Mdzovreti Castle

Mdzovreti Castle, also known as Dzia, Dzaya or Dzhami, lies on a mountain east of the village of Ortubani, in the Kareli municipality in the Shida Kartli region in Georgia.

Mdzovreti Castle was first mentioned in the 10th century. In the 11th/12th century, during the unified Kingdom of Georgia, it was a royal castle. As a result of internal warfare during one of the reigns of David VIII of Georgia (1292-1302 or 1308-1311) it was captured by Ossetians for a short time. At the beginning of the 14th century it was also rebuilt.

In 1400, during one of the incursions of the Mongol warlord Timur (or Tamerlane), George VII of Georgia retreated in Mdzovreti Castle under heavy fighting. Timur then besieged the castle for a week. It appears that George was able to escape nonetheless.

During these centuries the castle had been under control of the feudal Javakhishvili family. They lost their influence at the end of the 15th century. The castle then came into the hands of the Tsitsishvili family.

Probably during the 18th or 19th century Mdzovreti Castle fell to ruin. It stayed a ruin until the beginning of the 21st century. Then it was taken over, illegaly as I was told, by a group of monks. They have been rebuilding the castle ever since and have turned it into a self-sufficient and strict monastery. They are however rebuilding it to fit their own needs and to their own ideas, which are not necessarily historically correct.

At present Mdzovreti Castle can only be visited with a free guided tour. So even though this rebuilt castle may not be historically correct I very much like it; especially the pond.

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