Metekhi Church

Metekhi Church of the Assumption stands on a rocky cliff on the left bank of the Mtkvari, directly across the river from the sulphur baths. It is one of the most photographed sights in Tbilisi, seen from Narikala and the cable car with the river curving below. The church is a compact stone building with a central dome, and it is an active parish church. Beside it, an equestrian statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, the legendary founder of Tbilisi, looks across the water towards the Old Town he is said to have founded.

The terrace by the statue is a good viewpoint over Abanotubani, Narikala and the Bridge of Peace, especially in the evening light. The church is small, so a look inside takes only a few minutes. Steps lead down towards Rike Park, and you can cross the Metekhi Bridge to the baths. Tradition holds that St Shushanik, a 5th-century martyr and the heroine of the oldest surviving work of Georgian literature, was buried here.

Tradition credits Vakhtang Gorgasali with building a church and a fortified royal residence on this cliff; the name Metekhi, recorded from the 12th century, means the area around the palace. Neither survived the Mongol invasions of the 1230s. The present church was built by King Demetre II around 1278–1284. After Russia annexed Georgia in 1801 it served as barracks, and the citadel beside it was replaced by a prison that operated until 1938. The statue of Vakhtang Gorgasali by Elguja Amashukeli was erected in 1961.