Palace of King Erekle II

Erekle II House-Museum (Erekle’s Palace) was founded in 1927 as a regional studies museum. It is located in the Kakheti region, in the city of Telavi, Georgia.

The architectural complex of “Batonis Tsikhe” is the only surviving royal palace in Georgia to this day. With its architectural and historical features, the complex represents an outstanding monument of cultural heritage.

The museum complex includes:

• The palace of the Kings of Kakheti (17th–18th centuries)
• Royal court churches (10th–18th centuries)
• Remains of the philosophical-theological school founded by King Erekle II
• The royal bathhouse (17th century)
• An underground tunnel on the palace grounds (18th century)
• Unique eastern and western gateways

The museum also preserves: numismatic materials, an early feudal sarcophagus, late medieval armor, copper household items and weapons from the 17th–19th centuries, collections of Khevsur traditional clothing, rich carpet collections, manuscripts, books printed in King Erekle’s printing house, and notable works of fine art. These include 19th-century Dutch, French, German, and Russian paintings (works by I. Aivazovsky, A. Kramskoi, and other artists of the “Peredvizhniki” movement), as well as works by Georgian artists such as Elene Akhvlediani, Lado Gudiashvili, Jibson Khutsishvili, and others.

The palace complex known as “Batonis Tsikhe” served as the residence of the kings of Kakheti. The court church, the eastern gate, and the bathhouse were built during the reign of King Archil. In the second half of the 18th century, King Erekle II surrounded the palace with a large defensive wall reaching up to five meters in height. According to the chronicler Papuna Orbeliani, King Erekle completed the construction of the Telavi fortress wall in 1753.

In addition to the main gate, the fortress had secondary entrances — one in the south and one in the north. The court church of King Erekle was built in 1758. Besides its religious function, it also served a defensive purpose, featuring loopholes under the roof.

About ten meters from the church stood a large 14-meter tower, unique in Georgia. This tower was built by Queen Darejan, and until the 1840s, an 8-meter-long cannon was placed there, always ready to defend against enemies.