Holy Trinity Church

Part of the Georgian National Museum, the Museum of Georgia houses Caucasian artefacts of archaeology and ethnography. A permanent exposition follows developments from the Bronze Age to the early 20th century. Gold was mined and worked here from a very early date - it was probably the origin of the "Golden Fleece" legend - so the area developed its own style, which influenced Achaemenid and Hellenistic jewellery. The most valuable exhibits include Homo ergaster fossils discovered at Dmanisi; the Akhalgori hoard of the 5th century BC; a collection of 80,000 coins chiefly of Georgian minting; medieval icons and goldsmith pieces collected from various sites in Georgia; and a lapidary with a rich collection of Urartian inscriptions.
Nominally a separate Museum of Soviet Occupation, but simply the 4th floor of the same building, depicts Georgia's treatment at the hands of its neighbour, from 19th-century tsarist expansion through Soviet times to the conflict over Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Part of the Georgian National Museum. Large permanent collection from antiquity to present.

A copy of 11th-century Samtavisi church. The Kashveti church was constructed between 1904 and 1910 by the architect L. Bilfeldt, who based his design on the medieval Samtavisi Cathedral. The construction was sponsored by the Georgian nobility and bourgeoisie. Kashveti was built on the site of a damaged church built of brick at the request of the Amilakhvari family in 1753. Significant contributions to the current church’s ornate design were made by N. Agladze. Kashveti’s frescoes were painted by the influential Georgian painter, Lado Gudiashvili, in 1947. The name "Kashveti" is derived from Georgian words kva for a "stone" and shva "to give birth." Legend has it the prominent 6th-century monk David of Gareja of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers was accused by a woman of making her a pregnant in Tbilisi. David prophesied his denial would be proved when she gave birth to a stone. She did, and the place received the name of "kashveti."