Lykhny

Lykhny (Georgian: ლიხნი, Abkhaz and Russian: Лыхны) is a village in the Gudauta District of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast.

Lykhny
Georgian: ლიხნი
Abkhazian: Лыхны
Church of the Virgin Mary
Lykhny
Location of Labra in Abkhazia
Lykhny
Lykhny (Georgia)
Coordinates: 43°09′N 40°37′E
CountryGeorgia
Partially recognized stateAbkhazia[1]
DistrictOchamchira
Time zoneUTC+4 (MSK)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+5

History

In medieval Georgian sources the village is also known as Zupu (ზუფუ).[2] The village lies along the narrow Black Sea plain of Abkhazia at an elevation of 50 meters above sea level. Lykhny is located five kilometers from the administrative center of Gudauta. There are several important historical monuments in and around Lykhny. Of particular importance are the 10-11th century Church of the Virgin Mary and the ruins of a two-storey palace which was used as a residence by the princes of Abkhazia (the palace collapsed in 1866 when the Russian punitive expedition attacked the village). An older monument, the fortress of Abaanta (built in the 7th century) is located at the edge of the village on the left bank of the Khipsta River.

Ruins of the palace of the Shervashidze princes

Lykhnashta, a large square located centrally in the village, is one of the seven shrines of the Abkhaz people and the place where is held the harvest festival every October. The square was also the place of the gathering of all the Abkhaz in 1931 and 1989.[3]

See also

References
  1. Abkhazia is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Abkhazia and Georgia. The Republic of Abkhazia unilaterally declared independence on 23 July 1992, but Georgia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory and designates it as a territory occupied by Russia. Abkhazia has received formal recognition as an independent state from 7 out of 193 United Nations member states, 1 of which has subsequently withdrawn its recognition.
  2. The Georgian Chronicles, v. 4, p. 784
  3. Shervashidze, L. Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia. 1983. Book 6. p. 271.
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