GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Tsalenjikha Cathedral

Byzantine brushstrokes in a Megrelian valley

Tsalenjikha Cathedral

Why go

Tsalenjikha Cathedral rises from the Colchidian lowlands as Samegrelo's spiritual anchor, built between the 12th and 14th centuries when Georgian kings still claimed Byzantine craftsmen. Its treasure lies inside: frescoes painted in 1380 by Cyrus Emanuel Eugenicus, a Constantinopolitan master who fled the Ottoman advance and left his Greek signature beneath the Virgin—one of the rare surviving works by a named Palaeologan painter outside the empire's borders. The images glow with gold and lapis against crumbling plaster, a dialogue between Orthodox east and west frozen in pigment. You come for the name, stay for the silence, and leave understanding how Georgia once anchored the medieval world.

On the ground See

  • The Dormition fresco on the west wall, signed by Cyrus Emanuel Eugenicus in Greek uncials
  • The 14th-century stone iconostasis with carved grapevine and cross motifs
  • The cathedral's original 12th-century core visible in the eastern apse masonry

Practical Know before you go

Open daily; best visited May–October when the marsh roads are passable, though winter access is possible via Zugdidi with local transport.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly