Bagrati Cathedral - Georgia

Another great card, this one from Georgia, the country, not the US state. It was kindly sent by Sini, after her holidays in Georgia. The Bagrati Cathedral was one of the monuments she visited. She says that the cathedral is a bit different than it looks on the card. Now it has a green roof and the building is surrounded by a fence, which makes impossible to visit the interior of the cathedral.

This is only my 2nd card from Georgia and my 2nd Unesco site from there.

 Photo by Tornike Turabelidze

The Cathedral of the Dormition, or the Kutaisi Cathedral, more commonly known as Bagrati Cathedral is the 11th-century cathedral church in the city of Kutaisi, the region of Imereti, Georgia. The cathedral, rebuilt officially on September 16th, 2012 after heavy damage ages ago,served as a masterpiece in the history of modern and medieval Georgan architecture.

A distinct landmark in the scenery of central Kutaisi, the cathedral rests upon the top of Uk’imerioni Hill. It was built in the early years of the 11th century, during the reign of King Bagrat III due to which it was called "Bagrati" Cathedral, i.e., Bagrat’s cathedral. In 1692, it was devastated in an explosion by the Ottoman troops, which had invaded the Kingdom of Imereti. The incident caused the cupola and ceiling to collapse.

The conservation and restoration are at works, as well as archaeological studies, which began in 1952, are finally finished. In 1994, the Bagrati Cathedral, together with the Gelati Monastery, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list as a single entity. In 2001, the cathedral was restored to the Georgian Orthodox Church. It is now of limited use for worship services, but attracts many pilgrims and tourists. It is also frequently used as a symbol of the whole city of Kutaisi, being one of its main tourist attractions. - in: wikipedia