Lashtkhveri church

Lashtkhveri church of the Archangel

ლაშთხვერის მთავარანგელოზის ეკლესია
Lashtkhveri church of the Archangel
43.032222°N 42.695000°E/43.032222; 42.695000(Lashtkhveri)
Location	Lashtkhveri,Mestia Municipality, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti,Georgia
Type	Hall church

TheLashtkhveri church of the Archangel(Georgian:ლაშთხვერის მთავარანგელოზის ეკლესია,romanized:lashtkhveris mtavarangelozis ek'lesia), also known as the church ofTaringzel(Svan:თარინგზელ) is a medievalGeorgian Orthodoxchurch inMestia,Upper Svaneti.Architecturally an unremarkablehall church,its most recognizable feature is a series of frescoes painted on both internal and external walls, dated to the 14th–15th century. Beyond religious scenes and portraits, the paintings include a rare illustration of episodes from the epic romance onAmiran-Darejaniani.The church is inscribed on the list of theImmovable Cultural Monuments of National Significanceof Georgia.

Location

The Crucifixion, a fresco on the northern internal wall.

The Lashtkhveri church stands at the southwestern edge of the village of Lashtkhveri (Laštxver), at 1380 m above sea level, in the Lenjeri territorial unit of theMestia Municipality,at the foothills of theGreater Caucasus.This part of Svaneti was known asFree Svanetiin the 19th century. There are no contemporary literary sources on the construction and history of Lashtkhveri. The church and the items preserved in it were first described, in details, by the scholarEkvtime Taqaishviliduring his expedition to Svaneti in 1910.

Layout

Amiran-Darejaniani,a fresco on the northern outer wall.

The Archangel is a small and architecturally simplehall church,based on a two-step socle and built of neatly cut limestone blocks. The nave is divided up into two nearly equal bays by a pair of arched pilasters. The building can be entered from the west through a rectangular doorway with an internal arched tympanum. The church is lit by four windows, cut one each in the sanctuary and west wall and two in the east wall, one of them shedding light directly on the fresco depiction of an equestrianSaint Georgeon the opposing wall. The sanctuary contains two arched niches, on either side of the window. The window frames on the exterior are decorated in carved stonework. The church is crowned by a simple cornice. Annexed to the west wall is a chamber built at a later date and roofed with blocks of wood.

Frescoes

The church is avidly adorned with frescoes, dated to the latter half of the 14th century and beginning of the 15th. The style of the paintings is a local take on the late ByzantinePalaeologan art,executed in a characteristically coarse manner. Inside the building, theconchand walls bear a series of frescoes depicting aChristologicalcycle,church fathers,and various saints. The outer walls also contain frescoes—now partly faded—including the hunting ofSaint Eustaceon the east façade, haloed horsemen on the south, theDeesison the west, and uniquely, scenes from the medieval Georgian romanceAmiran-Darejanianion the north. The paintings are accompanied by explanatory inscriptions in the medieval Georgianasomtavruliscript.