Tsvirmi Savior Church

Tsvirmi Savior Church is located in Svaneti, in the village of Tsvirmi, Mestia Municipality. It dates back to the 10th century. The church is a hall building with three side buildings and a bell tower in the north-west corner. The hall ends with a semicircular apse inscribed in a rectangle to the east. There are two pairs of pilasters on the longitudinal walls, on which arches are placed. The hall is covered with an arch. The altar is elevated by one step. The interior is painted. The frescoes date back to the 12th century. The temple is lit by two arched windows, one of which is cut in the apse and the other in the west wall. The facades are plain, with only an image of an equilateral cross at the base of the west facade. The facades are finished with plain, shelved cornice. The church is paved with clean carved "shirimi" stone. The outbuildings are built of hollow stone and slate. The bell tower follows the structure and style of the Svan towers. It is a two-story building with two and one single arches. The church of the Savior of Tsvirma preserves important pictorial and engraved icons of the XI-XII centuries, with a highly artistic decoration the cross in front of the altar draws visitors attention.