Ananuri Fortress

Ananuri stands on the Aragvi in Dusheti Municipality, 72 kilometres from Tbilisi. The complex is made of two castles joined by a crenellated curtain wall.

In the upper fortification stands a large square tower called Sheupovari, which is well preserved. The lower fortification has a round tower and is mostly a ruin. A secret tunnel ran down from the castle to the water.

There are two churches inside the wall. The older one, the church of the Virgin, is built of brick, dates from the first half of the seventeenth century and abuts a tall square tower; it holds the graves of some of the eristavis of Aragvi and a stone baldachin raised by the widow of Duke Edishera, who died in 1674. The second, the church of the Dormition, was built in 1689.

Ananuri was the seat of the eristavis of Aragvi, a house that ruled this country from the thirteenth century.

In 1739 forces of the duchy of Ksani, under Shanshe, attacked Ananuri and set the castle on fire; the Aragvi line was wiped out. The last resistance was made in the great tower of the upper fortification, Sheupovari.

In 1743 local peasants rose against Shanshe rule, killed the usurpers and asked Teimuraz II to govern them directly. In 1746 Teimuraz put down a second peasant rising with the help of Erekle II of Kakheti.

Since 2007 the Ananuri complex has been on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage.

Ananuri stands beside the Georgian Military Highway, where the small Vedzatkhevi river flows into the Aragvi. Check the terms of entry locally.

In the churches cover your shoulders and knees; women usually wear a headscarf.