Gremi

Gremi was a royal capital of Kakheti and a prosperous trading town on the routes crossing the Alazani valley. Its citadel rises above the former streets, baths, houses and market arcades. Within the walls stand the royal tower and the Church of the Archangels, built under King Levan in 1565 and adorned with paintings that include the king himself holding a model of his foundation.

The town flourished during the sixteenth century as a seat of the Kakhetian court and a place where merchants gathered. In 1615 the army of Shah Abbas devastated Gremi during the invasion of eastern Georgia. The city never recovered its former splendour, and the royal seat eventually moved to Telavi. The surviving church and tower above the valley recall the lost capital.