Ertatsminda St. Estate Cathedral

Ertatsminda St. Estate Church is located in Shida Kartli region, in the village of Ertatsminda, Kaspi Municipality. It is a XIII century cross-domed church. The name “Ertatsminda”( means word by word “Nation” and “Saint” )is associated with Estate, it is the changed version of St. Estate. The church was repeatedly damaged during the earthquake or invasion. It has been rebuilt many times. From the beginning of the XVII century, the church of Ertatsminda belonged to the Tarkhnishvili family. In the following periods, it was the ancestral tomb of the Saakadze family. The head of Paata, who was the son of Giorgi Saakadze, is buried here. Paata was a martyr. According to the architectural style, the church is similar to the churches of the XII-XIII centuries, like Ikorti, Fitareti, Betania, Kvatakhevi and Tsughrughasheni.

Architecture

Ertatsminda complex includes several buildings: St. Estate's church, the wall, the bell tower and the remains of monastic and agricultural buildings.

Ertatsminda St. Estate Church is a cross-domed building. The dome of the church, which was originally narrow and taller than today, is based on walls and two imposts. The building has two types of covering, a cylindrical chamber and a spherical conch. The sanctuary and the two-story side rooms are long and elevated by one step compared to the main space. The facades are decorated with luxurious ornaments of the first half of the XIII century. The church has three entrances - to the west, south and north. The temple is built of well-hewn yellow colored limestone.

The wall belongs to the late period of the developed Middle Ages. It was so high that only the dome of the church could be seen from the outside in past time. The wall had seven towers, but only two of them are standing today.

In the northern part of the wall there is a bell tower, which is not preserved in its original form. It was demolished a few decades ago and a new, wider bell tower has been built. The top floor is round and opens with arched windows on all four sides.

Painting

Most of the interior of the Church of St. Estate in Ertatsminda has been plastered. There is an interesting painting on the north wall of the north arm of the church. In the upper register, St. Estate is painted. The image shows us the story of Estate, who came back from hunting and telling his wife the story of a miracle. Their two children sitting with the table are also painted here. In the second register, St. Estate and her family are standing in front of the priest. In the third register, we see a composition of four saints. The painting of the church was made in XVII century.

How to get there

Ertatsminda monastery complex is located in Shida Kartli region, in the village of Ertatsminda, Kaspi municipality, 20 km away from Kaspi. You can reach the church by a car.