Historical sights of Georgia - the castle and fortress in Vartsikhe, Imereti

Not far from the city of Bagdati, where the waters of the Rioni and Khanitskali rivers merge, there is the village of Vartsikhe, whose age is much older than most cities in the world. Historically, military operations on this territory have practically not subsided.

While other cities grew, expanding their borders, Vartsikhe remained a small village with a population of 1,500 people. Nevertheless, there are also sights of Georgia that are worth a look. The first mention of this settlement dates back to the 5th century.

At that time, the village of Vartsikhe was called Rhodopolis and the Romans and Persians fought to own this territory. Rhodopolis is a Greek name. Translated into Russian means "fortress of the rose". Interestingly, Vartsikhe in translation from Georgian has the same meaning. As a result of archaeological excavations, it was discovered that Vartsikhe in the 5th century was a fortified settlement - there were fortress walls.

Most likely, Rodopolis was a kind of outpost. In the 6th century, the fortress was destroyed. Despite this, the city was preserved, but remained unprotected. In the historical evidence of various epochs, Vartsikhe then reappears, then disappears until the 17th century. Until the 10th century, not only the Romans visited here, but also the Huns, and the manholes left their traces, there were Persian garrisons.

However, the 17th century did not bring peace to these lands. At that time, a castle appeared here - the residence of the Imeretian kings. They came here to hunt. In the 18th century, Russia and Imereti joined forces against the Ottomans, as a result of which the castle was severely damaged. However, at the very beginning of the 19th century, Vartsikhe became a shelter for the Imeretian king Solomon II - the conflict between Russia and Imereti developed.

The castle fell in 1810, and Imereti was annexed to the Russian Empire. The subsequent history of Vartsikhe looks relatively peaceful. For some time the building itself was not used, the castle was almost forgotten. At the beginning of the 20th century, Georgian wine entrepreneurs built a cognac factory in these places - the drink of the same name is still produced. After the revolution, the estate of the Ananovs, those same winemakers, was turned into a kindergarten, and later into a hotel.