Gremi

Gremi (Georgian: გრემი) is a 16th-century architectural monument – the royal citadel and the Church of the Archangels – in Kakheti, Georgia.

The complex is what has survived from the once flourishing town of Gremi and is located southwest of the present-day village of the same name in the Kvareli district, 115 kilometers east of Tbilisi, capital of Georgia.

Founded by Levan of Kakheti, it functioned as a lively trading town on the Silk Road and royal residence until being razed to the ground by the armies of Shah Abbas I of Persia in 1615.

The town appears to have occupied the area of approximately 40 hectares and to have been composed of three principal parts – the Archangels’ Church complex, the royal residence and the commercial neighborhood.

Its design marries traditional Georgian masonry with a local interpretation of the contemporary Iranian architectural taste.

Gremi
King Levan , who commissioned Gremi