Tianeti Tskhrakara

Tianeti Tskhrakara, is a palace; an 11th-century Georgian architectural monument. It is located 1 km northwest of Tianeti, on the elevated left bank of the Sachuri Gorge.

Constructed with even rows of thin stone slabs, the palace was a two-story structure. The rooms were connected to each other by arched passageways built of brick. The lower floor was 4–4.5 m in height, while the upper floor, it appears, was even higher. The building featured a balcony that opened onto an open courtyard.

The palace is distinguished from other known secular feudal palaces by its large dimensions and the complexity of its layout. G. Chubinashvili shares the opinion that the ruins of Tskhrakara must be the palace of King Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1032) in Tianeti, referred to by a historian as "Darbazi Bodojisa" (The Hall of Bodoji), which was subsequently burned down by Bagrat IV (1027–1072). "He descended upon Tianeti and burned the Hall of Bodoki, the great palatial house built by King Kvirike," recounts the Queen Mariam’s version of The Georgian Chronicles (Kartlis Tskhovreba).

 

Literature: სონღულაშვილი ჯ., კიდევ ერთი ცხრაკარა ივრის ხეობაში, «ძეგლის მეგობარი» 1974, N36; Чубинашвили Г., Архитектура Кахетии, Тб., 1959; საქართველოს ისტორიისა და კულტურის ძეგლთა აღწერილობა, [ტ.] 2, თბ., 2008.