Georgia · GE

Mgvimevi Convent

Mgvimevi Monastery is a 13th-century Georgian Orthodox nunnery built into a vast natural cave on a limestone cliff above the Kvirila River gorge, just east of the town of Chiatura in western Georgia's Imereti region. Its name derives from the Georgian word for "cave," and its dramatic setting—churches nestled at the mouth of a rock cavern, stone staircases carved along the cliff face—makes it one of the most visually distinctive sacred sites in the country. Founded by Rati, duke of Racha, and his brother Niania of the Kakhaberidze family, the complex includes a two-nave basilica dedicated to the Nativity of the Mother of God, a smaller rock-hewn church of St. Catherine, a bell tower, and monastic cells. It remains a functioning nunnery and has been designated an Immovable Cultural Monument of National Significance since 2006.