Katskhi is a 40m high monolithic stone pillar standing tall in the middle of Katskhi village, in the western Imereti region of Georgia, about 10km from the mining town of Chiatura.
With the arrival of Christianity in Georgia in the 14th century, Katskhi became a place of mystery and hermitage for monks. Locals called Katskhi “Pillar of Life”.
At the top of Katskhi, there is a small church that was built between the 6th and 8th centuries. This church was probably built by the hermits who lived on the rock pillar. They were the first Christians to reach the top of Katskhi to pray.
A Georgian scholar who wrote about the Katskhi pillar said that the church was once inaccessible. However, many disagree with that conclusion, one of them revealed; in fact, there is a chain about 1.5km from the pillar that connects to the dome of the church on top of Katskhi.
KKatskhi was first visited by researchers in 1944. More systematic research has been carried out since 1990. Researchers have concluded that the Katskhi church served as both a place for monks to pray and a place for people to live in seclusion.
In 2007, a small stone slab with Georgian inscriptions from the 13th century was found. This slab revealed that the author of the three-room church on the top of Katskhi was “Giorgi”.
The church on top of Katskhi is now being restored, and climbing to the top of Katskhi is now quite easy via an iron ladder connecting from the foot of the stone pillar to the top.
An Tu
