Samtavro, Mtskheta

In Mtskheta there is an active Samtavro convent Самтавро (the 11 th century) in which the ruler Mirian and his wife Nana, the first to accept Christianity from St. Nino in 337, are buried.

The convent was constructed in 1820 instead of a small ancient wooden church of the 4 th century erected by the king Mirian. Its dome and some of the parts were reconstructed after the earthquake in the 13 th – 14 th centuries with addition of the sanctuary screen. The three-storied bell tower was built in the 15 th – 16 th centuries. The frescos there are dated the 16 th – the 17 th centuries. In the 17 th century the convent was renovated for the last time.

In the church yard there is the grave of St. Gabriel; one of the most esteemed Georgian saints. This place is always full of pilgrims and worshippers of the saint. In 1906 the monument to the king Mirian and queen Nana was built in the convent.