The fortress of Abaat is an early medieval fortress in the city of Gagra ( Abkhazia ). It was built around the 5th-6th centuries to protect the approaches from the Joekvari Gorge. The fortress was periodically subjected to destruction and subsequent restoration.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the prince of Oldenburg ordered the destruction of part of the fortress wall [1] [2] . The fortress wall facing the sea was washed away by the sea surf and almost did not survive. The remaining remains of the fortress walls and towers are preserved quite well.
“I have been transferred to the terrible climate of Abkhazia. There is on the Black Sea coast, in Abkhazia, a hollow between huge mountains. The wind does not fly there; the heat there from the red-hot rocks is unbearable, and, to complete the pleasures, the stream dries up and turns into a fetid puddle. A fortress was built in this gorge, in which enemies beat from all sides through the windows, where the fever rages to the point where one and a half sets die from the garrison per year, and the rest go out from there otherwise than with deadly obstructions or dropsy. There is the 5th Black Sea Battalion, which can only communicate with other places, like the sea, and without an inch of land for pastures, it feeds on rotten corned beef all year round ”
- A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky
In the fortress is the Abaat Church (Gagra Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin), managed by the non-canonical Abkhaz Orthodox Church [3] .