Gurjaani Kvelatsminda Church

The Gurjaani Kvelatsminda Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God is a Georgian Orthodox church constructed in the 8^th–9^th centuries. It is situated on a mountain slope, 1.5–2 km from the village of Gurjaani in the Kakhtubani i.e. Gurjaani gorge. It was built with neat horizontal rows of well-selected large cobblestone. The outer corners and decorative parts of the building are made of limestone, while the walls of the middle nave, the vault and the domes are built with square bricks. A specially shaped brick was used for the column capitals.

Gurjaani Kvelatsminda is the only two-dome church in Georgia. The church is a complex design. The interior space is divided into naves by two pairs of pillars. Some parts of the building are organized as two-story structures. From the outside, the church has the shape of a basilica, with a high nave. The door and windows are sharply distinguished by a large, unbroken surface of the facade. Although the building is simple from the outside, the decorative elements are still visible as compared to the monuments of the previous era.

 

Literature: ბ ე რ ი ძ ე ვ., ძველი ქართული ხუროთმოძღვრება, თბ., 1974; Ч у б и н а ш в и л и Г. Н., Архитектура Кахетии, Тб., 1959.