The Darejan Palace is located on a hill above the Metekhi Temple. The powerful walls of the palace are similar to the medieval Fortress of Narikala, although the palace was built in 1776. In other countries, the luxurious royal palaces in the Baroque style were already replaced by strict classicism, but Tsar Irakli II decided to build a palace in the style of an impregnable fortress for his wife Darejan Dadiani.
Powerful fortress walls were necessary, as the second half of the 18th century was very difficult for the existence of Georgia. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the possessions of Christian Georgia were squeezed between Turkey and Iran, where they professed Islam. In addition, attacks by mountaineers from the mountainous regions of the Caucasus were regular.
Tsar Heraclius II constantly spent time in wars, but his wife ruled at home. The fortress walls of the Darejan Palace (also called the Sachino Palace) rise above the Avlabar district. The most impressive is a round tower with a balcony made of carved wood. It offers a magnificent view of the Old Town of Tbilisi and the Narikala Fortress.
There were two churches on the territory of the Darejan Palace: St. Irakli (that was the name of the tsar) and St. Daria (Daria, in Georgian Darejan). Queen Darejan bore the tsar 14 sons, but after the death of Heraclius II, his son from his first marriage became King George XII. He understood that the domineering Dathan would fight for the throne, so he immediately turned the palace into a prison. Darejan and his sons were imprisoned.
However, there was no clash between the heirs. Tsar Heraclius signed in 1783 the St. George`s Convention on the entry of Georgia into the Russian Empire, which was also Orthodox. However, this caused fierce opposition from Turkey and Iran. In the early years, Russia was even forced to retreat from Georgia. This led to devastating invasions by Iranian troops and forced Tsar George II to make an even greater rapprochement and actually renounce the royal title. He was left with his royal title until his death, but then Georgia was ruled by governors-general appointed from Russia. Tsarina Darejan, at the insistence of the Russian governor, moved to St. Petersburg in 1807, where she lived until old age.
In the 19th century, the Darejan Palace became a monastery, in Soviet times it was empty, then it became a Theater of one actor, and now there is a monastery again. Its monumental walls rise above the Rike Park and the historical center of Tbilisi.
