Georgia · 10th century
Atskuri (Georgian: აწყურის ციხე) is a Georgian feudal fortress on the right bank of the Mtkvari (Kura) River, approximately 30 kilometres from Borjomi, in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region.
Built in the 9th century, Atskuri Fortress was an important stronghold for the defense of Georgia during the Middle Ages.
The fortress was probably situated near the town of Atskuri, of which no traces have been found. First mentioned in the 9th century, the fortress was significantly damaged in the 16th century, when it was occupied by the Turks. It was rebuilt in the 17-18th centuries. In the 1820s the fortress was abandoned.
Set atop a high cliff, the fortress occupies a vast area, and is made of several parts, with the citadel at its highest point. The fortress territory also includes ruins of a church with remnants of frescoes. A water-supply tunnel connects the fortress with the river.
Text adapted from “Atskuri Fortress” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Atskuri Fortress ranks #2,763 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #16 of the 48 mapped in Georgia. Founded c. 1000, it is older than 91% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 193 atlas entries founded in the 10th century. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Georgia compares in the castle statistics.
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