Doorless Shrine of Gogni in Gogni, Georgia

Georgians call it “Karugdebeli” — literally, “Door-thrown-off”. For as long as anyone can remember, no building on this holy mountain has been able to survive with its doors intact, so all its shrines remain open to the public 24 hours a day.

The first shrine dedicated to St. George is said to have been built here in the 7th or 8th century C.E. – although, as is often the case in the Caucasus, a pagan holy place may have existed here long before. According to legend, when that shrine was built, the villagers tried to put doors on it a number of times, but each time, they returned to find the doors fallen on the ground. Over time, the shrine was rebuilt several times, but each time, no one was able to enclose it with doors. The area became an important place for festivals dedicated to St. George.

In the early 20th century, the Communist government tried to close the shrine, in accordance with the official atheistic policies of the Soviet Union. However, their attempts to block the entrance of the shrine were repeatedly thwarted; the walls and barriers were found as piles of rubble every St. George’s Day. The frustrated Communists subsequently demolished the shrine entirely to discourage locals from making pilgrimages there. The power of the Gogni shrine was never forgotten, however, and during the 1980s, as the authoritarian restrictions of the Soviet Union were relaxed, the people of the Terjola and Tkibuli regions rebuilt the shrine – without any doors, of course.

After Georgia regained its independence, the St. George’s Day festivals in May and November began once again to be conducted at the Gogni shrine. Due to the huge number of pilgrims, the locals of Terjola and Tkibuli decided in 2010 to build a large new church nearby the shrine, at the peak of the mountain, which would be visible from the entire region. No expense was spared for its decorative stone carvings, and the finest woodworker in the province was engaged to carve its main doors. The woodworker immediately began to notice strange things happening. The wood he ordered mysteriously warped overnight in his workshop – not just once but twice. The third time he tried to start work, he was suddenly stricken with a neurological affliction in his hands, making him physically unable to hold a tool. Terrified, he informed the sponsors of the project that he would have nothing more to do with making doors in Gogni, and it was decided that the new church would also be completed without doors. 

Twice a year, on the two celebrations of St. George’s Day (May 6th and November 23rd), tens of thousands of people come from both the local area and all over Georgia to walk up the steep mountain which the Karugdebeli shrine is situated on – many of them barefoot. It is said that anyone who walks around the shrine three times, especially on St. George’s Day, will have their wishes fulfilled.