Gelati Monastery

Gelati (Georgian გელათი ) is a monastery in western Georgia, near the city of Kutaisi. The monastery is one of the most important works of Georgian art and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The name is derived from the Greek word Genati ("birth ").

In Gelati are the most important kings of Georgia, including Dawit the builder, Queen and King Bagrat Rusudan buried. The monastery also has a significant collection of manuscripts from the 12th to the 17th century. Gelati owned besides the monasteries Opiza and Tbeti in present-day northeastern Turkey in the 12th century, the most famous Georgian Workshop for gold and silversmithing.

Until the 16th century Gelati was just a simple monastery, it was converted into a cathedral. The Archbishop of Gelati was called Genateli. The cathedral is dedicated to the Mother of God Mary.

The monastery belongs to the Academy of Gelati was founded by Dawit the builder ( king 1089-1125 ) in the year 1106 after the model of the Academy of Constantinople Opel. This was facilitated leading scholars such as Ioann Petritsi and arsenic Ikaltoeli.

Since 2010, the monastery of Gelati is on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger, the reasons for this are unsachgemäßige Restoration and conservation measures which affect the character of the plant.

Grave king Dawits IV in the passage of the South Gate

Ruler portraits on the north wall of the Mother of God Church, right Dawit the builder