhchi (about 2.8 km to the west); across the border lies the Armenian village of Jiliza (about 2.3 km to the south). All distances are straight-line.

6) Which river is the village on?
The Shulaveri, a right tributary of the Khrami.

7) Who lives in the village?
According to the 2014 census about 46% of residents were Georgians, 41% Greeks and 11% Armenians.

8) Is there a school?
Yes — the LEPL Public School of Ofreti Village, Marneuli Municipality.

9) Where is Ofreti fortress?
South-east of the village, on the right bank of the Shulaveri; today it lies on the territory of Armenia.

10) Is it Ofreti or Opreti?
The Georgian name is ოფრეთი. Under the national romanisation it is written Ofreti; statistical tables and maps also use Opreti, and the Russian form is Опрети.

Sources

• Population by administrative-territorial units and sex, 2024 census — Geostat (in Georgian)

• 2014 Georgian census — ethnic composition by settlement (Geostat data)

• LEPL Public School of Ofreti Village, Marneuli Municipality — 2017 report, Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)

• Ofreti — Georgian Wikipedia

• Opreti — Russian Wikipedia

• Ofreti fortress — Georgian Wikipedia

• Goruli — Georgian Wikipedia

• Ofreti — OpenStreetMap

• Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 7, Tbilisi, 1984, p. 608 (in Georgian).