Metekhi Church of the Dormition and King Gorgasali Cliff

Why is it significant?

Stand atop the dizzying promontory of Metekhi Cliff, where the ancient Church of the Dormition of the Virgin crowns a vertical rock precipice high above the Mtkvari River.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Stand atop the dizzying promontory of Metekhi Cliff, where the ancient Church of the Dormition of the Virgin crowns a vertical rock precipice high above the Mtkvari River. According to fifth-century royal chronicles, King Vakhtang Gorgasali erected his first fortified royal palace and personal chapel upon this sheer rocky bastion when founding Tbilisi. The present cross-domed brick temple was built between 1278 and 1284 by the pious King Demetre II, known to history as Demetre the Self-Sacrificer, following the devastation of the earlier church by Mongol invaders.

Look beside the church to behold the magnificent bronze equestrian monument of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, erected in 1967 by master sculptor Elguja Amashukeli. The founder of Tbilisi sits proudly upon his battle charger, his right hand raised in greeting and blessing toward Old Kala across the river gorge. Inside the sanctuary, reverently visit the tomb of Saint Shushanik, an Armenian princess and the first Christian martyr of Georgia, whose fifth-century martyrdom was recorded in the oldest surviving work of Georgian literature.

During the nineteenth century, imperial Russian authorities transformed the adjacent royal fortress into a notorious high-security political prison, known as the Metekhi Castle. Celebrated writers, revolutionary thinkers, and political dissidents—including writer Maxim Gorky, poet Lado Ketskhoveli, and young Joseph Stalin—were incarcerated within its damp stone cells. In the 1930s, the prison was dismantled, and the church narrowly escaped demolition thanks to the courageous protest of artist Dimitri Shevardnadze, who sacrificed his own life to save the ancient temple.

The view from the cliff-top terrace is among the most breathtaking urban spectacles in the world. The swirling emerald waters of the Mtkvari surge directly beneath the sheer stone foundations, while the colorful carved balconies of Old Kala rise on the opposite bank like a painted canvas. Metekhi embodies the royal origins, unyielding spiritual faith, and physical courage of ancient Georgia.

Walk up the winding cobblestone lane of Metekhi Rise toward the picturesque clifftop palace of Queen Darejan.