The Citadel

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The Citadel
ციტადელი
tsitadeli

A view of The Citadel from the south
General information
Type Headquarters
Country Armazia Armazia
Construction started 708
Design and construction
Owner Church of Varkana

The Citadel (Kartvelian: ციტადელი, tsitadeli) is the official residence of the Matriarch, which is located in the sovereign state of Armazia. The building contains the Matriarchal Apartments, various government offices of the Church of Varkana, private and public temples, Citadel Museums and the Citadel library, the largest library in Adonia.

The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times, and since the eighth century AD has been the seat of the Church of Varkana. The structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: On top, Armazism, the temples; below this, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, fishermen's and farmers' housing.

Its unique position of being an island only 600 meters from land made it readily accessible on low tide to the many pilgrims to its temple. Equally, this position made it readily defensible as an incoming tide stranded, or drowned, would-be assailants. By capitalizing on this natural defense, The Citadel remained unconquered during the all wars Varkana has been part of, with a small garrison successfully defending it against a full attack by the Aetolian in DATE.

Temple of Dedamitsaze[edit | edit source]

In the 11th century, Guglielmo da Volpiano, the Monsoran architect was chosen by King ?? to be the building contractor. He designed the Romanesque church of the temple, daringly placing the transept crossing at the top of the mount. Many underground crypts and chapels had to be built to compensate for this weight; these formed the basis for the supportive upward structure that can be seen today. Today The Cidatel is seen as a building of Romanesque architecture.

Archil Mindiashvili later reinforced the structure of the buildings and built the main façade of the temple in the 12th century. In early 13th century, a fire in the village downhill extended to the buildings, and the roofs fell prey to the flames. The Varkan monarchy offered a grant for the construction of a new Gothic architectural set which included the addition of the refectory and cloister. King ?? is credited with adding major fortifications to the abbey-mount, building towers, successive courtyards, and strengthening the ramparts.