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Atskuri Church

monument in Georgia

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ12862149 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Atskuri church of the Dormition (Georgian: აწყურის ღვთისმშობლის მიძინების სახელობის ტაძარი, romanized: ats'q'uris ghvtismshoblis midzinebis sakhelobis t'adzari) is a ruined medieval cathedral in the village of Atskuri, Akhaltsikhe Municipality, in Georgia's south-central region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. Originally built in the 10th–11th century, the church was rebuilt shortly after the destructive earthquake of 1283. It was a crossed-dome church with three protruding apses on the east. Of what was one of the largest cathedrals in Georgia in its time, only ruined walls survived into the 21st century. A project of full restoration was launched in 2016. The church is inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia.

History and architecture

The church stands at the foot of a small hill on the right bank of the Mtkvari (Kura). Two layers of construction can be distinguished, one dated to the 10th–11th century and the other to the 13th–14th century. The latter is the product of heavy reconstruction following a strong earthquake of 1283. Atsquri was one of the most important Christian centers in medieval Georgia, the seat of a bishop—a chief prelate in the province of Samtskhe—and home to the venerated icon of the Virgin Hodegetria.

Editorial summary

“Atskuri Church” enters the record as monument in Georgia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Atskuri, Church and monument can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1283, 2016—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Atskuri, Church and monument.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Atskuri Church” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Atskuri, Church and monument provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q12862149. Authority coordinates are 41.728, 43.165. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1283 and 2016.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Atskuri Church”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Atskuri Church primary sources, Atskuri Church archive and Atskuri research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Atskuri Church”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Atskuri Church” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.