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Atskuri Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Georgia
Region
Tbilisi
District
Akhaltsikhe
Settlement
Atskuri
Site address
When arriving in Atskuri from the direction of Tbilisi/Khashuri, drive towards the centre of the town and turn left towards Atskuri fortress via the bridge through Mtkvari. Cross the bridge and turn left (do not go around the fortress). Drive 180 meters. The entrance to the cemetery is on your right.
GPS coordinates
41.729544, 43.16704
Perimeter length
305 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
The cemetery is fenced with a stone wall about 1.5 meters high.
Preservation condition
Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The cemetery is in good condition and is fenced. Nevertheless, most of the tombstones are hardly readable and many of the stones are covered by soil and are themselves barely visible.
Number of existing gravestones
About 100. It is possible that there are more tombstones in the cemetery, since many of them are covered by soil and grass and are hardly visible. The majority of the tombstones are almost not readable without special cleansing due to the natural conditions – erosion, wind, lichen.
Date of oldest tombstone
1906
Date of newest tombstone
1931
Urgency of erecting a fence
Fence is not needed
Land ownership
State
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

Atskuri is a Georgian feudal fortress on the right bank of the Mtkvari River at the entrance of Borjomi ravine in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The vicinity of Akhaltsikhe is rich in other archaeological Bronze Age and medieval Georgian monuments. The city was first mentioned in the 9th century chronicles. The city suffered from numerous invasions by the Mongols, Iranians, and Turks. In 1576, the Ottomans captured Atskuri and made it the residence of a pasha. In 1628, the city became the center of the Akhalzik Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. In 1828, during the Russian-Turkish War of 1828–1829, Russian troops captured the city. As a consequence of 1829 Treaty of Adrianople (Edirne), it was ceded to the Russian Empire as part of the first Kutaisi and then Tiflis Governorates.

According to the oral histories, five Jewish families settled in Atskuri during the period of Queen Tamar (1184-1213). In 1745, Georgian historian and geographer King Bakhushti Bagrationi (1695/6-1784) mentioned Jewish merchants in Atskuri. At that time, Jews settled in a special district to the north of city. In the 18th century, there were 150 Jewish families in Atskuri. During the Russian-Turkish War (1828-1829), a plague epidemic fatally affected almost the entire population. According to Chorniy, about 20 Jewish families from the Akhaldaba, Dviri, Adigeni, Digviri, Akhaltsikhe and Abastumani areas moved and settled in Atskuri in 1869.

The Jewish community of Atskuri once thrived, trading goods from Asia. Yet after a severe rise in antisemitism from Turks in late 19th century which led to pogroms, the Jewish population dwindled and the last members of the community left town in 1908. The town used to have two synagogues yet they were both destroyed by Ottomans. The only Jewish remnant in Atskuri is the Jewish cemetery. Even though the cemetery was no longer in use, nearby Jewish communities made great efforts to prevent it from falling into disrepair. In 1957, it was fenced by the Akhaltsikhe Jewish community.

The earliest visible tombstone is from 1906 and the latest tombstone is from 1931. Nisan Babalikashvili mentioned 1,862 inscriptions in the cemetery in his work.

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