US embassy to fund conservation work at Georgian 6th century Jvari Monastery
The Jvari Monastery complex is part of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photo: Shermazana.
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The US Embassy will allocate $100,000 for the first stage of conservation work at Georgian 6th century Jvari monastery in Mtskheta.
Funding for the project was made available by a grant through the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), the embassy said.
The project will be implemented by George Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation, with the help of various interdisciplinary teams, the embassy reports.
The project is intended to cover the first phase of the conservation cycle by carrying out a comprehensive study, to identify, classify, and map the extent of damage and deterioration of the facade.
The Major Church Jvari of the Holy Cross (586-605 A.D.) is Jvari Monastery’s most important and valuable monument,” the US Embassy writes.
The Jvari Monastery complex is part of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation has provided financial support to more than 1,000 cultural preservation projects in more than 125 countries through the contribution of nearly $74 million towards the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide, the embassy said.
In Georgia, the AFCP has funded 19 preservation projects worth nearly $1.5 million.
Today Georgia is celebrating the day of Georgia’s ancient capital city Mtskheta and its legendary cathedral, Svetitskhoveli. The cathedral, which allegedly houses Christ's mantle, is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral located in the historical town of Mtskheta, 20 km northwest of Tbilisi.
The Jvari Monastery, which was closed on Monday by its clerics “due to the insanitary conditions and disorder” created by vendors near the site, has reopened to visitors.
Clerics of the sixth-century Georgian Jvari Monastery say in a statement that the closure of the site for the parish and tourists was a “radical step” by them to attract public attention.
Historical monuments of Georgia's ancient capital Mtskheta are no longer recognised as being in danger of deterioration by UNESCO.
The deteriorating facade of the iconic 6th century Jvari Monastery, which stands perched atop a hill outside the ancient Georgian capital of Mtskheta, will undergo conservation and reinforcement work supported by the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation at the United States Embassy in Tbilisi.