Ateni Fortress

Ateni Fortress is located in Shida Kartli region, Gori Municipality, Ateni Gorge, on the left bank of the river Tana, on the overhang of high mountain. Satsiviskhevi comes on the one hand of the fortress and Abanoskhevi - on the other. It dates back to the X-XI centuries and is built of crushed stone. The building mainly consists of two sections. The northern section is relatively small, large and the main section is located to the south. The fence is fortified with piers. Inside the fence are placement of fortress guards, reservoirs and other buildings. The entrance is from the north. The fortress is not huge, but it is difficult to approach. It protected the road from Shida Kartli to southern Georgia. In 1920, during the earthquake, the monument was badly damaged and it is impossible to determine the original type of plan and mass.

History

In the X century, the Ateni Fortress belonged to the Eristavi of Kldekari. It is known that Rati Eristavi put up great resistance to Bagrat III, who was fighting for unity, but in the end he was forced to hand over the fortress to the king, since then the fortress has been owned by Georgian kings. Ateni Fortress was a strong and inaccessible fortress, and historians have also written about its impregnability. At the beginning of the XVI century, King David X of Kartli was repeatedly attacked by a large army of King Giorgi X of Kakheti. Once he drived David into the Ateni fortress. Despite a long struggle, Giorgi was unable to take the prison and returned back. The Ateni Fortress has endured many battles and invasions over the centuries. It received a crushing blow in the thirties of the XVII century, when the king Rostom from Kartli took it and destroyed it, during the struggle with the supporters of King Teimuraz, in particular with Nodar Tsitsishvili. After that, the fortress no longer had a huge owner. It is still mentioned in later centuries, although it is not the noticeable fortress.

How to get there

Ateni Fortress is located in Shida Kartli region, Gori Municipality, near the village of Ateni, 12 kilometers away from Gori. The road goes to the village. The asphalt is damaged and it is possible to get there by Sedan.