In the village of Zguderi, Kareli Municipality, a historic 6th-century church was demolished. This occurred in 2025, but the fact was not made public. This was reported by the George Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation.
According to specialists, the demands and instructions of the state body responsible for cultural heritage preservation were completely ignored. This led to the destruction of an important historical monument.
The Chubinashvili Centre points to a disturbing situation in the field of cultural heritage preservation in Georgia.
“On June 13, it became known about the complete destruction of the church in the village of Zguderi, Kareli Municipality—a three-nave 6th-century basilica, rebuilt in the 10th and 14th centuries and partially destroyed during the Soviet period. The building was an important example of early medieval Georgian architecture and held the status of an immovable monument of cultural heritage. Currently, a new church is being constructed on its foundation using modern materials,” the statement reads.
The organization is confident that the Georgian public might not have learned about the incident for a long time had Tamta Dolidze, an employee of the Centre, not visited Zguderi.
Specialists drew attention to a statement by the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation dated June 14, which states that the demolition of the monument and the start of new construction were carried out without the appropriate permission.
The Chubinashvili Centre is certain that the state Agency had been aware of what was happening for about a year but failed to prevent the obvious violation of the law.
“This case clearly demonstrates the alarming situation that has developed in the field of cultural heritage. Of course, the agency bears its share of responsibility, but neither its reform nor personnel reshuffles will remedy the situation unless the protection of historical monuments becomes an absolute priority of state policy, regardless of where the threat comes from,” the statement says.
The National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation must immediately and fully inform the expert community and the public about such gross violations to ensure a timely response, the Chubinashvili Centre emphasized.