Gremi

Gremi was the capital of the kingdom of Kakheti for a century and a half from the 1460s, a walled royal town of markets, caravanserais, baths and a palace on the trade route east, and it was razed in 1615 and never recovered; the capital moved to Telavi and the site was left. What stands is the citadel on its hill: the Church of the Archangels, built in 1565 in brick with a tall drum and traces of wall painting, a bell tower and the royal residence, restored and holding a small museum. The town below has been excavated but is largely foundations in the grass. The Caucasus wall rises directly behind it.

History

Gremi was the capital of the Kingdom of Kakheti in the 16th and 17th centuries; founded by King Levan, it was a lively trading town on the Silk Road and a royal residence until the armies of Shah Abbas I razed it in 1615, and it never regained its prosperity, the kings moving their capital to Telavi in the mid-17th century. The town covered about 40 hectares in three main parts, the Church of the Archangels complex, the royal residence and the trading quarter, and it was studied by archaeologists in 1939-1949 and 1963-1967; since 2007 the monuments have been on the tentative list for UNESCO (Wikipedia, Gremi).

The main sights

• The Church of the Archangels - a brick church of 1565 on the citadel.
• The royal residence and tower - the surviving palace buildings.
• Excavated town foundations - the vanished city in the grass below.
• The mountain wall behind - the Caucasus rising north of the site.

When to go

April to October. One to two hours. It is a standard stop between Telavi and Kvareli. Modest dress is required in the church.

Practical notes

Very little of the town survives above ground, so the site is smaller than its history suggests. Interpretation is limited. The climb to the citadel is short but steep. Frescoes inside are fragmentary.

Nearby

Kvareli is south-east; Nekresi lies east along the valley.

Key facts