Lagurka

The Kala church of Saints Cyricus and Julitta (), locally known as Lagurka (ლაგურკა), is a medieval church in the Mestia Municipality in Georgia's region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. The area is part of the highland historical and cultural region of Upper Svaneti where Lagurka is regarded as the principal Christian shrine, its designation deriving from the name of Cyricus in the local Svan language. It is a hall church, adorned with frescoes painted by Tevdore in 1111/1112, one of the high points of medieval Georgian monumental art. The church is inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia.

== History == thumb|left|Lagurka Lagurka is nested on a high hill above the village of Khe in the Kala territorial unit, Mestia Municipality, on the left bank of the upper Enguri River, at about 2200 metres above sea level. The church is dedicated to the early Christian martyrs Cyricus and Julitta, who are venerated as the patron saints of the Kala community. Lagurka itself is considered to be the holiest shrine by the Svans, their most binding oath being on the icons preserved at the church. The church hosts an annual all-Svan festival and pilgrimage, kvirikoba ("the day of Cyricus"), held annually on July 28. In the words of the historian Ekvtime Taqaishvili, for the Svans Lagurka is what Delphi was for the ancient Greeks—the symbol of their unity.