Ikorta church

The Ikorta Church of the Holy Archangel (Georgian იკორთის მთავარანგელოზის ტაძარი ) is a Georgian Orthodox church of the 12th century in the Georgian region of Inner Kartli, in the municipality of Gori, in the same village Ikorta.

The Ikorta Church was in 1172 on behalf of the ducal family of Ksani in the reign of the Georgian King Giorgi III. built. In addition to their sacred and ceremonial importance of the area, the church and its environment also served as grave place of the ducal family of Ksani (Georgian ქსნის ერისთავები ). Here the brothers Shalva and Elisbar of Ksani and Bidsina Tscholoqaschwili were buried. This successfully fought in 1659 against the Persian domination over Kakheti and were canonized after her death by the Georgian Orthodox Church of the Apostles.

Specifications

The Ikorta church is a symmetrically constructed, rectangular building with a semicircular apse in the east. The originally richly decorated with biblical motifs walls now show only surviving fragment of the original motifs murals in the apse, on the north wall and the dome base. The facades and the lower part of the dome is lavishly decorated with Georgian ornaments.

The church was thoroughly renovated in the 17th century, it remained the original image program. The church has two entrance portals, they are in the south and west. The associated lobbies were later removed again, in the south a renewed porch was added. Located on the south façade, a sundial, on the west facade informs an old Georgian Assomtawruli inscription above the church.

During the earthquake of 1991, the church was damaged. The tremors have overall stability and strength of the masonry weakened, but was hit hardest the dome, whose static stability must be urgently restored now. A (state? ) Restoration project to save the Church is already underway. The news of the earthquake damage also reached the international World Monuments Fund. The church was recorded in the period 2000-01 in 1999 as an outstanding forming, but endangered architectural monument in the list of 100 most endangered cultural monuments.