Sighnaghi

Sighnaghi sits on a ridge above the Alazani valley with the wall of the Caucasus filling the horizon beyond, and it was laid out in the eighteenth century as a fortified town, with a circuit of walls running about four kilometres around and over the hills with twenty-three towers, much of which still stands and can be walked. The town inside was comprehensively restored in 2007, giving it painted facades, tiled roofs, cobbles and carved wooden balconies, and it has become one of the most visited places in Kakheti. A museum holds work by the painter Pirosmani, who came from the area. Wineries and the Bodbe convent lie just outside.

History

The area was first settled in the Palaeolithic, and the place was known locally as Kambechovani and later Kisikhi; the name Sighnaghi, from the Turkic word for shelter, is first recorded early in the 18th century. In 1762 King Heraclius II sponsored the building of the town and a fortress to protect the area from raids from Dagestan, and by the census of 1770 it had 100 families, mostly craftsmen and merchants. After 1801 it received town status and in 1802 became the centre of the Signakh district; Armenians long formed most of its population, with 4,267 Armenians and 200 Georgians in 1851, and several Armenian churches stood in the town, among them Surb Gevorg of 1793 and Surb Karapet, recorded from 1788 and renovated in 1847-1849 (Wikipedia, Signagi).

What's there

• Four kilometres of town walls - twenty-three towers around the ridge.
• Carved wooden balconies - the restored houses of the centre.
• The Alazani valley view - the plain and the Caucasus beyond.
• The Pirosmani collection - work by the painter in the town museum.

When to go

April to October; September and October bring the grape harvest. A day, or overnight for the evening view. Weekends are busy with visitors from Tbilisi.

Before you go

The 2007 restoration was thorough to the point of making the town feel staged, and locals have said so. Prices are set for visitors. It is crowded at weekends and in the harvest season. Some wall sections are closed.

Nearby

Bodbe monastery is south-east; Telavi lies across the valley.

Key facts