Ujarma Fortress (Region of Kakheti)
Ujarma Fortress (Georgian: უჯარმის ციხე) is one of the most important monuments of medieval architecture in Georgia, due to its location and historical significance. Beginning in the 3rd century, the fortress was the residence of Georgian kings and heirs to the throne. The fortress, located on 9 hectares, includes buildings from different periods of the Middle Ages. The main heyday of Ujarma came in the 5th-6th centuries, during the reign of Vakhtang Gorgasali (Georgian: ვახტანგ გორგასალი). At that time, a city citadel with high walls, watchtowers and defensive towers was erected. The fortress was one of the main outposts in protecting the country from periodic invasions of Arab and Persian troops.
Later, under the influence of factors such as the Mongol invasion and the disintegration of Georgia into separate principalities, Ujarma gradually declined, turning from a prosperous city into a small settlement, and eventually became completely deserted. Today, little remains of the former majestic fortress in Ujarma. The remaining ruins clearly show the outlines of the fortified city built in the early Middle Ages – a powerful rampart, battle towers, a citadel and a lower fortress, a palace, a reservoir and a church. Visitors can enjoy magnificent views of the Gombori (Georgian: გომბორი) mountain ranges and the Iori River (Georgian: იორი), which flows at the foot of the hill on which the fortress stands. Ujarma, where Vakhtang Gorgasali died and where Saint Nino came, evokes an amazing sense of awareness of the history of ancient Georgia. Forbes magazine included Ujarma in the list of 9 oldest castles in the world
Ujarma village (Georgian: სოფელი უჯარმა), Sagarejo Municipality (Georgian: საგარეჯოს მუნიციპალიტეტი)
