# Bagrati Cathedral
- URL: https://explore-georgia.ge/en/places/bagrati-cathedral
- Type: place to visit
- Region: Imereti
- Coordinates: 42.2773, 42.7043

Bagrati Cathedral, the cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God of Kutaisi, stands in Kutaisi on the rocky hill of Ukimerioni above the right bank of the Rioni, within the walls of the old upper town and its fortress; it is a landmark of medieval Georgian church architecture in its design as much as in its historical and symbolic weight. The cathedral is a cross-domed building of triconch type: the dome rested on four mighty piers, the arms of the cross are rectangular outside and end inside, on the east, south and north, in semicircular apses; around the western arm ran a patronike, a gallery where the king, queen and nobles stood at services, and on either side of the sanctuary were the prothesis and diaconicon. Towards the end of construction a three-storey dwelling tower was added on the north-west, probably for the bishop of Kutaisi, and in the 1020s richly carved porches on the south and west. The decoration is rich: a system of decorative arches binds the façades, the eastern façade carries five arches and two deep niches, the window surrounds and porches are abundantly carved, the ornament of the main building graphic and that of the porches deep and plastic; inside, the bases and capitals bore reliefs, mosaic adorned walls and floor, fragments of it still visible on the floor, and in the southern porch survives the trace of a fresco of the Virgin. The Russian envoys of 1650–1652 described a copper-roofed dome of sixteen facets, eight round columns and an icon of the Virgin with a gold crown.

The archaeological expedition of 2003–2008 established that the cathedral stands on several earlier buildings: traces of the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, a pre-classical structure, a sixth-century basilica of 30 by 25 metres probably destroyed by the Persians, and the "church of Kutatisi" of the seventh to eighth century, where Stepanoz, prince of Kartli, was buried. The cathedral's inscription reads "when the floor was laid, the chronicon was 223", the year 1003, and the date is written in Arabic numerals, the earliest case of their use in Georgia; the master's name has been erased. From 1952, to Vakhtang Tsintsadze's project, the ruin was consolidated and partly rebuilt by anastylosis, and in 2009–2012, with the participation of Andrea Bruno, the dome and western arm were restored: some 400 authentic carved blocks were returned to their places, while the western arm, where authentic material was lacking, was filled with a modern structure compatible with the old; on 17 August 2012 a bronze cross 2 metres high and weighing 300 kilograms, to a design by Vano Gremelashvili, was set on the dome.

## History

Bagrat III, king "of the Abkhazians, Georgians, Ranians and Kakhetians", who united all the Georgian lands except Tbilisi, raised in Kutaisi, the capital from 978 to 1122, a grand cathedral as the symbol of unity, with the help of his mother Queen Gurandukht, and consecrated it in 1003 "with great and unfathomable solemnity", in the presence of every neighbouring ruler, catholicos and noble; work went on until 1008. Vakhushti describes it as "made within of Sophia's pebble, with marble white, red and mottled". In the cathedral Giorgi I was crowned in 1014 and buried in 1027, David son of Rusudan in 1230, David Narin in 1259 and Alexander I in 1414, and from 1490, when Kutaisi became the capital of Imereti, its kings; in the eleventh century the Seljuk Turks burnt Kutaisi, and in 1510 the Ottomans, whose fire archaeologists have confirmed in the interior. In 1666 the Ottomans took the Kutaisi fortress, and in 1691, during King Archil's siege, they packed gunpowder into the four corners of the cathedral and blew it up: the dome fell, and the marble facing and columns were carried off to Samtskhe; in 1740 the ruin was made an arsenal, in 1770 General Totleben's cannon, firing on the fortress from the cape of Mtsvanekvavila, damaged the eastern wall further, and Solomon I himself razed the fortress walls so that the Ottomans would not return.

From 1770 Solomon I set up a church in the southern porch, which was the seat of the bishop of Kutaisi until the 1820s and of the diocese of Imereti until 1871; in 1833 Dubois de Montpéreux judged the ruin "the most remarkable monument in Georgia, far surpassing St Sophia of Kiev", in 1837 the synod architect Ripard priced the demolition of the dangerous walls at 700 roubles but ran out of time, and the ruin survived; in 1881 the fifth congress of Russian archaeologists demanded its protection, at the start of the twentieth century Bishop Gabriel walled it to stop the carting away of stones and in 1911–1913 restored services in the southern porch. In 1930 the retaining walls were strengthened, in 1933 Petre Chabukiani cleared the greater part of the cathedral from the earth, in 1936–1941 the excavations of Chubinashvili and Severov made it possible to recover the plan, from 1952 Tsintsadze's six-stage restoration ran until 1994, that year the cathedral entered the UNESCO World Heritage List together with Gelati, and in 2001 it was handed to the Church. In 2009, on President Saakashvili's initiative, the rebuilding of the dome began; in July 2010 UNESCO placed the cathedral on the List of World Heritage in Danger, on 17 June 2012 Ilia II called for the works to stop, the St Petersburg session of 2012 kept it on the danger list, and in 2017 it was struck from the World Heritage List because the reconstruction had "damaged its integrity and authenticity", while Gelati kept its status. Excavations of August 2009 uncovered the rich burial of a noblewoman, possibly the mother of Leon II, daughter of the Khazar khagan. Today the cathedral is the seat of the Metropolitan of Kutaisi, and its main feast is Mariamoba.

## Visit info

The cathedral stands on Ukimerioni Hill across the Rioni from the centre of Kutaisi, about a kilometre from the Red Bridge, reached uphill on foot or by car to the churchyard. Kutaisi is reached from Tbilisi by train or marshrutka, and Kutaisi airport is about 20 kilometres away. The cathedral is in use and open by day, entry is free and the dress code applies; from the hill the city and the Rioni valley come into view.

## Tips

The authentic and new masonry are deliberately different: look on the eastern façade for the old carved blocks, inside for the fragments of floor mosaic and the trace of fresco in the southern porch; the western arm is Bruno's modern insertion. Lit in the evening, the cathedral shows from every bridge in the city. Gelati and Motsameta the same day.

## Safety

This is a working cathedral: dress rules are observed, and photography during services is avoided. The edge of Ukimerioni Hill and the fortress ruins are unguarded, and the climb is hard at midday in summer, so carry water.

## Sources

- [Bagrati Cathedral — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/ბაგრატის_ტაძარი)
- [Bagrati Cathedral — English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagrati_Cathedral)
- [Bagrati Cathedral — Russian Wikipedia](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Храм_Баграта)
- [Bagrati Cathedral — Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37222)

## This page in other languages

- [ქართული](https://explore-georgia.ge/ka/adgilebi/bagratis-tadzari)
- [Русский](https://explore-georgia.ge/ru/mesta/khram-bagrata)