GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Gremi Church

Where a vanished kingdom left its silence

Gremi Church

Why go

Gremi Church rises from a hilltop where the 16th-century capital of Kakheti once stood, before Shah Abbas burned it to ash in 1615. The citadel's tower-church and three-story bell tower are all that survived, built in 1565 by King Levan. The interior holds a rare intact fresco cycle of the Deesis, painted in 1577, and the stone walls still bear the weight of a kingdom that moved its capital to Telavi and never returned. Come for the frescoes, stay for the vertigo of history: vineyards roll out below exactly as they did when this was a royal city.

On the ground See

  • The 1577 Deesis fresco inside the church, one of Kakheti's best-preserved medieval wall paintings
  • The three-story bell tower with its original 16th-century stone staircase and royal viewing platform
  • The small on-site museum in the citadel's former wine cellar, displaying excavated coins and weaponry from the destroyed city

Practical Know before you go

Open daily 10:00-18:00; 30 minutes by car from Telavi on paved roads, best visited in late spring when the surrounding orchards bloom.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly