Kashveti Church of Saint George

Why is it significant?

Enter the peaceful garden precinct of Kashveti Church of Saint George, standing proudly opposite the Parliament Building.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Enter the peaceful garden precinct of Kashveti Church of Saint George, standing proudly opposite the Parliament Building. Built between 1904 and 1910 by German-Georgian architect Leopold Bielfeld with funding from wealthy patron David Sarajishvili, the church is a masterpiece of historical revivalism. Bielfeld modeled the exterior directly on the celebrated eleventh-century Samtavisi Cathedral, reproducing its refined cross-domed proportions, delicate stone window traceries, and exquisite decorative bas-reliefs in pale cream limestone.

Step into the quiet sanctuary to admire the remarkable apse fresco of the Virgin and Child, painted in 1946 by renowned modernist artist Lado Gudiashvili. Gudiashvili audaciously depicted the Mother of God with distinctly Georgian facial features and melancholic maternal tenderness, breaking with rigid ecclesiastical formulas. Notice the dynamic stone carvings on the exterior southern wall, where stylized lions, peacocks, and intertwined grapevine braids recall the zenith of medieval Georgian stone sculpture.

The unusual name Kashveti derives from the Georgian words kva, meaning stone, and shva, meaning to give birth. According to a sixth-century legend, a pregnant woman falsely accused Saint David of Gareja, one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, of fathering her unborn child. The saint prophesied that her deceit would be made manifest when she gave birth not to a child but to a stone. When the prophecy was fulfilled, the awestruck populace dedicated a sanctuary on this site to Saint George in repentance.

Incense swirls softly in the sunbeams that pierce the narrow arched windows of the drum, illuminating the vibrant iconostasis. Outside, the tranquil churchyard shaded by flowering magnolias offers a serene spiritual oasis amidst the bustling traffic of the capital's busiest boulevard. Kashveti embodies the miraculous endurance of Georgian spiritual faith, bridging medieval architectural glory with twentieth-century artistic brilliance.

Walk a few dozen paces north to enter the adjoining park of the National Gallery of Georgia.