Sighnaghi’s wall: why a wine town needed 23 towers

By Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze, MD, MPH, PhD · 15/09/2026

Updated 17 October 2026

Sighnaghi sits on a ridge 800 metres up, looking north across the Alazani valley to the Caucasus, and it looks the way it does — pastel houses, carved balconies, cobbled lanes — because of a restoration in 2007 that turned a sleepy town into the “city of love”. But the wall that wraps it is older, and it explains why there is a town here at all.

The king who built it

Erekle II ruled Kartli-Kakheti in the second half of the 18th century, when Georgia was squeezed between the Persians to the south, the Ottomans to the west and the raiding tribes of Dagestan to the north-east. The Dagestani raids were the daily reality: fast horsemen crossing the Alazani, taking cattle, wine and people, and gone before anyone could muster. Erekle’s answer, in the 1760s and 70s, was a chain of fortified refuges along the valley where the villagers could run — and Sighnaghi, on its ridge with a view of every approach, was the largest.

The wall is four and a half kilometres long, with 23 towers, each named for a village whose people were assigned to defend it and shelter behind it. Six gates faced the six roads. Inside, there was room for the population of the whole district and their animals. It was never a city wall in the European sense; it was a fold.

Walking it

Much of the wall is intact and you can walk along the parapet in several stretches — the best from the church of Saint Stephen, built into a tower on the eastern side, where a staircase takes you onto the battlements. From there the valley is at your feet: forty kilometres of vineyards, the ribbon of the Alazani, and on a clear day the whole line of the Caucasus from Kazbek to Dagestan. Late afternoon is the hour, when the mountains turn pink and the swallows come out.

The town inside

Sighnaghi’s museum has the country’s best small collection of Pirosmani, the self-taught painter born in a village below the town whose animals and feasts are Georgia’s most loved images. The main square has cafés under plane trees; the lanes below have cellar bars pouring the valley’s wine. The town hall, unusually, marries couples 24 hours a day — the origin of the “city of love” name — and it is not unusual to meet a wedding on the wall.

See it with GTour

Sighnaghi is the heart of the Sighnaghi & Bodbe day trip, the midday of the Kakheti wine day, and the overnight of the Grand Wine & Heritage tour — sunset from the wall is the reason to stay.

This story in Georgian — ქართულად: shenidasveneba.ge

Quick answers

Why does Sighnaghi have a wall with 23 towers? King Erekle II built the wall in the 1760s and 70s to protect against raids from Dagestani tribesmen who crossed the Alazani valley to steal cattle, wine, and people. Each of the 23 towers was named for a village whose residents were responsible for defending it and taking shelter there. The wall functioned less like a European city wall and more like a refuge for the whole district's population and animals.

How long is Sighnaghi's wall and how many gates does it have? The wall stretches four and a half kilometres and has six gates, one for each of the six roads leading into the town. It encircles Sighnaghi on its ridge 800 metres up, overlooking the Alazani valley and the Caucasus mountains to the north.

Where is the best place to walk along the wall? The best stretch starts from the church of Saint Stephen, built into a tower on the eastern side of the wall, where a staircase leads up onto the battlements. From there visitors can see forty kilometres of vineyards, the Alazani river, and on clear days the full line of the Caucasus from Kazbek to Dagestan.

Why is Sighnaghi known as the 'city of love'? The town hall in Sighnaghi is unusual in that it marries couples 24 hours a day, which gave rise to the nickname 'city of love.' It's common to encounter a wedding taking place on the wall itself.

What can visitors see in Sighnaghi's museum? Sighnaghi's museum holds the country's best small collection of works by Pirosmani, a self-taught painter born in a village below the town. His paintings of animals and feasts are among Georgia's most beloved images.

Why does Sighnaghi look the way it does today, with pastel houses and cobbled lanes? The town's current appearance comes from a restoration carried out in 2007, which transformed what had been a sleepy town into the picturesque 'city of love' that attracts visitors today. The ancient defensive wall surrounding the town, however, predates this restoration by centuries.

How can travelers visit Sighnaghi as part of an organized tour? Sighnaghi is featured in GTour's Sighnaghi & Bodbe day trip, serves as the midday stop on the Kakheti wine day tour, and is the overnight stay on the Grand Wine & Heritage tour. Staying overnight is recommended specifically to catch sunset from the wall, when the mountains turn pink and swallows come out.