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ზემო ნიქოზის ღვთაების ეკლესია / Zemo Nikozi cathedral of the Deity
The first recorded mention of Nikozi occurs in a c. 800 chronicle of Juansher, who attributes the founding of the church there and the appointment of a bishop to the 5th-century king Vakhtang Gorgasali: „he built the church of Nikozi at the hearth of a fire(-temple), and installed a bishop where was buried the body of St. Ražden, who had been martyred by the Persians in the war with Vaxt'ang“. This account is reiterated by the historian Prince Vakhushti, writing c. 1745, who adds that a bishop still resided at Nikozi in his day, being "a pastor to the Caucasians, the Dvals, and what is now known as Ossetia, as well as Glola-Ghebi". St. Ražden's martyrium is also mentioned by the anonymous 13th-century Georgian chronicle Histories and Eulogies of the Sovereigns, which relates that one of the sons of "the kings of Ossetians", a disillusioned claimant to the hand of Queen Tamar (1184–1213), died in Nikozi and was buried in its church of St. Ražden.
The Nikozi cathedral and its complex was constructed over a several-century span. The extant church building dates mostly to the 14th–16th century, a bell-tower is a 16th–17th-century structure and an episcopal palace was built in the 9th–11th century. Several other buildings such as a bishop's residence, cells, a refectory, and various accessory structures were constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries.
During the August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, Zemo Nikozi was a scene of heavy fighting between the Georgian and Russian forces and Russian air attacks on 10 August 2008, which damaged the Nikozi complex, especially the recently repaired episcopal palace. Its renovated roof, floor, and balconies were burned down, and the original south floor stones cracked due to fire. Monastic cells, a bishop's dwelling, and the refectory were completely destroyed.
After the war, following an action initiated by the Council of Europe, a project was implemented for emergency stabilization works to the Nikozi complex, including preliminary onsite works, a new roof, consolidation and stabilization of the structure, and archaeological works, setting grounds for further rehabilitation works.
ზემო ნიქოზის ღვთაების ეკლესია / Zemo Nikozi cathedral of the Deity
The first recorded mention of Nikozi occurs in a c. 800 chronicle of Juansher, who attributes the founding of the church there and the appointment of a bishop to the 5th-century king Vakhtang Gorgasali: „he built the church of Nikozi at the hearth of a fire(-temple), and installed a bishop where was buried the body of St. Ražden, who had been martyred by the Persians in the war with Vaxt'ang“. This account is reiterated by the historian Prince Vakhushti, writing c. 1745, who adds that a bishop still resided at Nikozi in his day, being "a pastor to the Caucasians, the Dvals, and what is now known as Ossetia, as well as Glola-Ghebi". St. Ražden's martyrium is also mentioned by the anonymous 13th-century Georgian chronicle Histories and Eulogies of the Sovereigns, which relates that one of the sons of "the kings of Ossetians", a disillusioned claimant to the hand of Queen Tamar (1184–1213), died in Nikozi and was buried in its church of St. Ražden.
The Nikozi cathedral and its complex was constructed over a several-century span. The extant church building dates mostly to the 14th–16th century, a bell-tower is a 16th–17th-century structure and an episcopal palace was built in the 9th–11th century. Several other buildings such as a bishop's residence, cells, a refectory, and various accessory structures were constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries.
During the August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, Zemo Nikozi was a scene of heavy fighting between the Georgian and Russian forces and Russian air attacks on 10 August 2008, which damaged the Nikozi complex, especially the recently repaired episcopal palace. Its renovated roof, floor, and balconies were burned down, and the original south floor stones cracked due to fire. Monastic cells, a bishop's dwelling, and the refectory were completely destroyed.
After the war, following an action initiated by the Council of Europe, a project was implemented for emergency stabilization works to the Nikozi complex, including preliminary onsite works, a new roof, consolidation and stabilization of the structure, and archaeological works, setting grounds for further rehabilitation works.