Khertvisi Fortress (Region of Samtskhe-Javakheti)

Khertvisi Fortress (Georgian: ხერთვისის ციხე) – One of the best works of Georgian architecture. The beautiful ensemble of the castle harmonizes with the high rocky hill and arouses admiration of the visitor. The castle has played an important role in the life of the country at all times. In historical sources it is mentioned as one of the oldest castles in Georgia. Ancient historians mention Khertvisi among the first fortified cities of the Iberian Kingdom (Georgian: იბერიის სამეფო). At the end of the 4th century BC, during Alexander the Great’s campaign to the East, he saw the Khertvisi fortress and, along with other fortress cities of Georgia, gave the castle a high rating. Nowadays, traces of the ancient fortress city have been almost erased, but significant remains of the ancient period remain underground. In the early Middle Ages, the city fell into decline and only in the 10th-11th centuries, the newly rebuilt fortress grew to the size of a city and became the center of the Meskheti region (Georgian მესხეთი).

The fortress has been rebuilt many times. In recent times, the fortress consisted of two main parts: the citadel and the defense wall. The citadel, built on a narrow rocky ridge, is practically inaccessible from the northeast side. The defensive wall is badly damaged and the height of its walls cannot be determined. Four towers, located at different levels, are connected to each other by thick walls and form a single system. The inner space where two towers stand is divided by walls. Water was supplied to the castle through a tunnel on the north-western side. The remains of a small church and other buildings have been preserved in the western part of the castle. The main mass of the existing buildings belongs to the X-XIV centuries, there are small additions of the XVI-XVIII centuries. Since the XIX century, Khertvisi Fortress, along with other fortresses in the region, lost its defensive functions and remained only a fortification monument.

Khertvisi village (Georgian: სოფელი ხერთვისი), Aspindza Municipality (Georgian: ასპინძის მუნიციპალიტეტი)