Alaverdi Monastery

Alaverdi Monastery lies next to the village of the same name, in the Akhmeta municipality in the Kakheti region in Georgia.

Alaverdi Monastery was founded in the 6th century, maybe even by Ioseb Alaverdeli, one of the 13 Assyrian Fathers. It started out as a small St. George Church, probably built over an ancient pagan place of Moon worship. It is situated in the plains of Kakheti, next to the Khodasheniskhevi River.

Between 1010 and 1037, Kvirike III of Kakheti replaced the small church with the present cathedral. When it was finished it became an episcopal cathedral. At a height of over 55 m, Alaverdi Cathedral was the tallest religious building in Georgia, until the construction of the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, which was consecrated in 2004.

The cathedral was restored several times after it was damaged by earthquakes or during invasions. In the 2nd half of the 15th century Alexander I of Kakheti had the drum of the dome and a damaged part of the outer wall restored. The monastery was also restored and embellished by a number of rulers between the 16th and 18th century.

Alaverdi Monastery consists of the cathedral surrounded by a crenelated wall with round towers. There are several other buildings built against the inside of the curtain walls, including an episcopal palace, a refectory and buildings for producing and storage of the wine made by the monks.

Alaverdi Monastery can be visited for free during opening times. There is a small tourist shop. When I visited it was still being restored by a wine company, so only the gate building, the courtyard and the cathedral could be visited. The other buildings were off limits. Photography inside the cathedral is not allowed. A great site, although sometimes it can be very busy with tourists, I suspect, from the large bus parking in front of the entrance...

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