Kurta Municipality
Kurta in the Didi Liakhvi valley: Achabeti castle, St Saba of Kheiti and Georgian villages destroyed and occupied in 2008 — history and heritage.
Kurta Municipality — overview
MunicipalityHistory
Kurta Municipality is a temporary administrative unit of Georgia in the Shida Kartli region, in the valley of the Didi (Greater) Liakhvi River directly north of Tskhinvali, with its nominal centre in the village of Kurta, about 9 km north-east of Tskhinvali. According to a 2010 decision of the municipal council, it comprised the villages of Kurta, Kekhvi, Zemo and Kvemo Achabeti, Tamarasheni, Kemerti, Dzartsemi, Sveri and Kheiti. Under the Law of Georgia on Occupied Territories, the area is part of the occupied Tskhinvali region; its municipal bodies work from Tbilisi.
In the Soviet period these villages belonged to the Tskhinvali district of the South Ossetian Autonomous Region. The temporary Kurta Municipality was established in 2006 for the mostly ethnic Georgian villages of the Didi Liakhvi valley that were under Georgian control. In 2007–2008 Kurta was the seat of the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia headed by Dmitry Sanakoev, and the Georgian government funded the rehabilitation of the village.
The heritage of the valley includes Achabeti castle (16th century) in Zemo Achabeti and the church of St Saba in Kheiti (10th century), both monuments of national significance. Other listed monuments include the St Eustathius church in Zemo Achabeti, the St George church in Dzartsemi, the church of St Nicholas in Kvemo Achabeti, the Kekhvi tower and the medieval towers of Kemerti. Tamarasheni is the birthplace of the writer and translator Ivane Machabeli (1854).
In August 2008 the villages were occupied and their residents were displaced. According to the satellite analysis of Human Rights Watch, hundreds of houses were destroyed or severely damaged in Tamarasheni, Kurta, Kekhvi, Kvemo and Zemo Achabeti, Kemerti and Dzartsemi, with fires still burning after the hostilities had ended. Kurta remains abandoned, and the site of Tamarasheni has since been built over. The international community, including the EU and the UN General Assembly, supports Georgia’s territorial integrity and the right of displaced persons to return.
Visiting information: the area is currently inaccessible from Georgian-controlled territory, and many governments advise against all travel to the Tskhinvali region. This page presents the history and heritage of Kurta for reference; the nearby Gori Municipality can be visited freely.
FAQ
1) Where is Kurta Municipality located?
In Shida Kartli, in the Didi Liakhvi valley directly north of Tskhinvali.
2) What is the status of the territory?
Under Georgian law it is part of the occupied Tskhinvali region; its municipal bodies work from Tbilisi.
3) What is the centre?
The village of Kurta, about 9 km north-east of Tskhinvali.
4) Which villages did the municipality include?
Kurta, Kekhvi, Zemo and Kvemo Achabeti, Tamarasheni, Kemerti, Dzartsemi, Sveri and Kheiti.
5) When was the municipality established?
In 2006, as a temporary administrative unit.
6) What role did Kurta play in 2007–2008?
It was the seat of the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia headed by Dmitry Sanakoev.
7) Which monuments are there?
Achabeti castle (16th c.), St Saba church in Kheiti (10th c.), churches in Zemo and Kvemo Achabeti and Dzartsemi, and the towers of Kekhvi and Kemerti.
8) Who was born in Tamarasheni?
The writer and translator Ivane Machabeli, in 1854.
9) What happened in 2008?
In August 2008 the villages were occupied, their residents displaced and hundreds of houses destroyed.
10) Can Kurta be visited?
It is currently inaccessible from Georgian-controlled territory; nearby Gori Municipality can be visited freely.