Bebristsikhe

Bebris Tsikhe is an early medieval fortress in Georgia in the historical region of Kartli, Mtskheta. It situated on the right bank of the river Aragvi, on the north of Mtskheta. In ancient times, the fortress was called ″Belti″. Vakhushti Bagrationi calls it ″Beltistsikhe″. The fortress was built to protect Mtskheta and Tbilisi from the north, from the side of the Greater Caucasus Range.

The fortress naturally fits into the landscape, built to imitate a continuation of the mountain. The walls, over 2 m thick, are built with almost equal-size stones. The fortress has two levels: a citadel and a lower courtyard. The citadel has a triangular shape. Three towers were erected at each corner of the triangle. The eastern tower originally had square shape, but it was destroyed and rebuilt in 18th century. The southwestern tower was the largest and also served as a dungeon. It has four levels with embrasures, split by wooden ceilings. The walls of the lower courtyard are largely in ruins, but the fortress obviously had a multifaceted shape, stemming from the complicated terrain.

Its only tower was built from the east side to protect from the former road side. A part of the tower wall still remains. In the neighborhood of Bebris Tsikhe, archeological layers of ancient and feudal periods are identified.

There is no written document about the origin of the fortress'es name. A legend about Bebris Tsikhe says that this territory once belonged to a prince called Simon, who built the fortress in a narrow part of the ravine and put guards inside it. He had a pretty and kind daughter – Makrine, and a cruel and heartless son Mamuka.

After the death of his father, Mamuka imposed an enormous tax on peasants. All those who were not able to pay a tax were tortured cruelly by Mamuka. In vain did the kind-hearted Makrine beg her brother to have mercy of the peasants.

Text adapted from “Bebris tsikhe” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Bebristsikhe ranks #3,911 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #20 of the 39 mapped in Georgia. Founded c. 350 BC, it is older than 99% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 9 atlas entries founded in the 4th century BC. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Tbilisi, 16 km away. See how Georgia compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗