Gremi Fortress

Gremi is a Georgian Orthodox church located in the Kakheti region, in the village of Gremi in the Kvareli municipality. It stands on a high hill within the eastern citadel. It was built by King Levan of Kakheti in 1565, and its fresco painting was completed in 1577.

The history of Gremi as a city begins in the 15th century, when the first King of Kakheti, George (1466–1476), declared it the capital of the Kingdom of Kakheti. Gremi held this status for two centuries. It was an active center of literary activity and lay along important caravan trade routes. For this reason, it became a political, economic, and cultural center of Kakheti.

The architectural complex of Gremi consists of various structures. It includes the domed Church of the Archangels, a three-story palace-bell tower, agricultural buildings, a defensive wall, and a secret passage leading toward the Inzoba River. There are also baths, a bazaar, and a caravanserai. The most prominent part of Gremi is the so-called Archangels’ complex, located at the end of a rocky ridge and consisting of a domed church surrounded by a high wall and a palace-bell tower.

Since 1975, the historical Gremi complex has functioned as a museum-reserve. The palace-bell tower displays ethnographic materials and artifacts discovered during excavations, including Bronze Age weapons, jewelry, small animal figurines, iron axes (12th–13th centuries), ceramic samples, glazed tiles and bricks, water pipes (15th century), and medieval weapons such as cannons and bows (16th century).

The museum preserves a total of 2,056 exhibits. Some artifacts found in Gremi are also kept in the Georgian National Museum. The museum-reserve also features a collection of paintings, including portraits of kings.