Gelati Monastery is located 8 kilometers northeast of the center of Kutaisi. Gelati Monastery has been the spiritual center of Georgia and the residence of the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church for several centuries. In 1994, UNESCO included the Gelati Monastery in the List of World Cultural Heritage.
The Gelati monastery was founded by the Georgian Tsar David IV the Builder in 1106. In those years, it was a fortress with a double ring of walls. Part of the walls has been preserved to this day. In 1125, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin was built in the center of the Gelati Monastery.
After the construction was completed, craftsmen from Georgia and Byzantium painted the Nativity Cathedral with frescoes, and a mosaic panel was laid out in the altar using Byzantine technology. Frescoes and mosaics have survived to this day, although they need restoration.
In the 13th century, during the reign of Queen Tamara, two smaller churches were built next to the cathedral: the Church of St. Nicholas, the Church of St. George, as well as a three-tiered bell tower. All the buildings of the Gelati Monastery were erected during the period when Tsar David the Builder and his descendants ruled Georgia. The period from the beginning of the reign of Tsar David the Builder in 1089 to the end of the reign of his great-granddaughter Queen Tamara in 1213 is called the Golden Age of Georgia. At this time, the Georgian state has reached its maximum size and influence in the region.
Tsar David the Builder was buried in 1125 in the Gelati Monastery. By the will of Tsar David, a stone slab of his grave was laid at the entrance to the Monastery from one side to the other. In this way, he wanted to show his humility. He said: "I want everyone to be able to walk over my grave, for the sake of atoning for my sins." However, people did not want to walk on his grave, so almost immediately another entrance to the monastery was built. In the 13th century, the Georgian Orthodox Church canonized Tsar David the Builder as a Saint.
In the following years, the buildings of the monastery were damaged during the invasions of enemy troops, but only partially. The walls were particularly damaged, but the churches remained in their original form. From the 12th century and several subsequent centuries, an Academy existed on the territory of the monastery. Her students studied the works of the philosophers of Ancient Greece.
