Tsughrughasheni Church

Tsughrughasheni and Bolnisi Sioni face each other across a valley with seven centuries between them. One is a severe, low basilica of the 5th century; the other is a tall, narrow, almost entirely carved domed church of the early 13th. Seeing both in one morning is a short course in Georgian architecture.

Tsughrughasheni was built between 1212 and 1222, in the reign of George IV Lasha — the last years of the Golden Age, shortly before the Mongols arrived. The building is small but stretched upwards: the drum is twelve-sided and unusually tall, and each face of it is treated as a separate panel of ornament.

The carving is what people come for. Geometric interlace, vine scrolls, rosettes and crosses are spread across the facades so that the eye never settles; the relief is shallow but cut deeply enough to read best in low sun, early or late in the day. The stone is the yellowish-red tuff typical of the Bolnisi district, and it takes the light warmly.

Inside is nearly bare. No wall painting survives and the space is narrow and high. That is normal for the period — churches of these decades put their wealth on the outside. The yard is small, with orchards around it and the Mashavera river below. The place stays quiet; tour buses rarely stop here.