Gelati Monastery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery*
UNESCO World Heritage Site

State Party	Georgia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Reference	710
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription	1994 (18th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Monastery of the Virgin - Gelati near Kutaisi (Imereti region of Western Georgia) was founded by the King of Georgia David the Builder (1089-1125) in 1106.

The Gelati Monastery for a long time was one of the main cultural and intellectual centers in Georgia. It had an Academy which employed some of the most celebrated Georgian scientists, theologians and philosophers, many of whom had previously been active at various orthodox monasteries abroad or at the Mangan Academy in Constantinople. Among the scientists were such celebrated scholars as Ioann Petritsi and Arsen Ikaltoeli.

Due to the extensive work carried out by the Gelati Academy, people of the time called it "a new Hellas" and "a second Athos".

The Gelati Monastery has preserved a great number of murals and manuscripts dating back to the 12th-17th centuries.

In Gelati is buried one of the greatest Georgian kings, David the Builder (Davit Agmashenebeli in Georgian). In 1994, Gelaty Monastery was recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site.