Mtskheta

Mtskheta მცხეთა
Town
Flag Seal
Mtskheta Location of Mtskheta within Georgia Show map of Georgia Mtskheta Mtskheta (Mtskheta-Mtianeti) Show map of Mtskheta-Mtianeti
Coordinates: 41°50′47″N 44°43′10″E / 41.84639°N 44.71944°E / 41.84639; 44.71944
Country	Georgia
Mkhare	Mtskheta-Mtianeti
Municipality	Mtskheta
Established	5th century BC
Elevation	460 m (1,510 ft)
Population  (2024)[1]
• Total	7,392
Time zone	UTC+4 (Georgian time)
Postal code	3300
Climate	Cfa
Website	www.mtskheta-mtianeti.gov.ge

Mtskheta (Georgian: მცხეთა, romanized: mtskheta [ˈmtsʰχetʰa]) is a city in the region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.^[2] It is located approximately 20 km (12 mi) north of Tbilisi, at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers. Currently a small provincial capital, for nearly a millennium until the 5th century AD, Mtskheta was a large fortified city, a significant economical and political centre of the Kingdom of Iberia.

Due to the historical significance of the town and its several outstanding churches and cultural monuments, the "Historical Monuments of Mtskheta" became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.^[3] As the birthplace and one of the most vibrant centers of Christianity in Georgia, Mtskheta was declared as the "Holy City" by the Georgian Orthodox Church in 2014.^[4]

In 2016, the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta were placed by UNESCO under Enhanced Protection, a mechanism established by the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.^[5]