Atskuri Fortress (Region of Samtskhe – Javakheti)
Fortress of Atskuri (Georgian: აწყურის ციხე) – A monument of Georgian architecture of XI century, a fortress of the feudal era. The builders of the Atskuri castle conveniently used the high and inaccessible rocky terrain and created a complex and interesting from the construction point of view defensive structure. The entrance to the castle is through a narrow tunnel carved into the rock. Access to the inner structure was so difficult that even if the enemy broke through the tunnel, they could not easily subdue its defenders. Nowadays, the castle is no longer a whole building. Many building layers of different times can be observed.
Archaeological excavations indicate that man lived here about 3,700 years ago. More recently, a unique, rich Bronze Age burial was discovered, dated by archaeologists to XVII century B.C., confirming contacts with the Aegean world. In the first centuries A.D. there was already a city here. In the city there was the famous temple of Atskuri (now almost destroyed), where the icon of the Mother of God of Atskuri was located. The fortress consists of several parts built at different times. Its southern and eastern walls belong to the early period of construction. In the center of the fortress there are ruins of a church, on the walls of which fragments of frescoes have been preserved. A tunnel runs from the river to the fortress.
Atskuri village (Georgian: სოფელი აწყური), Municipality of Akhaltsikhe (Georgian: ახალციხის მუნიციპალიტეტი)