Katskhi Pillar

The remnants of an early medieval hermitage may be seen on Katskhi Pillar, a natural limestone monolith that towers impressively above its surroundings. The granite outcrop in Georgia's western region has 40-meter-tall sheer slopes. Its isolation meant that its tiny chapel and hermit cells were undiscovered for many years. Locals had long viewed the pillar as a representation of the True Cross, and it wasn't until a monk moved there in the early 2000s that it was fully rebuilt. Katskhi Pillar is a magnificent structure, even though it is beyond limits to the general public. Its conspicuous pinnacle is surrounded by gorgeous scenery and stands out charmingly against the sky.

Locals revere the 150 m2 rock, which includes apparent church ruins on its upper surface, as the Pillar of Life and the True Cross, and tales have sprung up around it. It was not climbed or surveyed by researchers until 1944. From 1999 to 2009, it was subjected to more thorough investigation. According to these investigations, the ruins were an early medieval hermitage from the ninth or tenth century. The hermitage may have still been there at that time, according to a Georgian inscription that has been paleographically dated to the 13th century. In the 1990s, the pillar's connected religious activity was resurrected, and by 2009, a state-funded effort had rebuilt the monastery structure.

Location: Katskhi, 5 km from the town of Chiatura, Chiatura District, Imereti Province (Mkhare), Georgia