SLESA FORTRESS

Slesa fortress

Slesa Fortress (Region of Samtskhe-Javakheti )

Slesa fortress (Moktsevis-Tsikhe) (Georg. სლესას ციხე) – monument of the 11th century. Strategically located. in the upper part of the valley, in two hills on the banks of the Kura (Mtkvari) river and on the main road leading to the center of the country. The fortress was badly damaged: the upper walls were destroyed, the window and door openings were destroyed, and the internal structures were in ruins. In terms of the structure, the structure is an irregular rectangle, elongated along the south-north axis and rounded at the southwest end. The courtyard consists of three platforms: the lower one contains the remains of various small structures.

In the middle of the castle there is a small ruined inner church, and the upper one is crowned with a high tower with rounded corners, which is almost completely surrounded by curtains. The walls of the castle are composed of uniform masonry, bonded with mortar. The walls are approximately 150 cm thick. South of the lower platform is a four-story stand-alone tower, with a semicircular rear wall, the masonry of which is composed of horizontal layers of rubble. The slope of the ravine between the castle and the tower is surrounded from the east by a defensive wall up to 130 meters thick. The fortress is included in the list of immovable cultural monuments of national importance in Georgia.

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