Metekhi Castle

an ancient citadel and residence of Georgian kings. Erected in the fifth century in Tbilisi on the left bank of the Kura River, it was destroyed and rebuilt a number of times. In the early 19th century the old fortifications were dismantled and a prison was built in their place. Among those imprisoned in Metekhi Castle under tsarism at one time or another were A. M. Gorky, M. I. Kalinin, V. K. Kurnatovskii, V. Z. Ketskhoveli (who was killed in a solitary-confinement cell on Aug. 17, 1903), A. G. Tsulukidze, P. A. Dzhaparidze, S. la. Alliluev, F. I. Makharadze, and Kamo (S. Ter-Petrosian). Under the Menshevik government, Metekhi Castle served as a prison for political prisoners (May 1918 to February 1921). From 1934 to 1942, the castle housed the State Museum of the Arts of the Georgian SSR. In 1959, in connection with urban renewal, Metekhi Castle was torn down. The Metekhi Temple (1278–93) is under the state’s protection as an example of ancient Georgian culture.