Geguti Palace (Region of Imereti)
Geguchi Royal Palace (Georgian: გეგუთის სამეფო სასახლე) – A monument of Georgian architecture of the feudal era. Geguti Palace is the only royal palace of the feudal period, the ruins of which have survived to this day. In historical sources it dates back to the 8th century. At first it was a so-called hunting house of Georgian kings with one large room with a fireplace. Later it turned into a four-storied building of a large area surrounded by massive pillars protruding from the walls. Archaeological excavations established previously unknown details – there are layers in the palace that belong to the reign of David IV Agmashenebeli (Georgian: დავით აღმაშენებელი). The next stage of research showed that under this material there are remains of an even older stone fortress of the IV century.
Historically, the palace had a square shape. The dome-shaped roof, 14 meters in diameter, was covered with glazed tiles, the remains of which can still be seen on the palace grounds. In the center was a large hall vaguely resembling a cross-dome temple. The southern side of this cross is better preserved, so you can see the vault of the hall – slightly pointed, in the Gothic style. Around the hall there are about a dozen smaller rooms. In the Geguti Palace there are traces of the royal bath, covered with stones, as well as the remains of a system of clay pipes for outgoing and incoming water. To the east of the palace is the church. In the center of the courtyard under large chinar trees, which have survived to this day, there was a chardakh – a throne with a canopy on four pillars. Geguti Palace categorized as an immovable cultural monument of state importance.
Geguti village (Georgian: სოფელი გეგუთი), Tskaltubo Municipality (Georgian: წყალტუბოს მუნიციპალიტეტი)