Saro Archangel Church

The best-preserved historical building in Saro is undoubtedly Saro Archangel Church. The architecture of the church with a traditional cross-like floor plan and two naves, dates from the 7th and 8th centuries, with separate decorative elements from later periods.

The church is mostly made from gray stone of volcanic origin, the facades are whitewashed with limestone and on the corners are remnants of smoothed sandstone.

In the late 19th century, the increasingly dilapidated church was reconstructed, as a 1902 report by Ekvtime Takaishvili states. Ekvtime Takaishvili was one of the most famous Georgian historians and archaeologists. In 1917, he was among the founders and professors of Tbilisi State University. He lost his professorship in 1921, when Russia invaded the recently founded, independent Georgian Republic.

Takaishvili fled to France, following the exiled Georgian government, and took the Georgian national treasury with him. The treasury, filling almost 40 huge boxes, contained numerous precious examples of Georgian culture that Takaishvili had been ordered to collect in the years before. In 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Order of National Hero of Georgia.

Ekvtime Takaishvili’s report from 1902 on Saro Archangel Church states that an open two-story facade was built on the south side, replacing the original entrance with a wide arch in the west wall. At this point, at the beginning of the 20th century, the windows had not yet been changed. They were replaced in Soviet times, when the church was used for agricultural purposes, and frames and rectangular wooden inlays were added.

In his 1902 report Ekvtime Takaishvili also refers to the fact that Saro Archangel Church has three different altarpieces illuminated by three narrow windows. According to legend, three brothers lived in the village. They were princes and built the castle and the church. Since they each had their own spiritual teacher, they set up three altars to conduct separate services.

In November 2006 Saro Archangel Church was granted the status of Cultural Monument of National Significance by presidential degree. 

Picture credits: beyondarts GmbH

Project “Increased regional added value in the tourism sectors of Georgia by Digital Heritage Tourism Guides” was funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) with funds of Austrian Development Cooperation.