Bolnisi Sioni

Bolnisi Sioni was built between 478 and 493 and is the oldest surviving church still in use in Georgia. It is a three-nave basilica, the architectural type that preceded the domed churches Georgia later became known for: relatively low, long and heavy, put together from blue-grey and yellowish tuff. That plainness is the main impression it leaves — a building that has stood for fifteen centuries in essentially unaltered form.

Its exceptional significance lies in the inscriptions. Texts in the Asomtavruli script survive on the walls, dated to around 494, placing them among the earliest dated examples of Georgian writing anywhere. For the history of the language they carry as much weight as the building does for architecture. The church also gives its name to the Bolnisi cross, the flared cross form that later entered Georgian state symbolism and appears on the national flag today.

Inside, the space is austere and almost undecorated: a row of columns, narrow windows and clean stone surfaces. The capitals carry carved reliefs of bulls, crosses and plant ornament, unusual survivals from the early Christian period and worth a close look. The church remains active with a working parish, so there are usually a few people quietly present.