On the east bank of the Likhi mountain range, above 750 meters from sea level, lies a magical village which will provide you with thousand reasons to unconditionally fall in love with it.
Surrounded by mountains, Kvishkheti stages a grand collision of Black Sea’s warm, humid air with Kavkasioni’s crystal cold breath. This contributes to the unique healing properties of the village climate. You can say that Kvishkheti, together with Borjomi-Kharagauli national park, represents Georgia’s set of lungs. Clear air and mineral waters form a magical environment, which is protected by an imposing sleeping a giant of a mountain – “Mtatsminda”.
Beautiful nature, dry synthesis of alpine and lowland climates, crystal-cold spring waters, oldest cultural monuments, mystical pathways, the legendary hospitality of Georgian people and colorful cuisine, are just a few of the neverending reasons for why people never wanted to ever leave this place. This was illustrated at the Bokhumi exhibition in 2001-2002, where you could find artifacts dating back to 3000 b.c.
There are several origin stories on the name “Kvishkheti”. Ivane Javakhishvili argued that it was linked to the sandy soil in the area; (Kvisha means sand in Georgian) But locals say that “Kvishkheti” is a metaphor for cold winters – “Kvis mkhetqi” – stone popper. (In extreme cold stones pop.)
On the hill in the village, you can see a simple but awe-inducing 70s house, which belonged to the saint Dimitri Kipiani and his family. This is the place where the names “Kvishkheti” and “Mtserlebi” forever merged into one single entity.
Eventually, Kipiani residence was handed over to the Writers’ Union of Georgia and it was expanded with other buildings, such as cottages, eating hall, writes’ quarters, etc. From this day on, till the end of the 1990s, many Georgian writers took refuge in here, trying to get away from Soviet censorship and exhausting stress of city life. Kvishkheti became “a small place of freedom”, a portal to a completely different world, where you could be free of your troubles and concerns. Split-second you arrived here, tranquility and warmth would fill your soul.
Konstanine Gamsakhurdia, Galaktion Tabidze, Jemal Qarchkhadze, Guram Dochanashvili, Vakhtang Javakhadze, Givi Shahnazari, Sergo Zakariadze, Rezo Chkheidze, Gogi Dolidze and many other great Georgian artists visited Kvishkheti over the years. This is the place where they discussed complex philosophical and moralistic themes which were in turn featured in their craft. Famous poet Tato Baratashvili wrote his “Nightfall on Mtatsminda” inspired by the Mtatsminda mountain. Akaki Tsereteli did the same with his poem “Gantiadi”, dedicated to Dimitri Kipiani himself. Mikheil Javakhishvili was also a regular visitor in Kvishkheti. Javakhishvili spent his time here, writing “Arsena Marabdeli” and later, got arrested in 1937 by soviet chekists. One of the natives described the event this way: “Late at night, black UAZ-469 stopped in the village. The car was so black that it could easily be seen in the darkness of the night. Chekists told us to remain in the houses. My mother also begged me to stay inside, but I still went out in my pajamas and got a glimpse of Mikheli Javakhishvili himself.”
Over the decades Kvishkheti witnessed the examples of unprecedented creativity and it left its marks: “Tsatskhvebi”, “Auzi”, “Kveda besedka”, “Biblioteca” are the words that will forever be ingrained in people who spend their time here.
Our hotel stands on these memoirs and values because we believe that Kvishkheti holds something extremely magnificent and eternal, and it is something worth preserving.
We created an inviting, multifunctional space equipped with modern technologies and comfortable infrastructure to further highlight every story of the past, breathing a new soul into centuries-old historical events. And you can be a part of it.
It is not a coincidence that our project was made possible by Austria-Switzerland joint investment, by people who know the real value of mountains and its perks as a vacation zone.
