A 6th-century Georgian Christian monastery. It stands on a mountain facing the old capital, Mtskheta. In the 4th century, in the first years after the adoption of Christianity, King Mirian III raised a tall wooden cross on this spot, venerated not only by Georgians but by the other Christian peoples of the Caucasus. In the second half of the 6th century (between 545 and 586) Guaram, erismtavari of Kartli, built a church here. The Jvari monastery is inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage list.