Gori fortress is located on a rocky hill that rises above the Bolshaya Liakhvi river where it flows into the Kura. The ancient settlement on this hill appeared in the 7th century BC.
The rocky hill where Goristsikhe (meaning Gori Fortress in Georgian) is located in a strategically important place. The Kura river was one of the most important trade routes between Europe and Asia. The river is Bolshaya Liakhvi also was navigable and was used for trade. These factors determined the need to build a fortress here. This allowed to control the trade routes.
Excavations on Goristsikhe itself and in the vicinity of the fortress show that people lived here for several millennia. In 1946, as a result of a landslide on the slope of the Gori fortress, layers of soil belonging to the Hellenistic period (3-1 centuries BC) became available. Numerous artifacts of that period were found here.
The city of Gori at the foot of the Goristsikhe fortress was founded during the time of king David IV the Builder. The stone fortifications of the Gori fortress, which have survived to this day, were built in the second half of the 16th century under Tsar Rostom. The buildings on the top of the hill have not been preserved. They were destroyed during the earthquake of 1920, and then were not restored.
An impressive monument was erected at the foot of the fortress in 2008. Nine ancient knights are sitting in a circle, and each of them is missing a part of their body. The monument is dedicated to the devastating wars and misfortunes that these wars bring.
