The Alaverdi Cathedral, one of the biggest and beautiful monuments of the Georgian architecture, is the center of the Alaverdi monastic complex and the Episcopate. It stands at the village of Alaverdi. In the Alazan river valley, 20 km from Telavi. The Monastery was founded by loseb Alaverdeli, a disciple of Ioane Zedazneli, in the middle of the 6th century. Here, at the site of St George s small Church, the Kakhetian King Kvirike built the great Alaverdi Cathedral (early 11th cent.), one of the biggest Churches in Georgia (41,7x26,4; height up to 50m). The basis of the ground plan of the building is a cross, three, equal-length arms of which end in apses, forming the so-called triconch.
The western arm is longer and has side naves. On either side of the altar apse there is a prothesis and a diaconicon. The outside of the ground plan forms a rectangle. The dome, erected over the crossing of the cross arms, rests on four pillars, on the northern, southern, and western sides the Cathedral had open galleries, which were pulled down in early 19th century. The Cathedral has entrances on these very sides. The grand inner space is remarkable for its refined proportions. The interior is well illuminated by the light coming through the doors and the windows (the dome has 16 windows). The monumental facades are decorated sparingly (a common feature of the Kakhetian monuments). The Cathedral is mostly built of cobble-stone. The eastern facade of Alaverdi has five decorative archer and two deep, triangular niche. The walls, inside and outside, are faced with large-sized cut stone. The building was roofed with large tiles, glared blue, the fragments of which survive to this day, as do the inscriptions of the Cathedral. The Alaverdi Cathedral has often been damaged during invasions, and by earthquakes.
The western arm is longer and has side naves. On either side of the altar apse there is a prothesis and a diaconicon. The outside of the ground plan forms a rectangle. The dome, erected over the crossing of the cross arms, rests on four pillars, on the northern, southern, and western sides the Cathedral had open galleries, which were pulled down in early 19th century. The Cathedral has entrances on these very sides. The grand inner space is remarkable for its refined proportions. The interior is well illuminated by the light coming through the doors and the windows (the dome has 16 windows). The monumental facades are decorated sparingly (a common feature of the Kakhetian monuments). The Cathedral is mostly built of cobble-stone. The eastern facade of Alaverdi has five decorative archer and two deep, triangular niche. The walls, inside and outside, are faced with large-sized cut stone. The building was roofed with large tiles, glared blue, the fragments of which survive to this day, as do the inscriptions of the Cathedral. The Alaverdi Cathedral has often been damaged during invasions, and by earthquakes.