According to the legend, Ruisi Church was built by King Vakhtang Gorgasali in the V century. The building from those times has not been preserved to the present day. In the X century, the church was completely rebuilt. In the XI century, the church was reconstructed again and richly adorned with the blessings of Bishop George.
The Ruisi Virgin Church is a construction of cross-dome type. The building dimensions are: 27.3 m.X19.6m, height - 23.2 m. Initially, the church was built of equal-sized blocks of sandstone but in the restoration basalt, sandstone and brick were used. Three entrances lead into the church - from the west, south and north. 12 windows are in the high dome and there are visible fragments of paintings, dominated by reddish - brown, blue or green colors.
On the western side of the church is located the bell tower. This three-storey tower was built in the XVII century by Bishop George Varadze. On the ground floor is an entrance to the courtyard; the second is a dwelling and the third is the bell tower itself.
An earthquake in 1920 severely damaged the church. Its recovery was led by a committee for the protection of Art and Antiques in Georgia in 1936-1938.
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