Mugudzirkhva Church

Ruined medieval church in Abkhazia

43°09′05″N 40°31′28″E / 43.15139°N 40.52444°E / 43.15139; 40.52444ArchitectureTypeChurchCompletedMiddle Ages

Mugudzyrkhva Church (Georgian: მუგუძირხვის ეკლესია) is a ruined medieval church near the village of Mugudzirkhva, Gudauta municipality, Abkhazia, an entity in the South Caucasus with a disputed political status. ^[2]

The ruins stand on a rocky hill in the Mchishta ravine. The ruined church was a hall-church design, its more or less preserved northern wall faced with limestone slabs. There are the remains of pilasters which once supported arches of the vault. The eastern wall with a protruding apse and the southern wall are almost completely ruined. Numerous shivers of roof tiles are scattered around the edifice.^[3]

References

^ The political status of Abkhazia is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Georgia in 1992, Abkhazia is formally recognised as an independent state by 5 UN member states (two other states previously recognised it but then withdrew their recognition), while the remainder of the international community recognizes it as as de jure Georgian territory. Georgia continues to claim the area as its own territory, designating it as Russian-occupied territory.
^ Church in Mugudzirkhva village Historical monuments of Abkhazia — Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.
^ Voronov, Y. N. (1978). В мире архитектурных памятников Абхазии [In the world of architectural monuments of Abkhazia] (in Russian). Moscow: Iskusstvo. p. 70.